Aeronet: Drone production in Russia rises only 2–3% per year

MOSCOW, Jul 28 (PRIME) -- Production of drones in Russia rises only 2–3% per year due to underdevelopment of aviation legislation, the pandemic, and slow introduction of drones, Sergei Zhukov, head of a market working group at the Aeronet initiative, said in an interview with PRIME, released on Wednesday.

“There are thousands of commercial-purpose air complexes, without the entertainment segment, if we talk about civil pilotless air systems. But the local market capacity is rising, it will be hundreds of thousands per year soon. I assume that production of drones has been growing rather slow over the recent years, by 2–3% per year,” he said, adding that there are no strict statistics.

Cargo transportation by drones in such regions as the Khanty-Mansi, Yamalo-Nenets, and Chukotka autonomous districts, and the Kamchatka Region will increase to 1,200 tonnes per year by 2024, he also said.

“According to the plan, the amount of cargo transportation by drones in such regions as…should rise to 1,200 tonnes per year, and the cost of transportation by drones should be lower than by piloted transport,” he said.

Russian Post is the main beneficiary of the plan, he said. Drones will be supplied by Russian Helicopters, Kronshtadt Technologies, Ural Works of Civil Aviation, and others.

The Transport Ministry will present a draft concept of integration of pilotless airborne vehicles to Russia’s air space alongside with piloted aircraft in 2021, Zhukov also said.

The concept will have two road maps covering the air navigation technologies development and a plan for the regulatory framework development, he said.

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