Federal Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Moscow

History

2024: Drones will fly over Moscow. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin approved the launch of a special regime for drones

At the end of May 2024, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree on the establishment of an experimental legal regime (EPR) developed by the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia together with the Government of Moscow and ANO "Federal Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems" (Fedtsentr ALS). Thanks to the EPR, it will be possible to start testing drones in the capital's industrial park "Rudnevo."

As Kommersant notes, this is the first document allowing drone flights within the city. Initially, the government discussed the possibility of approving such a regime throughout Moscow, excluding the territory within the Third Transport Ring (TransTeleCom), specially protected zones, especially important state facilities and restriction zones.

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8 companies will take part in the implementation of the initiative, including the ALS Fedtsentr, which is assigned the role of the operator of the experimental area, the developer and manufacturer of ALS, as well as LLC, Geoscan LLC, Gazpromneft Supply LLC and Fly Drone other companies.

It is assumed that during the operation of the EPR for three years, about 45 units of ALS will be allowed to work for aviation work and cargo transportation, which will make at least 1850 flights. The mode provides for the use of ALS with a maximum take-off weight of up to 30 kg or more for the air transportation of goods (with the exception of commercial air transportation), the performance of aviation work, including aerial surveys and airborne flights. The flight area is limited to 800 meters above ground level.

The area where the residential areas are less than 1 km away. And if God forbid there is some kind of problem with a heavy-class drone that weighs more than 30 kg, it is fraught with very serious consequences. Therefore, I think that there will be many more questions to be clarified, and only practice will show how safe it is, "said Andrei Patrakov, founder of the RunAvia service.[1]

2023

Moscow allocates 87-km corridor for drone testing

Moscow allocates an 87-km corridor for testing drones, which became known on September 8, 2023. We are talking about the zone between the flight test complex in the Moscow industrial park "Rudnevo" and the Moscow Region airfield "Volosovo."

According to Vedomosti, Rudnevo itself will test unmanned aviation systems (ALS) weighing up to 30 kg, and heavy and super-heavy drones will be launched at third-party training grounds. For these purposes, the Federal ALS Center, located in Rudnevo, has already signed four agreements with airfields, including Volosovo.

For testing drones, Moscow has allocated an 87-km corridor

It is necessary to request the construction of air corridors right now, while temporary bans are in effect. This is absolutely the right decision, since it will minimize risks, said Nikita Danilov, CEO of Fly Drone (market participant at NTI AeroNet (Aeronet) in September 2023. At the same time, most likely, both drones with a maximum takeoff weight of up to 30 kg and over 30 kg will be tested in the designated corridor, he admits. After all, one of the base residents of Rudnevo is Aeromax, which produces heavy drones, the expert added in a conversation with the newspaper.

Within Moscow (and at Rudnevo), a platform is needed for testing light ALS and low-flying ALS (in particular, for agricultural operations), said an expert from the National Technological Initiative, general director of Agrimax. Aero "Maxim Chizhov. The organization of such a site with a rational approach does not pose a threat to the security perimeter and does not create new threats to the external environment of such a testing zone, he notes.

Rudnevo is part of a regional network of research and production centers that will provide a full cycle of drone production and their integration into a single airspace. By 2030, it is planned to launch 48 such centers.^[2]

Launch of the center, plans for the production of 60 thousand drones

On August 23, 2023, the capital's mayor's office announced plans to release more than 60 thousand drones at the Federal Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ALS), which began functioning at the Rudnevo site of the Moscow Technopolice Special Economic Zone. We are talking about a plan until 2027, said Vladimir Efimov, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Economic Policy and Property and Land Relations .

According to him, on the basis of the Federal ALS Center, Russian developers and manufacturers of UAVs and digital geo-information platforms are united. By August 23, there are 10 leading enterprises in the industry. The development of the center will be an impetus for the further favorable formation of the industry and a decrease in its dependence on imports, Efimov said.

A federal drone center has been launched in Moscow. 60 thousand drones will be released there in 4 years

It is planned by 2027 to increase the area of ​ ​ the center to 500,000 square meters. m Aeromax was the first to open its plant here, which produces helicopter-type UAVs designed for cargo transportation and flights in difficult weather conditions.

Earlier in 2023, it became known that the BAS company will place production in the Rudnevo industrial park. On an area of ​ ​ over 1.1 thousand square meters, the company will create a center for setting up, testing and testing unmanned aircraft systems of all types.

In addition, in 2023 Moscow , she has already signed agreements with 11 regions, within which it is planned to develop the direction of UAVs, in particular, conduct flight tests. The city authorities note that drones are successfully used in to power logistics, and agriculture construction geological exploration, helping to assess the scale and pace of construction, compile a 3D model of the landscape, and identify climatic and geographical features of the area.

Cooperation with five regions

Moscow will cooperate with five regions of Russia in the development of unmanned aircraft systems. The mayor of the capital, Sergei Sobyanin, signed the relevant agreements with the heads of the subjects in mid-June 2023.

Agreements were concluded with the authorities of the Tula, Samara, Ryazan, Tambov regions and Bashkiria. The signatures on the documents were put by the heads of these regions Alexei Dyumin, Dmitry Azarov, Pavel Malkov, Maxim Egorov and Radiy Khabirov, respectively.

Governor of the Samara region Dmitry Azarov and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin

According to the document, flight tests will be organized and carried out at the bases of regional flight airfields and the Rudnevo industrial park in Moscow. On the basis of the capital's industrial park with an area of ​ ​ more than 100 hectares, a federal center for unmanned aviation systems with a special free flight zone is being created. Leading Russian developers and manufacturers of UAVs and digital geo-information platforms will unite there.

Residents of the center will develop and produce new models of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for various purposes, improve avionics and introduce artificial intelligence technologies. Leading Russian developers and manufacturers of UAVs and digital geo-information platforms will unite on the basis of the center to reduce the gap with world industry leaders and reduce dependence on imports of critical technologies, according to the website of the mayor of Moscow.

In particular, the produced drones will be used to identify unauthorized construction objects, facts of misuse of land, control over the construction of objects and for other purposes. This will reduce the number of violations.

In the future, Moscow plans to create an ecosystem representing a full cycle of development, testing, certification and serial production of various types of unmanned vehicles.^[3]

Notes