The plenary session «Unmanned technologies – the way to technological sovereignty of the country» (track «Technological development and intersectoral cooperation») was held at the International Forum «Russian Industrialist». The experts presented the results of the industry’s development and gave forecasts for 2025.

The event was organized by St. Petersburg Technopark JSC, and its participants included specialists from federal and regional departments, development companies, scientists and practitioners.

The session was moderated by Ivan Antsev, Executive Director of NPP Radar MMC JSC.

Andrey Ushakov, Head of the Regulatory and Financial Support Department of the Department of Unmanned Systems and Robotics of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, spoke about the development of the national project «Unmanned Aircraft Systems» in Russia. The project aims to help create an unmanned aviation industry in Russia, from the development of components to the development of ground infrastructure.

«The global challenge is to create domestic drones for the domestic market. By 2030, the market should almost double, and the share of Russian devices in the country’s market should exceed 70%», the speaker noted. He recalled that the national project includes five federal projects, it covers all aspects of the industry’s development, including personnel training.

«This year, measures to support the industry have been launched: end-to-end research and development, measures to support demand for domestic unmanned aircraft systems, and subsidies for the regions. The most demanded measures by the end of the year were end-to-end R&D for development and certification», A. Ushakov emphasized.

Vladimir Pastukhov, General Director of the Agency for Technological Development, spoke about the organization’s role in the development of the UAS industry, about the priorities in the field of UAS development and production within the framework of the national project «Unmanned Aircraft Systems». The expert reported on the Agency’s cooperation with developers and the relevant association, on the development and approval of the classification of unmanned systems, maps of technological cooperation among market participants, as well as on increasing the level of UAS localization by defining the requirements for «Russianness».

«In 2023, we supported 29 projects worth RUB 1,319.8 million. These were mainly power plant projects: engines and gearboxes, as well as power supply systems. 36 projects are in high readiness», said V. Pastukhov.

Vadim Medvedev, CEO of the NTI Foundation, announced the development of a number of companies in the field of UAS in 2023–2024, including Radar MMC, Geoscan, and others. He stressed that unmanned aircraft systems are in demand in a number of industries: agriculture and forestry, in the work of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, in the regions where oil and gas companies operate.

«In 2025, we expect to strengthen industry opportunities for manufacturers and developers of equipment. We will see the cooperation of enterprises: as a supplier of a certified piece of equipment, you understand to whom and what you can supply. Today, it is necessary to focus on specialization in the regions within the framework of research and production centers. There are already 12 such centers today», said V. Medvedev.

Evgeny Sivaev, Deputy Director of the scientific and production complex of unmanned aircraft and marine systems at NPP Radar MMC JSC, presented a video about the company’s development of an unmanned helicopter, and also spoke about the barriers hindering the development of the industry. According to him, regulatory, cross-functional, and commercial barriers hinder the development of the industry. For example, there is an insufficient level of UAS safety: most UAS lack rescue systems, in addition, there is no interaction between manned aircraft and detector systems, and there is also an important task of creating landing pads, etc.

Oleg Yakimov, General Director of Technopark of St. Petersburg JSC, spoke about the role of scientific and production centers in the development of the industry. He noted that St. Petersburg was one of the first regions included in the national project after the Archipelago intensive course, and the regional UAS development program [«Program for the development of unmanned aircraft in St. Petersburg until 2030»] was developed and approved by Governor A. Beglov in the city.

«The NPC UAS, created on the basis of the Technopark of St. Petersburg, includes manufacturers, developers, universities that train personnel and make developments in the field of UAS. We currently have 54 residents, and our task is to create a platform for interaction between all participants», he said.

The integration of UAS into a single airspace is one of the barriers hindering the development of the industry Ruslan Kirichek, Rector of St. Petersburg University of Telecommunications, spoke about how to overcome this problem and create conditions for the smooth operation of drones. According to him, many departments are making efforts to develop the digital sky today: The Ministry of Industry and Trade, Rosaviation, NTI, etc., and the urgent question remains how to link all the facilities into a single system.

«NTI and Glonass JSC are developing a digital sky concept. In 2023, the Ministry of Finance of Russia initiated a Communications Industry Development Strategy until 2035, according to which a hybrid orbital-terrestrial communications network with all digital sky facilities should appear in the country. The key issue is how to unite everyone, which is a big challenge», the expert noted.

The Rector of St. Petersburg State University presented the DOA digital object identification system, which allows identifying all metadata and has already been recommended by the Ministry of Finance of Russia and the Ministry of Transport of Russia, and also spoke about the university’s development of the BPSI 2 modem weighing 75 g, which is autonomously attached to a drone and sends an identifier every 5 seconds.

The Deputy Director of the UATMS Branch, Head of the UATMS Regional Center, Raj Fayazov, spoke about the work of the organization and the need for interaction between all market participants. In turn, Konstantin Ivanov, director of the Cybergectar Association and head of the URALCHEM Directorate, shared his experience with UAS in agriculture and spoke about the development of AgTech in Russia. In his opinion, the development of the industry is still hampered by insufficient data quality and the lack of a catalog of solutions.

The Russian Industrialist International Forum is being held at Expoforum from November 26 to 28. On the same days, the St. Petersburg International Scientific and Educational Salon and Congress «Vocational Education, Science and Innovation in the 21st Century» are being held here as part of the St. Petersburg Week of Science and Vocational Education and the Decade of Science and Technology.