Putin orders new push for Russian unmanned technologies

Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a series of directives aimed at accelerating the development and deployment of domestic autonomous and unmanned technologies following a January meeting devoted to the sector.

According to TASS, the instructions include measures designed to stimulate production, expand the manufacturing of components, and increase the localisation level of Russian technologies.

Under the orders, the Russian government, the Ministry of Defence, the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation, and the presidential administration are tasked with actively involving participants of the “special military operation” in the development, production, operation, and maintenance of autonomous systems. Authorities are required to submit an initial progress report by the end of April, with subsequent reports to follow every six months.

The Cabinet of Ministers, together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, must also establish criteria for evaluating successful drone experiments conducted under an experimental legal framework. These include trials involving ground-based autonomous systems operating on roads and sidewalks for cargo transportation and delivery services.

In addition, the government — working alongside the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control and the Russian Export Centre — has been instructed to develop an effective model for promoting Russian unmanned technologies, products, software, and technical standards in foreign markets.

The directives also call for the creation of a comprehensive system for training and retraining specialists involved in the design, production, and servicing of autonomous systems, as well as the establishment of research centres and testing grounds for certification.

The order emphasises the need to develop new and upgrade existing infrastructure required for operating autonomous systems, alongside the creation of dedicated research facilities and certification sites.

Putin further instructed officials to simplify regulatory requirements governing the use of drones by private operators for personal purposes.

Separately, the Russian government and the State Duma have been tasked with adopting a federal law titled “On Highly Automated Vehicles” by August 1. Plans also include the creation of a unified real-time monitoring system for autonomous technologies based on the ERA-GLONASS state information platform.

By Tamilla Hasanova