The country’s unmanned aerial vehicle industry is booming
A large-scale intensive training course dedicated to operating various types of drones has been held in Russia’s Far East. Unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, have multiple civil and military applications, and the technology has experienced a boom in the country in recent years.
According to the organizers, the “Archipelago 2024” training course that recently took place in Sakhalin Region attracted more than 3,500 participants. The event showcased more than 30 types of Russian-made drones and featured sports competitions as well as military tactical drills.
The event also showcased and tested sky control technologies that track, detect and classify drones and other small objects that go unnoticed by conventional radar systems.
A total of 350 drone sorties were performed at a military airfield on Sakhalin Island with more than 150 flight hours; equal to over 6 days of non-stop flying, the organizers said.
Drone application scenarios included cargo delivery, cadastral surveying, monitoring of bodies of water and searches for missing persons, among others. The drills were part of a larger initiative to utilize drones in various sectors of the Russian economy.
Defense applications of UAVs were tested as well, from deployment to the detection of ‘enemies’ and reporting to headquarters.
“We met our program’s primary goal of training 60 operators in the combat use of copter-type reconnaissance drones,” said Alexander Lyubimov, the head of a coordination center in Donbass.
The event also covered the use of drones at sea for tasks such as locating sunken objects, environmental monitoring, search and rescue operations, and providing security, including the detection and identification of potentially dangerous surface and underwater objects.
The Archipelago course takes place every year in various Russian regions and has become a key event for launching new initiatives and industries that brings together technology experts and startup teams.
