Russian national project for drones to be finalized by July 1, approved by Sept 1

MOSCOW. April 28 (Interfax) - Russia's national project for unmanned aviation systems (UAS) will be worked out with the Finance Ministry by July 1 and should be approved by September 1, First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov said.

The issue of using drones in agriculture was raised at a presentation of UAS organizations that President Vladimir Putin held on Thursday.

"We're doing quite a lot to support agriculture, I won't list all the support measures. It is possible to also reorient something within the context of allocated financing, this part of the work, it's possible to think about additional financing. But [the Agriculture Ministry] needs to formulate these needs," Putin said.

The president said that, as far as he knows, there have not been requests regarding subsidies for farmers to use drone systems.

"On your instructions, I will report on this. We are now creating a national project for drones, and these subsidies are included in it. This will be a national project and we are now supposed to work it out with the Finance Ministry by July 1 and, on your instructions, approve it on September 1. And this will be included there," Belousov, who participated in the presentation by video conference call, said.

Putin said that agriculture is currently one of the broadest areas for the application of UAS. "There are both users and it's even simpler to regulate. These are not flights in major cities, related to ensuring safety and so one, it's simpler to do this here," he said.

Now would be a good time for the Agriculture Ministry to detail all these issues, Putin added.