Russian govt approves parameters of experiment to use drones in agriculture in 12 regions

MOSCOW. Sept 19 (Interfax) - The Russian government has approved the parameters of an experiment to introduce agricultural unmanned aviation systems (UAS) in 12 regions of the country.

The experiment will make it possible to use UAS to fight pests in farming within the context of special legal regimes, the government resolution signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said.

The regions taking part will be Tatarstan, Altai and Stavropol territories, and Astrakhan, Volgograd, Voronezh, Lipetsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Saratov, Tambov and Ulyanovsk regions.

Special regulatory conditions - experimental legal regimes for the use of UAS - will be in effect in these regions for the duration of the experiment. This will make it possible to fly drones without excessive regulation, make work with agricultural chemicals safer for people and expand the geography of their application.

UAS are now used for various applications in a wide range of areas, including the energy sector, construction, agriculture, for express mail and food delivery, transporting small payloads and e-commerce, monitoring for risk of forest fires and other hazardous situations, and for search and rescue operations. The new experiment will make it possible to test out a simplified regulatory environment for mass use of drones in agriculture.