Russia will introduce a new condition for approving civilian drone flights

From October 1, 2026, UAV flight plans in Russia will be accepted only if the aircraft is connected to the "ERA-GLONASS" system. This was announced on September 24 on the website of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation.

""From October 1, connection to ERA-GLONASS will become a prerequisite for submitting flight plans for drones to the State Corporation for Air Traffic Management in Russia,"" the ministry said in a statement.

In the absence of confirmation from the state information system about the presence of an active personal account of the drone owner, flight applications will be rejected. The new requirement is introduced after a seven-month adaptation period that began after the mandatory connection of civilian drones to the system.

The Ministry of Transport clarified that from March 1, 2026, drones weighing more than 250 g must be equipped with remote identification equipment. Currently, more than 1,000 users are connected to "ERA-GLONASS", and 1,205 unmanned aircraft have been added to the system.

Soundtrack: Russia has created an acoustic network for drone detection

How will the "Spider" help to identify long-range UAVs in advance and determine their flight direction

On July 3, Sakhalin Region Governor Valery Limarenko said that the drone had traveled 430 km between Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands using the "Geokosmos" navigation and communication system. Limarenko paid special attention to a multi-medium monitoring system that combines drones in the air, at sea and on the ground. This is achieved through the integration of aviation systems used for military purposes, including "ERA-GLONASS".