Russia gets first testing range for unmanned aerial vehicles in Tver
Russian authorities announced that the country’s first testing range for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is going to be built in the outskirt of the city of Tver, Russian media says, quoting the head of the Poligon BAS project Anton Tretyak.
The project is expected to cost 500 mln rubles ($6.7 mln), financed by the Project Support Fund of the National Technological Initiative and the International Aero Navigation Systems Concern.
The UAVs range will be located near the Orlovka airfield. “There is appropriate airspace and low population density in the area. We have already purchased a land plot for the range and agreed on issues related to the construction efforts with the Tver Region’s authorities,” Tretyak said.
The range is designed for testing UAVs, unmanned helicopters, drones, and aircraft capabilities, Tretyak explained.
According to his estimates, at least 40 UAVs will require certification in Russia in the next five years.
According to the National Technological Initiative, drone aircraft are unlikely to become a massive thing in big cities in the next ten years and drone taxis won’t travel along the streets in large numbers, the platform’s spokesman Yuri Sushinov noted.
