The Russian Ministry of Transport is in the process of modifying legislation to establish a database designed to identify and track all drones operating within the country, as reported by Vedomosti on Monday, referencing EFE and Agerpres.
As per Russian media outlets, the Ministry of Transport is set to propose changes to two laws concerning the identification, registration, and regulations for operating drones weighing between 0.15 and 30 kilograms, which are expected to take effect on March 1, 2026.
Owners of unmanned aerial vehicles will be required to register in the database and incur a monthly fee of 560 rubles ($7) to cover communication expenses between the platform and the drone for its tracking, with data transmission occurring once every second.
Federal and regional authorities, emergency response teams, and organizations engaged in public functions to combat unlawful drone activity will be exempt from this fee.
Surveillance of drones will be carried out utilizing the Global Navigation Satellite System (Glonass), which is Russia’s counterpart to the American GPS system.
This initiative has been in development since January, when President Vladimir Putin called for an expedited establishment of regulatory measures for drone identification, as indicated by the Russian newspaper.
During his inaugural meeting with President Putin, the newly appointed Minister of Transport, Andrei Nikitin, reviewed the advancement of this initiative.
“It is essential to assign an identification number to ascertain who owns the vehicle, its destination, and the conditions under which it operates,” he stated.
Ukraine is increasingly deploying drones to target and surveil strategic sites within Russian territory. On Monday, three individuals lost their lives following Ukrainian drone strikes in the Tula and Nizhny Novgorod regions, according to local officials.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that it had intercepted over 150 drones from Sunday to Monday.
