S-80 Delivery Drone / Photo: © Future Transport Press Office

Airworthiness Certificate Issued for S-80 Delivery Drone in Samara Oblast

S-80 Delivery Drone / Photo: © Future Transport Press Office

Future Transport has received an airworthiness certificate for its S-80 drone modification designed for cargo delivery. The certification was conducted within the framework of the experimental legal regime operating in Samara Oblast. This was announced by the company’s press office.

The document allows the company to conduct tests on the delivery of consumer goods by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in urban environments. The company’s near-term plans include the launch of a trial for the delivery of food items by drones in Tolyatti, involving the transportation of goods from distribution centres of retail chains to automated parcel lockers or dark stores. This will optimise logistics processes and reduce delivery times.

Future Transport considers the key advantages of using drones in logistics to be high delivery speeds and the environmental friendliness of this mode of transport. CEO Yuri Kozarenko notes that obtaining the airworthiness certificate is a significant step towards the practical application of unmanned technologies in the commercial sector.

“The drone delivery market is huge, we can offer rapid, within-the-hour delivery of any goods within walking distance – people won’t have to travel to a hypermarket outside the city or wait hours for a courier. By 2030, we plan to produce 4,000 delivery drones,” commented Yuri Kozarenko.

The S-80 unmanned aircraft developed by Future Transport is the first Russian rotary-wing unmanned aircraft system to have been certified for compliance with airworthiness standards. These requirements were approved by Rosaviatsiya (Federal Air Transport Agency of Russia) and came into force on January 1, 2023. A specialised version of the “Hector” S-80 agricultural drone enables the performance of a full range of crop treatment operations.

The S-80 drone is mass-produced in the Tolyatti special economic zone (SEZ), where the company has launched the first phase of a UAV manufacturing plant. The production facilities will manufacture seven models of drones, as well as key components, including propellers, engines, drivers and flight controllers.

In addition to manufacturing, the unmanned aircraft systems cluster in Samara Oblast will include the development and production of components, certification, testing, development of commercial applications, as well as service and technical maintenance of unmanned aerial vehicles. The first phase of the factory is focused on the production of “Hector S-80” model agricultural drones and its modifications.

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