RuAviation

The first plant in Russia to produce various types of civilian unmanned aerial vehicles will be created in Togliatti on the territory of a special economic zone (SEZ). It is planned to produce more than 3 thousand drones by 2024, and investments in the project will amount to more than 6 billion rubles.

Transport of the Future completed a deal to acquire a site in the Togliatti Special Economic Zone in the Samara region, where a factory will be built for the serial production of UAVs. It is planned to organize production of seven modifications of unmanned aerial systems (UAVs) – from heavy cargo to vehicles weighing less than 30 kg at the enterprise with the area of more than 40 thousand sq.m. It will not only assemble drones, but also produce all key structural elements for them: propellers, engines, drivers, body parts and avionics.

At present, the company’s Transport of the Future model range has two modifications of UAV – an aerotaxi and a large cargo drone with a takeoff weight of 700 kg. Every month from two to five UAS of each type are assembled, primarily for testing, confirming the resource and testing the models of typical applications. So far about 50 UAS have been assembled in total.

The start of construction and installation of utilities at the new site in Togliatti is scheduled for April. Production is expected to start in the first quarter of 2024. Transport of the Future explained that the production capacity in Togliatti will allow the production of more than 3,000 unmanned aerial vehicles per year.

The company has already invested more than 3 billion rubles in the development of current models and the construction of the infrastructure of the project. According to the organization’s preliminary estimates, the amount of investments in Samara production in the next three years will exceed 6 billion rubles.

Yuri Kozarenko, General Director of Transport of the Future, explained that the decisive factor in choosing the Samara region for UAV production was the creation of a specialized cluster for drones in the region and the personal interest of top officials, including the governor. In addition, there is a suitable landscape for flight tests.

The press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade explained that the possibility of assistance in the implementation of the project using the existing tools of support is being considered. For example, the enterprise can get a subsidy for creating scientific and technological reserve for development of basic technologies of priority electronic equipment production, as well as a subsidy for financial support of part of the costs for creating electronic component base and modules. The company confirms its interest in receiving such measures of support, the ministry said.

Only one type of unmanned aerial vehicle has been certified in Russia so far – the heavy BAS-200, developed by the Mil and Kamov Research Center. It is planned to start serial production at the Kumertau Aviation Production Enterprise (KUMAPP) in Bashkiria. At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed to certify at least 10 types of Russian UAV in 2023.