Putin orders draft proposals to develop Russia's drone industry

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed his government on Friday to draft proposals to develop the country's unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) industry.

Speaking at a meeting in Moscow, Putin said the goal of this effort was to boost security and economic vitality in the country, underlining the "critical importance" of the UAV industry and its position on the cutting edge of many sectors.

"Even more importantly, the applications for unmanned aerial vehicles are simply boundless — I can't think of a single aspect of society or the economy where UAVs cannot be used," he said.

Putin urged officials to analyze possible obstacles, remove barriers to accelerate the industry's development, and create clear and transparent rules for producing and using drones.

He noted that it was important not just to produce UAVs but also create infrastructure for their use.

"The success achieved here will mean a qualitative change in our economy and qualitative changes in the lives of our people, a strong, confident, forward movement of the whole country — that's what the development of unmanned aviation is," he said.