TYUMEN. Sept 25 (Interfax) - Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) plans to begin taking measures in 2025 to deploy drone detection and suppression systems at Russian airports, the agency's deputy head Andrei Potyomkin told Interfax.
"The plan is to start these efforts at first-category airfields from 2025. Of course, the configuration of our work will be closely tied to the budget cycle," Potyomkin said.
Airport operators are entitled to decide on financing these measures on their own, he said. What is important is that this work "does not pose threats such as by jamming radio-technical equipment both on the ground and aboard airplanes," he said.
"There is a corresponding decision of the State Commission for Radio Frequencies, [Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media] Roskomnadzor's work, and our joint guidelines for those who organize air traffic and operate this equipment in order to enable them to function together safely," he said.
Earlier, Rosaviatsiya head Dmitry Yadrov said that 31 airports across Russia would be fitted with counter-drone systems before 2030 in a project that will be funded from the federal budget. Furthermore, the operators of 30 airports, including Sheremetyevo Airport, have shown their interest in implementing this project "using funds from non-budgetary sources," he said.
Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport said last year that it had installed a Yenot-SD radar optical system for counteracting drones. An order for a counter-drone system placed by Vnukovo Airport was also reported with reference to the government procurement website.
Airports in Moscow and other regions have had to restrict their operations from time to time due to Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian cities. Such restrictions usually remain in place for several hours.