Drone's 420-kilometer flight shows successful integration into airspace — ZALA

MOSCOW, July 7. /TASS/. A drone that flew 420 kilometers between the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin using the Geocosmos system has shown successful integration into the country’s airspace, the system's developer ZALA told TASS.

"Experts say the main result of the flight was the successful integration of the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) into the single airspace. The ZALA T-20 unmanned aerial vehicle completed the route as a fully-fledged participant in air traffic, creating a precedent for the safe co-operation of autonomous and manned aircraft in the same sky," the company said.

ZALA stated that the practical tests confirmed the company's technological solutions' readiness to comply with the requirements of Russian President Vladimir Putin's directive on the implementation of unmanned aerial vehicles and their control systems.

On July 3, Sakhalin Region Governor Valery Limarenko announced that a drone had traveled a distance of 420 km between Sakhalin and Kunashir (Kuril Islands). He added that after testing, the technology would be expanded throughout the Far East.