Strategies for Passing Regulatory Procedures during the Operational Phase of Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Abstract

The problem of integration of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into the airspace of the Russian Federation is currently receiving increased attention. The conceptual proposals under development define the main directions of regulatory and technological policy for the integration of UAS into the airspace of the Russian Federation, as well as the effective airspace use (AU) by all users in the interests of national security and economic development of the Russian Federation. The issues of regulation in the field of UAS application in the Russian Federation, in this regard, are of particular relevance. This article analyzes the main possible strategies for passing regulatory procedures at the stage of UAS operation. On the basis of this analysis, the strategies for the commercial application of UAS are formulated.

1. Introduction

One of the main problems in the development of the UAS market at the moment is the lack of practical possibilities for their legal commercial use, including the lack of procedures and documents regulating the actions of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs operating UAS, which must be carried out to fulfill the obligation to comply with Russian legislation.

To regulate activities using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in the Russian Federation and at the international level, various regulatory legal acts are in force. The legal basis for the use of the airspace of the Russian Federation and activities in the field of aviation, as well as the general procedure for performing flights of civil, state and experimental aviation (EA) in the airspace of the Russian Federation, are established by a number of regulatory legal acts, the key of which is the Air Code of the Russian Federation of 19 March 1997 No. 60-FZ. The rules governing the legal status of UAV appeared when the Federal Law of 30 December 2015 No. 462-FZ “On Amendments to the Air Code of the Russian Federation regarding the use of UAV” was adopted and started to play its role.

In May 2019, the Government of the Russian Federation, by its Decree No. 658 of 25 May 2019, approved the Rules for Accounting Unmanned Civil Aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of 0.25 kg to 30 kg imported into the Russian Federation or manufactured there. This document applies to unmanned civil aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of 250 g to 30 kg, that is, to most drones, including those used by citizens for recreational purposes. According to this decree, drone owners are not allowed to launch them into the sky without going through the registration procedure [1].

Owners of unregistered drones will face fines for the fact that the aircraft is in the air without identification marks. The flight of unaccounted unmanned aircraft (UAV) will be regarded as a violation of the rules for the use of Russian airspace, and each launch of such drones will threaten the owners with a loss of 20 to 50 thousand rubles (for individuals), from 100 to 150 thousand rubles (for officials) and from 250 to 300 thousand rubles (for legal entities).

UAV with a maximum takeoff weight of up to 250 g do not need to be registered. However, such devices are still subject to the rules regarding the use of airspace and the safe conduct of flights.

UAV with a maximum takeoff weight of more than 30 kg are subject to state registration, as well as manned aircraft. In addition, UAV of this category are subject to the following requirements: on the obligatory receipt of a certificate of airworthiness (Article 36 of the Air Code of the Russian Federation); on the need to obtain flight certificates for persons servicing and operating an aircraft (Articles 53 and 57 of the Air Code of the Russian Federation).

It should be noted that, in accordance with point 11 of the Air Code of the Russian Federation, the use of airspace is activity related, among other things, to the movement of material objects in the airspace. There are no exceptions to this rule; accordingly, the use of civil UAV, regardless of their category, is the use of airspace and requires compliance with the established rules for such use.

The procedure for using the airspace is regulated in detail by a special regulatory legal act: Federal Rules for the Use of the Airspace of the Russian Federation, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 11 March 2010 No. 138.

Thus, the legislative regulation of the legal status of drones in the Russian Federation is in its infancy. The creation of an appropriate regulatory and legal framework is carried out by amending existing regulatory legal acts, which complicates the air legislation and, accordingly, law enforcement practice [1].

According to the flight safety monitoring data of the Federal Service for Supervision of Transport, there is a steady growth in the number of aviation events involving unmanned aerial vehicles [2].

In 2018, 389 cases of violations of AU procedure by external UAV pilots were identified. Based on the results of the consideration of violations of AU procedure by external UAV pilots, 227 protocols and 284 resolutions on bringing to administrative responsibility for the total amount of fines imposing about 1 million rubles were drawn up [3].

Statistics on violations of AU rules by private owners of UAV in 2018 by Russian federal districts are presented in

Table 1. Statistics on AU violations by private UAV owners in 2018 [4].

Federal Districts	Total Number of Airspace Violations	Number of UAS Violations	Number of Protocols	Number of Decrees	Amount of Penalties
Far Eastern	91	25	3	3	6000
Siberian	70	37	8	27	93,000
Ural	27	27	17	21	66,000
Volga	51	59	50	55	186,000
Northwestern	49	32	20	25	65,000
North Caucasian	3	1	1	1	3000
Southern	92	82	54	62	185,000
Central	186	116	73	90	298,000
Total	569	379	226	284	902,000

[4].

The analysis of statistical data of airspace violations rules shows that 66.6% of the total number of violations of AU rules are violations by private owners of UAV.

In order to ensure flight safety and effectiveness of state supervision of compliance with the requirements of the air legislation of the Russian Federation, as one of the most important conditions for the safe development of general aviation, integration of UAS into a common airspace is necessary.

The integration of unmanned aircrafts into the unified airspace is a very complex issue that requires a comprehensive solution of technical and legal issues [5,6].

The integration of unmanned aircraft into unsegregated airspace practices can be achieved in the medium term. The underlying assumption, related to the regulatory framework and methods, is that UAS will meet certain minimum requirements that are mandatory in terms of flying safely alongside aircraft with a pilot on board.

Figure 1 [7] provides an example of a classification system that can be used to develop a regulatory framework that initially regulates low-risk UAS flights and then moves on to higher-risk flights.

The main target task of ensuring the integration of UAS into Russian airspace is to ensure the established level of flight safety, reducing the risks associated with the execution of UAS flights. In order to solve this problem, it is necessary for state aviation regulatory authorities to create methods and criteria for the design, production and operational approval, rules and operational procedures of UAS, based on the assessment of operational risks of UAS use and their characteristics.

The sequence of considerations of operational risks of UAS flights is presented in the form of an assessment of the probability of adverse situations, taking into account the interaction with potential air traffic participants at various stages of UAS flight and the typical scheme of forming the assessment of adverse effects in airspace and on the ground.

Figure 2 shows ICAO classification of UAS operational risks [8].

One of the barriers to the commercial operation of UAS at the moment is the possibility of UAV flights only in segregated airspace (closed to other air traffic participants) [9]. This requirement is determined by the Russian Government Decree of 11 March 2010 №138 “On Approval of the Federal Aviation Regulations on the Use of Russian Airspace” [10]. Nevertheless, even under these conditions, there are several options for passing regulatory procedures during the operational phase for the commercial use of UAS.

The main purpose of this article is to analyze the main possible strategies for passing regulatory procedures at the stage of UAS operation and their integration into the single airspace of the Russian Federation, which will ensure:

• UAV integration that does not lead to a decrease in the existing level of flight safety, an increase or creation of a risk to the life and health of citizens as well as the risk of causing harm to ground infrastructure and property of citizens;
• existence of a level of requirements in the field of preparation, performance and support of flights of UAV, proportional to potential risks: the higher the risk, the higher the requirements;
• unmanned and manned aircraft have equal access to the airspace of the Russian Federation, taking into account the implementation of flight safety requirements;
• compliance of unmanned and manned aircraft with the established technical requirements in the field of flight safety;
• compliance of external pilots with the established requirements in the field of aviation personnel training;
• formation and implementation of the regulatory, technical and regulatory framework of the Russian Federation in the field of the use of unmanned aircraft, taking into account the standards and recommended practices of the International Civil Aviation Organization.

The key condition for the success of the introduction of unmanned aircraft in the economy of the Russian Federation is the joint and compromised achievement of the interests of the state in the face of regulatory regulators (federal executive authorities and certification bodies) and the business of developing a mass commercial market for the use of UAS while observing established flight safety requirements. Implementation of the safe and efficient integration of UAS into the airspace of the Russian Federation should be a systematic and phased work, involving the participation of all interested parties in the development of regulatory legal and technical regulation, the creation and implementation of new technologies, the development and qualification of airborne and ground equipment, operational procedures for organizing air traffic and training of air traffic controllers, remote pilots and personnel involved in the maintenance of UAS.

2. Theoretical Basis

Regulatory issues in the field of UAS in the Russian Federation are the responsibility of the following organizations [11]:

• commission under the President of the Russian Federation on the development of general aviation and navigation and information technologies based on the global navigation satellite system GLONASS (established by Presidential Decree №285 of 11 June 2016);
• governmental Commission for Transport (established by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 16 March 2013 №220);
• interdepartmental Working Group to develop proposals on state regulation of unmanned aviation and the roadmap for the development of UAS and unmanned aircraft segment in civil aviation (established by the Order of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation №MS-74-r of 9 July 2015);
• a Working Group of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation “Development of unmanned technologies in the transport complex of the Russian Federation (established by the Order of the Ministry of Transport of Russia of 11 July 2016 №MS-93-r)”;
• committee on UAS of the Union of Aviation Producers of Russia (established by the decision of the Supervisory Board of the Union of Aviation Producers of Russia of 29 May 2014);
• a Working Group on the development and implementation of action plans (“roadmaps”) of the National Technological Initiative (NTI) in the direction of the Aeronautical Systems (established by the Decision of the Presidium of the Presidential Council for Economic Modernization and Innovative Development of Russia №3 of 9 June 2015);
• association of Operators and Developers of UAV Systems (“Aeronet Association”) (registered with the Russian Ministry of Justice on 14 May 2013).

The basic legal act regulating the scope of civil UAS as an integral part of air transport is the Air Code of the Russian Federation, the entry into force and amendments, which are introduced by the relevant Federal Laws [12,13].

By-laws in the sphere of normative regulation of UAS include Federal Rules approved by Resolutions of the Russian Government, Federal Aviation Rules approved by Orders of the Russian Ministry of Transport and Orders of the Russian Ministry of Transport, the Federal Air Transport Agency, the Federal Service for Transport Supervision and Orders of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Analysis of the legal and regulatory and technical framework in the field of UAS (Figure 3) has shown [14]:

• there is no national regulatory framework for the development, certification and operation of UAS: more than 60 regulatory documents need to be changed/developed;
• procedures for certification of UAS and their components are not defined.

3. Methodology

In the formation of strategies for the passage of regulatory procedures at the stage of UAS operation in Russia and the development of methodological proposals to improve the regulatory framework for the use of UAS airspace, the following methods were used: theory of management decision-making, methods of logical, economic, statistical and system analysis, method of expert assessments and methods and procedures of information and production management.

The main sources of information were normative and instructive-methodological documents of the Russian Government, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia and its subordinate research institutes, the Ministry of Transport of Russia, other agencies, state programs of the Russian Federation regulating the development, production and operation of UAS, air traffic safety, certification standards, etc., as well as materials of Russian and foreign scientific printed and electronic periodicals.

4. Results and Discussion

The issue of integration of UAS into the common airspace of the Russian Federation is reflected in the “road map”, in the implementation of which the Association of Producers and Operators of UAS “Aeronet” is involved [15].

The expected outcome of the roadmap measures is the development of a regulatory and technological framework for the integration of UAS, the expansion of UAS air navigation capabilities and the implementation of conditions for flexible, risk-based and performance-based access of UAS of all classes and categories to Russian airspace, as well as the implementation of UAS in various areas of daily life and the economy of the country.

The goals of the roadmap are:

• ensuring safe operation and efficient commercial use of UAS in Russian airspace;
• reducing regulatory barriers in the interest of developing a new mass market for civilian use of UAS;
• reducing the gap between Russia and other countries, in particular, the USA and the European Union, in terms of organizing UAS air traffic and the creation of new technologies and competencies in this area;
• harmonization of regulation in the area of AU, air navigation services, development, certification and safe operation of UAS with international standards, recommendations, rules and procedures.

The implementation of the roadmap measures (

Table 2. Stages of UAS integration into Russian airspace.

	2019–2020	2021–2025	2026–2030	2031–2035
	Step 1—Preparatory period	Step 2—Transition from adaptation to UAS integration	Step 3—UAS integration	Step 4—Evolution and expansion
AU	VLOS flights in designated areas of uncontrolled airspace. Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flights in segregated airspace	VLOS and BVLOS flights in uncontrolled airspace. Limited BVLOS flights in controlled airspace	BVLOS flights incontrolled and uncontrolled airspace under conditions of established restrictions	Joint flights with manned aircraft on Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) in all classes of airspace
Technologies	Remote identification. Ground C2 lines. Base communications, navigation and surveillance. Basic Detect and Avoid (DAA). Antidrone. Test and certification ranges for DAA	C2 satellite lines. Enhanced communications, navigation, surveillance, SWIM and AIM. Advanced DAA. Low-altitude traffic organization system of UAS	Integrated C2. Integrated DAA. System of organization low-altitude traffic DAA. System integration with ATM	Autonomous UAS. Dynamic airspace access control. Prevention of overloading of runway. Full integration of ATM systems and manned aircraft
Normative regulation	Development and amendments to Air Code of the Russian Federation and Federal Regulations in terms of VLOS flights. Development of GOST for the basic subsystems of UAS and requirements for airworthiness certification	Development and amendments to Air Code of the Russian Federation and Federal Regulations in terms of VLOS flights. Development of GOST for the basic subsystems of UAS and requirements for airworthiness certification	Development and introduction of amendments to Air Code of the Russian Federation and the Federal Rules in terms of UAS flights under IFR. Development of GOST for autonomous UAS and requirements for airworthiness certification	Introduction of amendments to Air Code of the Russian Federation and the Federal Rules in terms of UAS flights under IFR. Amending GOST and airworthiness certification requirements
Air traffic services of UAS	Electronic registration of UAS pilots and accounting of VLOS. Electronic identification. Pre-tactical geofencing	Tactical geofencing. Strategic conflict resolution. Organization of low-altitude UAS movement. Procedural interaction with ATM	Dynamic geofencing. Tactical conflict resolution. Dynamic bandwidth management. Joint work with ATM	Full range of enhanced UAS air traffic services

) will be carried out in steps from 2019 to 2035 and beyond:

• Step 1 (2019–2020): preparatory period for the integration of UAS flight operations into Russian airspace;
• Step 2 (2021–2025): initial integration of UAS flight operations into Russian airspace: transition period from segregated UAS flight operations to joint flights with manned aircraft in non-segregated airspace;
• Step 3 (2026–2030): UAS integration into non-segregated Russian airspace;
• Step 4 (2031–2035): evolution and expansion: performing mass UAS flights in all classes of airspace in conjunction with manned aircraft based on the provision of advanced and expanded Internal Affairs [15].

The concept of integration of UAS into the common airspace of the Russian Federation is considered in the branch of the Research Institute of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise State Research Institute of Civil Aviation.

In the global aviation community, ICAO member countries are also working on the integration of UAS into a common airspace with manned aviation.

At the same time, two directions are being explored (Figure 4) [14]:

• remotely piloted;
• use of UAS within visual line of sight.

The concept of “western” integration:

Stage I—remotely-piloted aviation systems: allocation of airspace from 0 to 150 m.

Stage II—UAS implementation into a single UTM airspace together with manned aviation.

Stage III—UAS transportation of passengers.

On 31 December 2020, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) adopted a new package of unified UA rules for the EU countries. EASA universal rules for European countries apply to amateur pilots and those who professionally use UAV for work. According to the new rules, three categories with standardized requirements are distinguished, into which all drones and their operators are divided:

• open;
• special;
• certified/regulated.

The categories take into account the difference between UAV on various grounds, including the complexity of control, purpose, operating altitude, type of airspace in which the devices can be used and VLOS.

Category (A)—Open:

• no certification of the design and airworthiness of UAS, ground control station and the control and instrumentation channels;
• flying at low altitudes (below 150 m);
• line-of-sight flight;
• frequency spectrum is not licensed;
• flights in sparsely populated areas;
• aviation authorities establish flight safety criteria.

Category (B)—Special:

• design is not certified;
• airworthiness is validated by operational risk assessment;
• weight, speed, AU, difficulty of operation at VFR and IFR are taken into account;
• hazard assessment and mitigating conditions (competent authority, experts).

Category (C)—Regulated/Certified:

• type certificate;
• airworthiness certificate;
• airworthiness manual;
• flights beyond line of sight;
• sophisticated and high-tech design and operation;
• use of aviation protected frequencies.

Assignment to the operational category will make it possible to determine the scope of requirements for UAS airworthiness, as well as to form operating conditions.

Conventionally, strategies for passing regulatory procedures during the operational phase can be divided into three groups:

• standard;
• experimental;
• accelerated.

“Standard” strategy of passing regulatory procedures at the operation stage consists of obtaining an operator’s certificate, similar to manned aviation in accordance with the declared sphere of activity.

In accordance with the Air Code of the Russian Federation, there are two types of civil aviation activities [16,17]:

• commercial air transportation: transportation of passengers or cargo provided for a fee;
• aviation works: works performed using civil aircraft flights in agriculture, construction, environment protection, medical care and other purposes.

Because of this division, the Federal Air Transport Agency defines different requirements for persons performing commercial air transportation and aviation works.

Requirements to persons performing commercial air carriage, as well as the procedure for their certification, are established in the Federal Aviation Regulations “Requirements to Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs Carrying out Commercial Air Carriage”. The form and procedure for issuing a document confirm the compliance of legal entities, individual entrepreneurs, engaged in commercial air transportation with the requirements of the Federal Aviation Regulations”, approved by Order of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation №246 of 13 August 2015 (FAP-246).

The operator performing commercial air transportation in accordance with the requirements of FAP [18]:

• carries out preparation and performance of flights;
• hires specialists, organizes training and monitors their qualifications;
• ensures the functioning of the flight safety management system;
• ensures maintenance of aircraft airworthiness;
• ensures ground handling;
• ensures medical certification of aviation personnel;
• ensures provision of aeronautical and meteorological information to aircraft crews;
• ensures aviation safety;
• develops and implements a quality management system.

When conducting conformity assessment procedures for an applicant, the authorized body shall assess compliance with the following requirements of the person performing the functions of an operator:

(a)

on the organization of training and clearance of aircraft crew members (organization of flight operations);

(b)

on the maintenance of aircraft airworthiness;

(c)

on the management of flight safety;

(d)

on the quality management system implementation;

(e)

on the ground handling.

The certification requirements for operators performing aviation work are defined in the Federal Aviation Regulations “Requirements for legal entities and individual entrepreneurs performing aviation work included in the list of aviation work, providing for obtaining a document confirming compliance with the requirements of federal aviation regulations of a legal entity, individual entrepreneur”. The form and procedure for issuing a document (operator’s certificate) confirm a legal entity’s or individual entrepreneur’s compliance with federal aviation regulations. The “Procedure for Suspension of Validity, Bringing into Force of Restrictions and Annulment of an Operator’s Certificate” was approved by the Order of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation №494 on 19 November 2020 (FAP-494).

In order to obtain an operator’s certificate for commercial air transportation and aviation operations, the AU with a certificate of airworthiness is required. The procedure of obtaining the operator’s certificate is very labor-intensive. The main advantage of the “standard” strategy of UAS commercial operation by obtaining the operator’s certificate is its legitimacy in accordance with the current regulatory and legal framework [16,17].

An “experimental” strategy of going through the regulatory procedures at the stage of commercial use involves the operation of UAS within an experimental legal regime (ELR), in accordance with Federal Law №258-FZ of 31 July 2020, “On ELR in the Field of Digital Innovation in the Russian Federation”.

According to this law, the ELR consists of the application for a certain period of time of special regulation to a certain group of persons or in a certain territory, including a complete or partial refusal to apply mandatory requirements to a certain group of persons or in a certain territory or a refusal to perform permissive activities in relation to the object of permissive activities.

The main purpose of the introduction of this regime is to define the requirements for the regional infrastructure for the organization of flights, communications, places for landing aircrafts, etc., as well as to identify changes to the legislation, which should be made for the duration of the experimental-legal regime.

To date, UAS operation, with a UAV with a take-off weight of more than 30 kg, is carried out in accordance with the requirements and regulations established by the Air Code of the Russian Federation, the federal aviation rules for manned civil aviation aircraft [19].

At the same time, the current regulation of activities on creation and operation of manned civil aviation aircrafts does not take into account the peculiarities of design and remote control of aircrafts.

Thus, to fully integrate UAV into the Russian airspace, it is necessary to refine the requirements for certification, admission to the operation of UAV, crew qualification, implementation of aviation works and flight management [20].

The corresponding effect is achieved by eliminating a number of legal norms for the participants of ELR.

The proposed changes would ensure flight safety (reducing the risks associated with the operation to a minimum level) and ensure their controllability, as well as provide an assessment of compliance with the standards of airworthiness of UAV operated within ELR, taking into account the technical characteristics of the design and operating conditions, while leveling the procedural and temporal limitations that are currently faced by those using UAV during the passage of ELR.

It is assumed that the admission of UAV to be operated under ELR will be based on the Certificate of Assessment of Suitability to be operated under ELR. The procedure for admitting an aircraft to operation, issuing the Certificate of Assessment of the aircraft suitability for operation under ELR, is defined in the relevant documents on the introduction of ELR.

The admission of UAS operators to perform air transportation and aerial work is subject to compliance with the requirements set forth in the relevant documents on the introduction of ELR [12,13].

In terms of theoretical training for external pilots, the requirements in the volume of requirements for a private pilot, established by subparagraphs “a” and “b” of paragraph 3.1, FAP “Requirements for air crew members, aircraft maintenance specialists and flight support personnel (flight controllers) of civil aviation” was approved by the Order of the Ministry of Transport of Russia from 12 September 2008 №147. The subjects of ELR may be admitted to the operation of UAS by aviation personnel who hold a certificate of an external test pilot, a pilot of civil, state or EA, subject to a successful test of practical skills to operate the UAS, as well as persons admitted to the operation of UAS under the implementation of other ELR for the operation of UAS in the territory of the Russian Federation.

The requirements for medical examination of external pilots and UAS aviation personnel are reduced.

With regard to AU for UAS use, the time limit for submitting a proposal to establish a local regime and a flight plan for UAS to the relevant zonal or regional centers of the Unified ATM System of the Russian Federation is reduced.

At the same time, additional requirements are imposed on the aircraft flight route, which must be:

(a)

outside the boundaries of major population centers;

(b)

at least 5 km from control points of uncontrolled airfields and landing sites (if takeoff and landing is not performed from these points);

(c)

outside the control zones of civil aviation airfields, areas of airfields (heliports) of state and EA, prohibited areas, flight restriction zones, special zones, airspace above places of public events, official sports competitions and security activities carried out in accordance with the Federal Law “On State Protection”.

Responsibility for ensuring the safe AU (preventing collisions of aircraft, manned aircraft and other material objects) is with the subjects of ELR: operators of UAS.

As a part of ELR, possible risks are elaborated and measures are developed to minimize them, which are mandatory for the subject of ELR. These measures are based on the current aviation regulations and allow for an acceptable level of probability of occurrence of risk events.

The main advantage of the “experimental” UAS operation strategy is that ELR removes most of the regulatory and legal barriers (obtaining a certificate of airworthiness of aircraft based on the act of conformity assessment, simplifying the procedure for admission to flights, etc.). However, the decision to establish ELR and approve the program of ELR is made by the Russian government by issuing a special act on the establishment of ELR and approval of the program of ELR and is valid for a very specific territory.

An “accelerated” strategy for going through regulatory procedures during the operational phase is to use the ABC within the framework of EA.

According to the Air Code of the Russian Federation, experimental aviation (EA) means aviation used for experimental research and development work, as well as testing of aviation and other equipment. The use of EA for commercial purposes is carried out in accordance with the Order of the Russian Government on 30 July 1999 №862 “On the use of state and EA for commercial purposes”. According to this decree, aviation organizations of EA are allowed to use them for a fee on a contractual basis to transport cargo (including mail) and service passengers and to performflight checks of ground means of radio technical support of flights and aviation telecommunications.

According to Article 61 clause 4 of the Air Code of the Russian Federation, the use of the aircraft by an individual or a legal entity for the purposes defined for state aviation and (or) EA does not entail an obligation for an individual or a legal entity to obtain an operator’s certificate or an equivalent document.

There are a number of restrictions on the application of the “accelerated” strategy for the commercial use of UAS.

An aviation organization, which operates UAS, must have a flight-testing unit (FTU) accredited by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation. For small enterprises engaged in the development, production and operation of UAS, the maintenance of such a subdivision can be very costly. The problem can be solved by concluding an appropriate contract with the organization, which has in its structure FTU.

For the registration of UAS as an experimental aircraft in accordance with the Federal Aviation Regulations “State accounting and registration of the certificate of fitness for flight of experimental aircraft” (approved by Order №415 of the Director General Roscosmos from 22 December 1999) and “On the order of admission to flight experimental aircraft” (approved by order №416 of 22 December 1999), one of the documents for registration permits to flight is an extract from the decision of the methodological council and, at the same time, in accordance with p. 3.2 of FAP-416 at the meeting of the Methodological Council of EA, in addition to a set of developer’s documentation, it is necessary to submit conclusions of scientific research organizations of the aviation industry: Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute; Gromov Flight Research Institute; Baranov Central Institute of Aviation Motor Development, etc. The procedure for obtaining such conclusions is quite long and very expensive. In the case of a positive decision of the Methodological Council of EA on the admission to the first flight, the aircraft is put on the state registration in accordance with the Rules of state registration of experimental aircraft of EA of the Russian Federation [21].

If the methodological council of EA has made a positive conclusion that an experimental, modified (upgraded) aircraft can be allowed to fly on the basis of analysis of the results of the first test flight, a document confirming the aircraft’s airworthiness (certificate of airworthiness of the experimental aircraft) shall be issued.

It should be noted that these procedures still need to be passed in the course of certification work to obtain the type certificate. Only after that, it will be possible to conduct certification factory and control tests, necessary for the registration of approval documentation.

Experimental aircraft are flown in accordance with the Order of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia №4855 of 5 December 2021, “On approval of the Federal Aviation Regulations to prepare for the flight of experimental aircraft and their crews, monitor their readiness and flight operations”. In this case, according to the Federal Aviation Regulations of the mandatory certification of aviation personnel of EA, issuance of certificates of aviation personnel of EA and access to specialists of aviation personnel of EA pilots of experimental unmanned aircraft should be certified and qualified as “external test pilots of unmanned aircraft” or “test operators of target load controls of UAV”.

One of the advantages of the “accelerated” UAS commercial operation strategy is that there is no need to obtain a type certificate for UAV with a maximum take-off weight of over 30 kg and no need to obtain a UAS operator’s certificate. However, the operator in this case can be only an aviation organization that has in its structure FTU accredited by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, and only an external test pilot with a corresponding certificate of an aviation specialist of the aircraft can operate UAV. This fully applies to EA engineering and technical personnel as well.

Nevertheless, even before obtaining the type certificate within EA, it is possible to demonstrate the commercial use of UAS on quite legal grounds.

5. Conclusions

The choice of the optimal strategy for the commercial application of UAS under the current regulatory framework significantly depends on the stage of the life cycle of UAS, the purposes of application and the territory of intended use.

Thus, if the UAS has received a type certificate, which, given the lack of regulatory and legal certification frameworks, according to various estimates, may take from 3 to 5 years, the optimal strategy is to obtain operator certification or expand the scope of accreditation in case the organization has a certificate of operator of manned aircraft.

If the territory of the intended commercial use is in the zone of experimental-legal regime, an “experimental” strategy of operation will allow significant acceleration of the terms of the beginning of commercial use.

UAS operation within EA also greatly facilitates the procedures of commercial use, but it is applicable only to the organizations that have FTU accredited in the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia. On the other hand, the standard procedure for obtaining a type certificate for factory certification and validation tests requires registration and a certificate of airworthiness of the experimental aircraft. Thus, even before the type certification procedure is completed, EA can already be operated for commercial purposes, without specifying anywhere the number of prototypes of the product that can be registered as EA. This strategy is well suited for demonstrating UAS capabilities to potential customers.