Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted the candidacy of Acting First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov for the post of Minister of Defense instead of Sergei Shoigu for consideration by members of parliament. Experts spoke about the prospects for the development of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) if Belousov heads the defense department.
Pavel Kamnev, Commercial Director of the "Laboratory of the Future," said that with the arrival of Belousov, the field of military drones may actively develop.
This will improve the provision of our troops with modern UAS, retransmission and encryption systems, payloads, and UAV communication systems that are more resistant to electronic warfare.
He emphasized that the modern army is based on economics, industry, logistics and innovation.
Nikolai Ryashin, General Director of Rusdronoport, called Belousov the "driver" of all UAS. In his opinion, the acting Vice Prime Minister is deeply immersed in this topic.
The prospect of Belousov's appointment as Minister of Defense may mean that work on the development of unmanned technologies will be strengthened for the needs of the Ministry of Defense.
Belousov's main statements on the development of UAS:
Andrei Belousov can rightfully be called the "godfather" of the UAS industry in Russia. As Deputy Prime Minister, he has repeatedly spoken about problems in unmanned aviation:
- in April 2023, at a meeting with Vladimir Putin, he raised the issue of UAS certification
- in October 2023, at a meeting of the Presidium of the Government Commission on the development of UAS, he spoke about the procedure for opening airspace for drone flights in the regions
- in November 2023, he called for increasing the production of UAVs in Russia
- in January 2024, he instructed the government commission to finalize the plan for the production of UAVs, taking into account the certification and procurement plan under the state order
- in February 2024, he announced the need to introduce a quality control system for manufactured UAVs at enterprises
Russia is ready to play the long game
The Chinese edition of Global Times, commenting on Putin's proposal of Belorusov's candidacy for the post of head of the Ministry of Defense, noted that "Russia is ready to play the long game." According to columnist Yang Sheng, Moscow expects to support its army through competent economic policy. He also quoted Chinese analyst Cui Heng.
Andrei Belousov does not have a military education, his appointment is aimed at using his economic knowledge and experience to ensure sustainable economic development of the country.
Another Chinese expert, Wang Xiaoquan, noted that Russia is striving to stimulate scientific and technological development, including through the Ministry of Defense.
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