The Godfather of all UAS: How the industry may change with the new Minister of Defense Belousov

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.

Pavel Kamnev, Commercial Director of the "Laboratory of the Future"

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.

Nikolai Ryashin, General Director of Rusdronoport

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.

Cui Heng, an analyst from the Shanghai National Institute of International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation of the SCO

Another Chinese expert, Wang Xiaoquan, noted that Russia is striving to stimulate scientific and technological development, including through the Ministry of Defense.