From October 1, 2026, connection to ERA-GLONASS becomes a mandatory condition for submitting drone flight plans. This is reported by the Russian Ministry of Transport.

If the drone owner does not have an active personal account in the state information system, the flight application will be rejected at the submission stage to the State ATM Corporation.

What this means

The requirement applies to unmanned aerial vehicles weighing more than 250 grams. They must be equipped with remote identification equipment that transmits information about the drone, its owner, location, altitude, and flight path to the system.

The adaptation period lasted seven months — from March 1 to October 1, 2026. During this time, owners and operators had to equip drones with trackers and register a personal account.

According to the Ministry of Transport, 1027 users are connected to the system: 752 legal entities and 278 individuals. Among them are 50 professional operators — unmanned airlines. In total, 1205 UAVs are registered in the system.

Drones are used in agriculture, infrastructure monitoring, forestry, aerologistics, and aerial photography.

How the system works

ERA-GLONASS receives data from cellular, satellite, and hybrid trackers, as well as broadcast-type devices. The system assigns each civilian drone