New Russian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have arrived in the Kamchatka Territory to protect forests from fires. The regional Ministry of Forestry and Hunting reported that about 3 million rubles were allocated for the purchase of equipment as part of the national project “Stimulating demand for domestic unmanned aircraft systems.”
The ministry explains that the technical characteristics of the new UAVs allow them to be used in the difficult climatic conditions of Kamchatka. The devices are capable of rising to a height of up to 4 kilometers, have a range of 10 kilometers and can stay in the air for up to 40 minutes. In addition, they are resistant to adverse weather conditions and are capable of operating in winds up to 10 m/s.
The regional government reported that following the results of the 2024 fire season, 15 forest fires were eliminated in the region on a total area of 1.3 thousand hectares, which is 12 times less than in 2023. Due to the low snowfall this year, the fire season in Kamchatka will start earlier than usual. If earlier it started during the May holidays, now the dates are shifting. Yelizovsky, Sobolevsky, Milkovsky, Bystrinsky and Tigilsky districts and districts are considered the most vulnerable to fires in 2025.