An interdepartmental technical council for the development of unmanned systems and maritime technologies has been established within the structure of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Its task is to accelerate the development and implementation of naval unmanned systems in the Russian Armed Forces, including unmanned boats and drones.
The council will direct its efforts toward supporting the development of various types of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) — “Katran,” the “Skvorets VMF” (FPV) USV, the heavy uncrewed boat GRK 700 “Vizir,” as well as additional technological solutions that may be used for the development of naval unmanned systems. This includes “Hermes” communication systems, the “Ploshchad” and “Orbita” hardware-software complexes, a universal ground control station for USVs, and others.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has set specific deadlines for the implementation of these projects: by August 31, 2025 – selection of the most promising technologies; by October 31, 2025 – functional testing of the selected developments by the Russian Navy; following this – the formation of a state procurement order, launch of serial production, and official commissioning of the new equipment.
