Russia's Transport Ministry has proposed suspending the application of requirements for civilian drones to use cryptographic protection certified by the Federal Security Service (FSB) for at least 18 months. A draft amendment identified by Verstka would defer enforcement until March 2028.
The requirements took effect on March 1, 2026. They cover, among other aircraft, drones weighing between 250 grams and 30 kilograms that operate within their pilots' visual line of sight, as well as drones using airfields shared with crewed aircraft. The security systems are intended to prevent hijacking of control signals and spoofing of commands.
In an explanatory note, the ministry cites industrial, technological and legal obstacles to compliance. The Aeronext industry association previously said that 80–90% of drones registered with Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency could not technically be fitted with an available certified hardware security device. That percentage is the association's estimate, not an independently verified count of aircraft.
This remains a draft proposal: the requirements introduced in March are still in force. If the resolution is adopted, the postponement would take effect after its official publication.