Smart UAVs Boost Yields on Waterlogged Fields
Over three years, farmers in Russia’s Samara Oblast increased the acreage treated with agricultural drones 13-fold.
Traditionally, farmers in Russia have relied on ground-based machinery for all types of fieldwork. But many parts of the country frequently experience waterlogged soils. Unpredictable weather can leave fields inaccessible to heavy equipment. Even when machinery can enter fields after rainfall, its wheels can compact the soil and damage the topsoil, reducing soil fertility. In Samara Oblast, unmanned technologies are helping crop producers overcome these challenges.
When Weather Disrupts Fieldwork, Drones Step In
In 2024, agricultural drones treated 22,000 hectares in Samara Oblast. By 2025, that figure had climbed to nearly 168,000 hectares. The main driver was a severe weather event. Rainfall was unusually heavy in 2025, preventing ground-based machinery from reaching fields when needed. To meet critical agronomic deadlines, farmers turned to unmanned aircraft.
Regional authorities helped make this possible. The Samara Oblast government and drone manufacturers established an association of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) manufacturers and developers, with the primary goal of expanding the market for drone services.
Small regional farming businesses no longer need to buy their own agricultural drones. They can avoid the time and expense of purchasing UAVs, obtaining an operator certificate and a remote pilot certificate, securing medical clearance, and coordinating flights. Specialized service providers carry out the required work and take responsibility for these operational challenges. Farmers pay only for the treatment of their agricultural land.
For large companies managing extensive acreage, owning and operating their own equipment can make more economic sense. In Samara Oblast, these companies can receive subsidies covering up to 40% of the cost of purchasing UAVs and related equipment, including navigation systems, autopilots, sensors and onboard computers.
Building Homegrown Technologies
This comprehensive approach has helped Samara Oblast become one of Russia’s leading regions in agricultural drone technology. As of early October 2026, 102 UAVs had treated 292,434 hectares of cropland in the region.
Meanwhile, the Federal Center for Agricultural Unmanned Systems Research and Testing, established at the Volga Region State Machine Testing Station (Povolzhskaya MIS), is developing quality standards for field treatment and conducting technical assessments of agricultural drones. Its specialists evaluate agronomic performance and recommend optimal operating parameters for UAV applications.
“The active phase of unmanned systems adoption began over the past three to four years. Today, the region has built a strong center of expertise, with five major drone operators in operation. The Povolzhskaya MIS has played a particularly important role. Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture designated it the country’s lead federal testing station for agricultural drones. In its very first year, the facility helped significantly refine the technology, reduce unintended side effects, and make field treatments safer and more effective,” said Denis Gerasyonkov, deputy minister of agriculture and food of Samara Oblast.
The region is also rapidly expanding drone manufacturing. It has a UAS cluster comprising six organizations and a regional unmanned aviation development program running through 2030. “For us, unmanned systems are an industry of the future. More broadly, around 20% of all components used in unmanned systems across the country are now manufactured in Samara Oblast,” said Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, governor of Samara Oblast.
Another sign of this momentum came on October 14, 2026, when Drone-Service, a company operating agricultural UAVs, demonstrated an upgraded version 2.0 of the heavy-lift S-80 drone, known as the Hector S-80 agricultural drone, in Krasnoyarsky District of Samara Oblast. Developed by Transport Budushchego (Future of Transport), the aircraft was demonstrated in field conditions to more than 40 representatives of the agricultural sector and industry experts. It carries a payload of 50 kilograms and can spray 12–14 hectares per hour.
Russian Precision Agriculture Platforms
The development of unmanned technologies for Russia’s agricultural sector is now a priority for modernization. The Ministry of Agriculture has selected Moscow, Leningrad and Samara oblasts as pilot regions for test sites where unmanned and autonomous technologies can be trialed in agricultural operations. The ultimate goal is to develop optimized equipment packages suited to farms of different sizes.
Drones are becoming a routine part of Russian agriculture, and their development marks an important step toward precision-agriculture platforms. Integrating UAVs with geographic information systems, Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and algorithms that forecast crop diseases, while using artificial intelligence to plan fieldwork, can make crop production more efficient, particularly as climate conditions continue to change.
These technologies can do more than increase yields. They can also open up new export opportunities. Experts say Russian agricultural drones currently have an advantage in global markets because they offer a strong balance of price and quality. Potential buyers include countries across the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Global South, where farmers need to improve productivity under challenging operating conditions.
