Uzbekistan intends to create a specialized research and production enterprise Innovation Center, which will be engaged in the operation of unmanned air vehicles (UAV) on the territory of the republic.
The measures are provided for by the draft government decree, which is currently in the stage of development.
The idea of development of drone industry has been recently initiated by President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev during his trip to the Tashkent region.
“The up-to-date devices are essential for agriculture. We have to shift rapidly to modern technologies, if we are concerned about its future. It is time to pay close attention to the development of drone production, organize a joint venture for these purposes and train the qualified staff,” the head of state said.
It is expected that once the document enters into force, all UAVs in Uzbekistan, regardless of the type of ownership, can be used only under the supervision of a competent employee of the enterprise. Meanwhile, the purchase of air vehicles will be made only upon agreement with the enterprise on the basis of applications of interested organizations.
The Innovation Center will merge the State Committee for Land Resources, Geodesy, Cartography and State Cadastre.
Its main missions will include the application of unmanned air vehicles in economic sectors, development of recommendations for their application, organization of research and engineering work on improvement of functional and technical capacity of unmanned vehicles.
The structure will also collect, analyze, process and store the data obtained during the use of drones, render repair and maintenance services, localize structural elements and develop software for them.
Appropriate training of drone management and maintenance staff is another important area.
The enterprise will be financed from the funds for rental of these devices, provision of services for their repair and maintenance. In addition, part of the funds will be allocated by the Fund for the Development of Land Relations and the State Cadastre.