TSAMTO, June 9th. RT-Design Technologies, Rostec State Corporation, and Cifroport have developed Russia's first STAR BAS life cycle management system for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Today, such operational support systems are widely used in manned aviation, but there have not yet been such solutions for drones on the Russian market. The system will allow analyzing the life cycle of drones and predicting possible failures using artificial intelligence (AI) elements. By the end of the year, it is planned to connect several dozen drones to the system as part of a partnership with Flying Tuning Machines.
The digital platform can simultaneously operate a fleet of hundreds of drones, from small multicopters to expensive heavy aircraft–type unmanned systems. It forms a digital passport of the drone, which contains the entire flight history, breakdowns, repairs and replacements of components. Among other things, the system sets up failure analysis for a specific manufacturer of parts, assemblies and the drones themselves, as well as operational statistics for pilot operators.
Currently, a partnership agreement has been concluded with the manufacturer of drones, Flying Turing Machines. A trial subscription to STAR BASS will be offered with their devices. The first UAVs are currently being prepared. In total, about 50 devices are planned for 2026, which will be serviced using the platform.
The system is designed as a desktop and web application. A framework for a mobile application has also been developed, which can be adapted to the wishes of a specific customer.
"Currently, the UAV market is growing rapidly in Russia. These are industrial and energy monitoring devices, agricultural drones, drones for government customers and training centers. There is a tendency to create fleets of unmanned vehicles, including those with heavy drones that can cost millions of dollars. At the beginning of this year, more than 145 thousand unmanned aircraft had already been registered in Russia. At the same time, 99% of drone operators still manage their lifecycle through Excel and paper magazines, and often completely neglect such control. This leads to device downtime, breakdowns and losses, which creates direct risks. As part of the pilot operation, the STAR BAS platform was tested on a fleet of 50 drones of five different types. The system reduces downtime by 60%, increases fleet availability to 95-98% and pays off in 6-12 months," said Vasily Zuikov, CEO of RT–Design Technologies.
The new solution automatically calculates the maintenance time of the UAV based on the actual flight time and regulations. The predictive analytics unit based on AI predicts component failures two to three weeks before they occur. The platform also accumulates statistics on the fleet: it identifies the most reliable and problematic drone models, assemblies and components (engines, suspensions, batteries). Based on these statistics, the platform predicts the demand for spare parts and repairs, automating purchases.
The system can also capture data from sensors installed on the drones themselves, which transmit performance indicators of the drone's elements. The platform has a corresponding module.
Accounting for the issuance and return of drones with personal statistics on pilots is provided for training centers and departments. The spare parts warehouse is under automatic control, and it takes no more than two minutes to prepare reports for management.
The platform integrates with 1C and other resource planning programs. For service centers, the platform allows accepting repair requests from third-party drone owners, creating order cards and reports for customers, without mixing these tasks with servicing their own fleet.
The message is publicly available on the website of Rostec Group of Companies.
