YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, July 18 Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Vitaly Savelyev, during a working trip to Sakhalin, visited the drone exhibition at the Archipelago-2024 intensive and praised the development unmanned aircraft on the island, the regional government reports.
According to the press service, the Deputy Prime Minister, who oversees the national project “Unmanned Aircraft Systems” in the Russian government, also watched demonstration flights and heard a number of reports from participants on production technologies and promising developments in the field of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). 
«The results of the work and the scale of the «Archipelago» were impressive. You can feel the energy and high level of involvement of young people, you can see the deep degree of development of solutions from all categories of participants — potential customers, manufacturers and the scientific and technical community,» Savelyev noted.
He added that the work carried out by the project teams made it possible to test technological solutions in real conditions and the potential for their further implementation in the regional economy, as well as practically work out the government order for drone services in the format of exercises with elements of an economic game.
Governor Valery Limarenko, who accompanied the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Government, said that drones have long been used in the field for the benefit of people. The head of the region called Savelyev the founder of the emerging unmanned aviation industry, and Sakhalin as one of his main assistants.
«We want the entire regulatory framework for unmanned aircraft to be developed in our region. We will distribute the most successful scenarios throughout our country,» Limarenko emphasized. 
The Deputy Prime Minister also noted that unmanned aircraft are the future, and this is a global trend, and Russia keeps up with the times.
“We produce drones that can compete in the global market. This is not a game and entertainment, this is a really working tool for the national economy and the efficient operation of the economy,” Savelyev said, finally thanking the governor for his attention to unmanned aircraft and his enthusiasm for working in this sphere.
Sakhalin was not chosen by chance as the location for the Archipelago. Here, drones have been actively used in the national economy for several years: they are used to monitor forest fires, the condition of roads, spontaneous landfills, and transport biomaterials and medicines between medical institutions. In addition, the Russian government has identified the Sakhalin region (among eight regions of the country) as a platform for creating a research and production center for the development of unmanned aircraft.
The annual design and educational intensive «Archipelago» is taking place this year in the Sakhalin region from July 8 to July 21. It brought together more than 4.5 thousand participants from 78 regions. The main venues for representatives of technology companies and startups, engineering and management teams of regions and universities, representatives of scientific organizations that are developing projects in the field of new technologies, including hydrogen, were Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and the Pushisty airfield in the Korsakov region. The event was organized by the Platform of the National Technology Initiative (NTI), the Government of the Sakhalin Region, the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, the NTI Project Support Fund and the University 2035.