Russia cracking down on drone usage as it makes ERA-GLONASS navigation tech mandatory — GPS rival can monitor up to 1 million drones on land, water, and in the air in real time
Russia says its drone tracker lets officials land every drone in an area at the push of a button.
Russia is imposing new regulations on drone usage as of October 1, 2026, requiring all civilian drones weighing over 250 grams to be connected to its ERA-GLONASS tracking system. This system, Russia's own emergency call and telematics platform, can monitor up to 1 million drones in real-time across land, water, and airspace. The Ministry of Transport announced the requirement, stating that drones not connected to ERA-GLONASS will not be accepted for flight plans.
The system, which was initially developed to dispatch ambulances to car crashes, has been tracking drones since 2017. As of January 2026, 1,027 users are connected, comprising 752 organizations and 278 individuals, including 50 professional drone operators. 1,205 drones are registered. Despite the ambitious claims of monitoring 1 million drones, the number of registered drones is significantly lower.
The system's ability to forcefully stop drones has been questioned, as it only allows for a one-way data feed from drones to monitoring services.
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