A unified course on unmanned systems will be introduced in transport universities of the Russian Federation from September 1.

A unified course on unmanned transport systems will be introduced in Russian transport universities from September 1, 2026. This was announced by the head of the Ministry of Transport Andrey Nikitin in the Federation Council on June 17.

"Starting from September 1, 2026, a single basic course on unmanned transport systems will be introduced," he said.

Nikitin added that the issue of personnel training in the new reality is one of the main priorities of the Ministry. He said that the Russian University of Transport would be the flagship of these transformations, given that it was included in the list of universities that, by decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, participate in the formation of a new model of engineering education.

"New specialties and educational programs in advanced fields are being developed on the basis of the RUT. These are intelligent transport systems, digital technologies, and artificial intelligence. Then they will be implemented in all our branch universities," the minister concluded.

Cargo transshipment: Putin called unmanned transport effective in Russia

The President launched the autonomous movement along the M-12 Vostok and called for the modernization of the industry's infrastructure.

Vladimir Putin, speaking at a press conference in Astana on May 29, said that Russia has made good progress in the development of unmanned vehicles. He pointed out that digitalization of processes provides assistance to the Russian Federation in various industries, including medicine. At the same time, while developing high technologies, it is very important to preserve our sovereignty, Putin stressed.

Dmitry Zverev, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, announced at the V Eurasian Economic Forum on May 28 that Russia and Kazakhstan had conducted cross-border unmanned cargo transportation for the first time. According to him, the regulation of the movement of highly automated vehicles should be developed taking into account the national legislation of the two countries.