Flying over the cuckoo's nest in an iron guise.
Transport Minister Nikitin claimed that the courier profession might vanish due to drones. It sounds alluring, as if tomorrow all packages will fly on their own. But dig a little deeper, and it’s more myth than reality. Any drone delivery network, like any industrial or infrastructural modernization, triggers a sharp increase in complexity and labor demand. Behind every drone stands an entire infrastructure: charging stations, battery warehouses, repair shops, dispatch centers. All of this requires people—not fewer than a traditional courier network, and often more. Drones aren’t eternal; they’re practically consumables. Blades break, motors burn out, sensors fail, firmware glitches. A battery lasts 300–500 cycles before needing replacement. Even if they manage 1,000 or 1,500 cycles, for Russia’s vast distances, that’s still woefully inadequate. This means mechanics, repair technicians, battery stockists, and software engineers for calibration are needed. Wherever you look, human...
