ZALA T-16 operator detected a 70-metre-long message «Zhenya» in the Urals Mountains

During routine monitoring of fuel and energy facilities in the Kaltasinskiy district of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the ZALA T-16 unmanned aerial vehicle system recorded an unusual artefact on the ground. From a height of several hundred metres, the UAV camera detected a clearly readable man-made message - the word «Zhenya» planted from pine trees.

The dimensions of the modern «geoglyph» are 40 by 70 metres. The authorship and purpose of the message are still a mystery. Operators speculate that the find is related to the the Soviet tradition of planting trees in honour of significant dates or specific personalities.

The ability of the ZALA ballistic missile launcher to recognise such objects has already been used in the scientific community: previously ZALA unmanned systems were used to explore the famous geoglyphs on the Nazca Plateau in Peru..