Hygienic assessment of noise in the workplaces of engineering and technical personnel operating unmanned aerial vehicles based on an air-breathing engine

Introduction. In modern armed conflict, the topic of acoustic monitoring and control has acquired a special resonance. Features of the work of the engineering and technical staff (ETS) (increased intensity and increased time for changing weapons options on an aircraft, round-the-clock operation, participation of a special category of ETS (operators of unmanned aerial vehicles — UAVs) in the use of aircraft for their intended purpose as part of flight crews and launch crews of unmanned and remotely piloted aircraft outside the main home zone, working in conditions of a possible attack on the airfield by means of enemy destruction, etc.) led to an increase in acoustic, psychoemotional and physical stress. The category of ITS UAV operators requires special attention due to its relative territorial isolation and constant change of location.The aim of the study is to obtain initial information about the acoustic conditions in which ETS activities are carried out in order to further substantiate the combat capability maintenance system of this category in the priority areas of its editing (improvement).Materials and methods. Noise measurements at ETS workplaces were carried out using special equipment using GOST 12.1.003-2014 and GOST ISO 9612-2016, and in accordance with the "Methodology for measuring the equivalent sound level in the workplace based on a work operation strategy" (MI PKF-14-010). To assess the impact of noise from a pulsating M135 air-jet engine, 5 scenarios of noise impact on ETS were implemented, depending on the conditions, modes and duration of operation.Results. For one and several pulsating air-jet engine launches, a significant excess of sound levels in terms of an 8-hour working day was recorded for all scenarios of ETS location. The range of excess for one start was from 15,3 to 36,1 dBA. For repeated launches, the excess ranged from 22,3 to 43,1 dBA.Limitations of the study. The research was conducted with the participation of ETS, which has no medical contraindications for work in the profession and is allowed to perform tasks based on the results of periodic medical examination according to the orders of the Russian Ministry of Defense.Conclusions. An aircraft UAV, based on a working pulsating air-jet engine jet engine, is a source of high-intensity excess noise. Under such operating conditions, occupational and occupational diseases can form, in addition, such noise exposure can cause a violation of the quality of ETS operational activities (an increase in the time of operations and the number of erroneous actions). In this regard, it is relevant to develop and implement anti-noise measures through the use of ETS individual and collective protection equipment.Ethics. The research was conducted in compliance with the generally accepted scientific principles of the Helsinki Declaration of the World Medical Association (ed. 2013) and in accordance with the Program-methodology developed by the Central Research Institute of the Air Force of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and coordinated with the structural unit of the employer, which manages ETS. ETS is informed about the procedure for conducting industrial research in terms of the list of methods and principles of voluntariness and anonymity. Due to the absence of personal data in the research materials, informed voluntary consent of employees is not required.Contributions:Dragan S.P. — research concept and design, analysis of measurement results;Soldatov S.K. — writing and editing;Matasova O.Y. — collecting and processing material, writing text and editing;Gadzhiev A.A. — participation in acoustic measurements;Kravchuk V.V. — conducting and analyzing the results of acoustic measurements;Gelever K.R. — conducting and analyzing the results of acoustic measurements;Illarionov A.A. — organization of research, provision of source data;Lykov V.V. — organization of research, provision of initial data.Funding. The study had no funding.Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.Received: 10.12.2025 / Accepted: 04.02.2026 / Published: 27.03.2026