Russia has purchased 18,000 drones for 500 schools at a cost of 8.38 billion rubles in 2024 as part of a program training teenagers to operate unmanned aerial vehicles for combat, according to Ukrainian intelligence reports.
The program, which began in 2023, targets students from grades 8-9 and aims to develop "understanding of modern combat experience," according to the intelligence data. The drones are being used to teach skills including reconnaissance, strike operations, and targeted attacks.
"By 2030, Moscow plans to equip 4,872 schools and 380 colleges with drones, as well as train a million so-called specialists in unmanned systems," Ukrainian intelligence reported.
Regional authorities are establishing specialized centers on college campuses where instructors, including teachers, receive training in "combat aspects." These facilities include classrooms, flight zones, and 3D printing sections for drone production.
In September 2024, Russia introduced its first official textbook for studying unmanned aerial systems. The manual was developed in collaboration with the Geoscan group, which is controlled by a fund linked to Katerina Tikhonova, Vladimir Putin's daughter, according to the intelligence report.
The initiative represents what Ukrainian intelligence describes as a systematic Kremlin course toward militarizing education amid Russia's ongoing aggression against Ukraine. The program shifts focus from civilian skills to what the report characterizes as "technologies of killing," which Ukrainian officials say violates conventions on children's rights and creates a generation prepared for conflict escalation.
The scale of the program indicates long-term planning, with the million-specialist target suggesting Russia is building infrastructure for sustained military operations requiring drone operators and technicians.
