As part of its ongoing efforts to support the so-called "Special Military Operation", Russia has launched a new initiative: drone piloting courses for 8th and 9th grade students (ages 14–15), aiming to build a pool of up to 1 million young drone pilots by 2030.

The official textbook for these courses is published by Geoscan, a drone manufacturer currently under EU and US sanctions. One of its main shareholders is Katerina Tikhonova, the younger daughter of President Vladimir Putin. The 34-academic-hour course includes the following chapters: "Introduction to Unmanned Aviation", "Classification and Design of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles", "Electronic Components of UAVs", "Manual Piloting Basics", "Programming Autonomous Flights", and "Professional Trends in the UAV World". All assignments are designed to foster practical, hands-on skills.

This is not the first time Russia has integrated drones into education. In September 2024, a similar course—“UAV: Construction, Programming, and Piloting”—became mandatory in 532 high schools and 30 universities across the country.

Back in 2023, around 30,000 university students had already completed drone piloting courses, illustrating the strategic importance Russia places on UAV systems in modern warfare. Meanwhile, in the West, debates continue over whether drones should be prioritized or dismissed as a passing trend—an attitude increasingly challenged after Ukraine’s FPV drone strikes on Russian strategic airbases.

The UK Ministry of Defence, in its Intelligence Update of 24 July 2023, had already reported that Russian high school students were being trained in drone reconnaissance and tactical employment, while children as young as 10–11 were being taught basic assault rifle handling and first aid as part of the mandatory "Fundamentals of Homeland Security and Defense" curriculum.

In many ways, this shouldn't come as a surprise. The Soviet Union had a long tradition of early military-technical education through DOSAAF—the Voluntary Society for Cooperation with the Army, Aviation, and Navy—which was renamed ROSTO-DOSAAF in 2009. The acronym ROSTO stands for Russian Defence Sports-Technical Organization.

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