Kathrine Frich
The training includes hands-on learning with real drones, as well as sessions using simulators and 3D printing.
The training includes hands-on learning with real drones, as well as sessions using simulators and 3D printing.
Teaches teens to build and fly drones
The Russian city of Krasnodar has opened a new kind of school. Called Dobro i Nebo (“Goodness and Sky”),
it is the first after-school program in the country dedicated to teaching teenagers about drone technology.
The goal is to give students aged 14 to 18 practical skills related to drone piloting and assembly.
The program is free
According to city officials, the school is fully funded by the Krasnodar Governor’s Office.
Students will be able to take part in courses at no cost.
The training includes hands-on learning with real drones, as well as sessions using simulators and 3D printing.
Instructors include veterans from Russia’s war
Mayor Yevgeny Naumov said the school will be staffed by experienced professionals, including people who have taken part in what Russia calls its “special military operation”.
This has raised concerns about the program’s real purpose.
School leaders deny plans to militarize young people
Anna Potynga, the principal of the school, has denied that the aim is to prepare children for war.
“Drone piloting skills are valuable in civilian life,” she said.
Still, she added, “If it is ever necessary, as they say, they will be prepared.”
Students will train using drones captured in Ukraine
In one part of the training, teens will be shown drones that were taken from the battlefield in Ukraine.
These captured drones are described by staff as “trophies brought from the front by our boys.”
This adds to fears that the program leans heavily on military messaging.
The drone course lasts eight months
The school offers a full course lasting around eight months. Students will learn how to build, fly, and maintain drones over the course of two semesters.
The program aims to prepare students for future roles in either civilian tech or military operations.
Lithuania opens its own youth drone schools
Russia is not alone in launching drone programs for youth. Lithuania, a NATO member, has also opened drone training schools across the country.
These include programs for both children and adults, starting as young as 10 years old.
Both sides prepare a new generation for drone warfare
Drone warfare is becoming a part of everyday life in countries near the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
While Russia focuses on drone training through programs like the one in Krasnodar,
Western nations are doing the same under the banner of defense and innovation.
The result is a growing generation of young drone pilots on both sides of the border.
This article is made and published by Kathrine Frich, which may have used AI in the preparation
