Russia to Train 1.5 Million Drone Operators Over 5 Years, Will Use Kids to Build Them

The findings of a study conducted by several technical analysis centers and human rights organizations, which examine the activities of Russian state structures in the occupied territories, were recently presented in Kyiv. It focused on Russia’s recruitment of young people to both its military industry and armed forces within these territories.

The alarming conclusions of the study indicate that rather than preparing for peace Russia is continuing the training of military specialists on an ever-expanding scale. Within the occupied territories it is forcing Ukrainians to join up, repurposing schools and industrial infrastructure, and integrating the militarization of children into school curricula. Included in this Moscow plans to train more attack drone operators over the next five years than it currently has infantry soldiers.

How?

Millions of UAV operators needed

The report says that a June 2023 governmental decree, titled the “Strategy for the Development of Unmanned Aviation Until 2035,” demanded an increase to domestically produced UAVs be expanded to 70%, to reduce reliance on Iranian and Chinese components, expand operator training programs, and increase the number of the types of unmanned systems to 250.

The process has already started in several key areas: the transition to Russian UAV control protocols, the development of independent communication protocols, the creation of specialized educational programs, and the expansion of the IT sector support to UAV production.

The report states that, in total, this program has been allocated 546 billion rubles ($6 billion) in funding.

Several billion rubles have already been used to set up almost 5,000 specialized drone training facilities across different regions which will involve more than 580,000 state-subsidized flight hours.

Even more significant are plans to recruit personnel to operate UAVs which calls for 1,194,000 specialists to be trained between 2024 and 2030 and to increase the numbers of drone instructors from 450 to 42,800 over the same period.

This figure is staggering, as it exceeds the total number of Russian infantry troops currently deployed both on the front lines and within Russia itself. The pace of implementation is also remarkable - by 2024, more than 8,000 people had completed UAV operation and processing courses, with more than 100 engineering teams receiving training, support, and assignments from 27 companies.

Leading Russian universities are involved in the program, including Innopolis University, MIPT, MAI, and the Bauman Moscow State Technical University among them.

Educational programs include up to 256 hours of UAV operator training per person. In addition, Russian schools have already received a textbook for issue to grades 8 and 9 on labor fundamentals that cover the basics of drone assembly and operation.

According to Maxym Butchenko, one of the report’s authors, 90% of private schools in Russia now receive government funding to develop curricula and classes focused on UAV assembly and operation that are often taught by veterans of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

“So, if we include educational, military, and other specialists, Russia aims to train 1.5 million UAV operators. It’s uncertain whether they will achieve this, but the plans exist, and funding has been allocated.”

“Our research found that even children with disabilities in boarding schools are being drawn into these programs. Russia is actively developing the infrastructure and training base for this initiative.”

“For example, 167,000 drones have been purchased for school education alone, and 290 runways have been equipped as UAV training sites,” Pavlo Lysiansky, director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Security says.

This approach is resonant of the mass training of Stalin’s pilots from 1938 to 1941, which saw tens of thousands of partially trained young pilots rushed through shortened programs. The pilots, known as “Stalin’s Falcons,” were not particularly effective, yet the program mirrored similar initiatives in Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan as they prepared for aggressive wars.

Experts argue that this strongly suggests Russia is not preparing for peace but is actively planning for prolonged military confrontation where even under-trained UAV operators could still serve Russia’s strategic goals.

“It may seem that Russia doesn’t have a clear use for so many children trained in drone operations. But in reality, they can be requalified for reconnaissance and sabotage missions. Standard UAVs can penetrate 12-15 kilometers (7.5 – 9.3 miles) beyond the border, while aircraft-type UAVs can reach up to 70 kilometers (43.75 miles). This will allow anything - from explosives and sabotage devices to drugs and other contraband - to be transported across any border. What previously required physical smuggling can now be delivered to any location at any time. We are looking at the emergence of a real army of drone operators,” Ivan Stupak, an expert and former intelligence officer says.

Exploitation in the occupied territories and the assimilation of Ukrainians

The Russian project relies significantly on the involvement of the occupied territories. Experts say that, beyond military applications, this serves a socio-political function – drawing children and youths into Russia’s militarization ideology.

In 2024 alone, Moscow’s “Warrior Training Centers” trained 2,500 UAV instructors, including those stationed in the occupied territories of the Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions. In occupied Luhansk, 1,500 teachers have already undergone retraining under various Russian state programs.

“This represents a kind of military dogma - forming a new military ideology. Parents have little choice in the matter: either leave the occupied territories or secretly support the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Russians systematically destroy all means of communication with Ukraine, including satellite dishes, to prevent children from accessing alternative education,” Lysiansky says.

“Children are not only taught by Russian instructors but also by local collaborators who have agreed to work for the occupation authorities. These individuals are motivated by higher salaries and pension benefits. Parents who resist their children’s involvement face threats of physical violence or psychological pressure,” Viktoria Voynarovska, a lawyer who monitors Russia’s exploitation of children for military purposes says.

Yevhen Yerin, a representative of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense (HUR), says that for Russia, such programs are primarily a tool for de-Ukrainization and forced Russification of local youth in the occupied territories.

“The Russians are systematically and deliberately working towards their goal. They want to train a massive number of UAV operators, and integrating children into drone training is part of their assimilation strategy. When there are not enough local teachers, they bring in instructors from Russia or replace Ukrainian teachers with Russians. We are closely monitoring these developments,” Yerin says.

Experts interviewed by the Kyiv Post agree that it remains unclear how Russia may further adjust these programs in the future. However, its commitment to mass-producing drone operators - one of the most critical weapons on the modern battlefield - suggests that Moscow has no intention of pursuing a long-term peace.