Russian high school students will be able to train to fly combat drones from the school year that begins in September, according to a program published this Monday by the Ministry of Education, a year and a half after the offensive in Ukraine.
According to the program, Russian teenagers will be able to get acquainted with “the military use of drones” and how to “carry out reconnaissance missions using a drone.”
They will also have the opportunity to “carry out practical drone piloting actions” as well as learn how to repel “enemy drones.”
The classes to which these courses refer correspond to the age group of 15 to 17 years, within the framework of “initial military training”.
This formation, which existed in Soviet times before falling into disuse, has been relaunched for the start of the 2023-2024 school year. The course includes familiarization with weapons of war such as the Kalashnikov assault rifle, and lasts at least 140 hours.
“The introduction of a subject of this type in schools will allow citizens to be systematically prepared for a possible confrontation with the enemy,” explained Sergei Mironov, the parliamentarian behind the initiative, in November 2022.
Drones are being used on a large scale by both sides in the Ukraine conflict, and Russian territory is targeted almost daily for such attacks.
Since the start of the conflict, a number of innovations aimed at instilling patriotism and anti-Western discourse have been introduced into Russian schools.
The school week begins with the national anthem and a flag-raising ceremony, and “discussions about what’s important” have been introduced, notably to evoke the hostilities in Ukraine and justify Russia’s offensive against its neighbour.
