Drone assembly and operation classes added to Russian school curriculum

Schoolchildren in Russia are to be taught how to assemble and operate drones in classes in basic homeland security and defence, state news agency RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday.

Russia’s Cabinet of Ministers approved training aids for schoolchildren including mock-up weapons, first aid kits, tents, night vision goggles and other military equipment, Mel.fm, a radio station which focuses on educational matters, said on Wednesday.

The teaching materials are now to include drone piloting systems and drone construction kits. Schools had previously purchased drone flight simulators, though those were only used in special classes and to instruct schoolchildren aged 16 and 17 in basic military training, Mel.fm continued.

In 2023, Radio Svoboda, the Russian-language service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that minors were involved in the large-scale production of attack drones, which are actively used in the war in Ukraine, at the Alabuga Polytechnic in the republic of Tatarstan, in Russia’s Volga region, which has reportedly recruited students as young as 14 both from within Russia and from abroad, including Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, to help equip the Russian army.

Basic homeland security and defence classes replaced health and safety classes in September 2024 as Russia’s school curriculum becomes increasingly militaristic and aims to forcibly instil patriotism from an ever earlier age.