Putin checked out how children on the Kuril Islands are being taught to assemble and program drones
Russia has been systematically training future drone operators starting as early as elementary school. Another example of this policy was demonstrated to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin during his trip to Iturup, a Kuril Island occupied by Russia.
During his visit to a secondary school in the city of Kurilsk, Putin was shown how students are taught to design, program, and operate drones.
The training is organized by age group:
- students in grades 2–4 work with small “Vzhik” drones and learn to perform group flights;
- students in grades 5–8 assemble more complex multirotor drones;
- high school students are learning to fly airplane-type drones.
Putin was also told that a new category has been introduced in the “Professionals” championship in the Sakhalin Region: drone repair.
Training children to work with drones in Russia is systematic.
In 2023, the Russian government approved a strategy for the development of unmanned aviation through 2030, which calls for the creation of a continuous training system—from K-12 education to vocational training.
In 2024, Russia launched the federal project “Personnel for Unmanned Aerial Systems.” As part of this initiative, the design, programming, and piloting of UAVs began to be incorporated into school curricula.
The training is gradually expanding to cover different age groups. Younger students work with simple DIY drones; in grades 7–9, they study the structure and programming of drones; and high school students learn how to pilot, configure, and calculate the technical parameters of the aircraft.
Some Russian schools are also introducing specialized courses for UAV operators, using simulators, FPV systems, and training drones.
Thus, Russia is developing a multi-level system for training specialists in unmanned technologies, beginning, in effect, in elementary school.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin visited Iturup Island in the Kuril Islands for the first time; the island is the subject of a territorial dispute between Russia and Japan. Tokyo has already responded to the Russian leader’s trip and lodged a strong protest with Moscow.
Prior to this, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin arrived on Sakhalin, where he observed the final stage of exercises by the Russian Pacific Fleet. During his stay in the region, he claimed that threats to Russia in the Asia-Pacific region were allegedly on the rise and issued new threats against Western countries.
