Russia Spends $82 Million On 18,000 Combat Drones To Train Teenagers For War

Russia has purchased 18,000 drones for 500 schools at a cost of 8.38 billion rubles ($82 million USD) in 2024 as part of a program training teenagers to operate unmanned aerial vehicles for combat, according to Ukrainian intelligence reports.

The program, which began in 2023, targets students from grades 8-9 and aims to develop “understanding of modern combat experience,” according to the intelligence data. The drones are being used to teach skills including reconnaissance, strike operations, and targeted attacks.

Russia Plans Million Drone Specialists By 2030

“By 2030, Moscow plans to equip 4,872 schools and 380 colleges with drones, as well as train a million so-called specialists in unmanned systems,” Ukrainian intelligence reported.

Regional authorities are establishing specialized centers on college campuses where instructors, including teachers, receive training in “combat aspects.” These facilities include classrooms, flight zones, and 3D printing sections for drone production.

The scale represents a staggering investment in militarizing Russia’s youth. With 18,000 drones distributed across 500 schools in just 2024, the program is expanding at a rate that suggests Russia is preparing for sustained, long-term military operations requiring massive numbers of drone operators and technicians.

Putin’s Daughter Connected To Drone Training Materials

In September 2024, Russia introduced its first official textbook for studying unmanned aerial systems. The manual was developed in collaboration with the Geoscan group, which is controlled by a fund linked to Katerina Tikhonova, Vladimir Putin’s daughter, according to independent Russian media reports.

The National Intellectual Development Foundation (Innopraktika), headed by Tikhonova, acquired a 10% stake in Geoscan in November 2023. Ukraine imposed sanctions on Geoscan earlier that year after officials announced the company’s facilities would produce drones for Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Geoscan’s net profit reportedly jumped 6.2 times to a record 1.27 billion rubles ($15 million USD) in 2024 following the foundation’s investment, according to Ukrainian counter-disinformation reports.

Systematic Militarization Of Education

The initiative represents what Ukrainian intelligence describes as a systematic Kremlin course toward militarizing education amid Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine. The program shifts focus from civilian skills to what the report characterizes as “technologies of killing,” which Ukrainian officials say violates conventions on children’s rights and creates a generation prepared for conflict escalation.

The training infrastructure being built goes far beyond simple classroom instruction. Regional centers feature hands-on facilities where teenagers learn not just to fly drones, but to manufacture them using 3D printing technology—creating a complete pipeline from design to deployment.

The million-specialist target by 2030 suggests Russia is building infrastructure for sustained military operations requiring drone operators and technicians at a scale that exceeds its current infantry forces. According to analysis from Kyiv Post, Moscow plans to train more attack drone operators over the next five years than it currently has infantry soldiers.

DroneXL’s Take

This $82 million investment in forcing combat drone training on 500,000 teenagers stands in stark contrast to how democratic nations are approaching drone education—and the numbers tell a disturbing story about Russia’s long-term military ambitions.

We’ve been tracking Russia’s school militarization program since it was first announced in April 2024, when the Kremlin revealed plans to teach students “how to manufacture and operate the lethal drones currently targeting Ukraine.”

By September 2024, 523 schools launched educational programs on drone development, production, and operation. Then in June 2025, we covered the release of Russia’s first official drone textbook—developed by a company controlled by Putin’s daughter’s foundation, which has profited handsomely from the war.

The contrast with Ukraine couldn’t be sharper. While Russia forces teenagers into combat training, Ukraine earned its drone expertise through brutal necessity—and is now teaching NATO forces the survival skills they desperately need.

Ukrainian operators didn’t learn from textbooks written by oligarchs’ children. They learned by facing nightly Russian drone barrages, developing interceptor drones that destroy $35,000 Shaheds for $2,500, and shooting down Danish drones during NATO exercises while European officers watched in amazement.

Then there’s Lithuania’s approach. When Russian drones started crashing on Lithuanian soil from Belarus, the country responded with a voluntary program backed by €2.5 million to teach 22,500 kids and adults drone skills for national defense. The difference? Lithuanian 10-year-olds are learning to protect their democracy. Russian teenagers are being trained to attack other countries.

Russia’s million-operator target isn’t about STEM education or career opportunities—it’s about creating the world’s largest drone warfare infrastructure. The Putin family’s financial stake in the training materials removes any doubt about motives. This is military-industrial complex 2.0, where the dictator’s daughter profits from teaching children “technologies of killing” while Ukraine’s defenders earn NATO’s respect the hardest way possible.

The lesson for the drone industry is sobering: authoritarian regimes will weaponize civilian technology and force it on children, while democracies must either learn from those defending themselves or develop their own expertise before it’s too late. Ukraine is teaching that second lesson to NATO right now.

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