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Russia and Belarus Introduce Drone Education for Schoolchildren

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Photo of Liubava Petriv
Liubava Petriv
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Russia and Belarus Introduce Drone Education for Schoolchildren
A school classroom remains heavily damaged by a Russian airstrike on March 19, 2025 in Samotoivka, Sumy Oblast, Ukraine. (Source: Getty Images)

Russia and Belarus are taking new steps to integrate drone technology education into their school systems, aiming to better prepare students for careers in rapidly developing technological fields.

In Russia, the country’s first school textbook on unmanned aerial systems has officially received the status of an educational textbook, allowing it to be purchased through centralized government procurement. The textbook, titled Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Grades 8–9, was developed by the Geoscan Group in partnership with the publishing house Prosveshchenie and has been added to the federal list of approved textbooks.

According to Geoscan, the material was created as part of the federal initiative “Personnel for Unmanned Aerial Systems” to help introduce students to drone technologies and related career paths. The course is designed for use within the “Robotics” module of the “Technology” subject, and can also be used in extracurricular and additional educational programs.

This is currently the only school-level publication on drone systems in Russia to pass official state review. The textbook includes topics such as an introduction to unmanned aviation, drone structure and classification, manual piloting, programming autonomous flights, and global industry trends. The course spans 34 instructional hours and is authored by Geoscan experts with years of experience in both drone technology and educational robotics.

“We focused not just on theory but on practical, field-tested material,” said Mikhail Lutsky, head of educational projects at Geoscan and co-author of the textbook. “This course is designed to be engaging and accessible for modern students, following best teaching practices.”

Meanwhile, in Belarus, schools will begin offering a new elective course titled “Fundamentals of Drone Control” starting in the upcoming academic year. Aimed at students in grades 8 and 9, the elective will combine theoretical knowledge with hands-on practice, particularly through virtual flight simulators.

Students will also be introduced to basic principles of aerodynamics, mechanics, electronics, and programming. The course materials are being developed by specialists from the National Children’s Technopark and the Belarusian State Aviation Academy.

Previously, it was reported that Russian occupation authorities have established social media training centers in Mariupol, aiming to recruit local youth to produce pro-occupation content.

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