Lithuania will open nine drone training centers by 2028 to teach more than 22,000 people, including schoolchildren, how to build and operate drones as part of a civil resistance program, the government announced Tuesday.
The €3.3 million ($3.8 million) initiative, run by the Defense and Education ministries, will train 15,500 adults and 7,000 children in drone control and engineering. Primary students will assemble and pilot basic drones, while older students will design and 3D-print components and learn to operate advanced first-person view (FPV) models.
According to the Lithuanian government, the first three centers will open in Jonava, Tauragė, and Kėdainiai this September, with six additional facilities planned over the next three years. Each center will be equipped with FPV drones, control systems, software, and a mobile educational app.
Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said the project is designed to boost national security in response to regional threats. Lithuania, a NATO member of 2.8 million, borders Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave and Belarus.
Drones have played a central role in Ukraine’s defense against Russia, and Lithuania has already increased aerial surveillance after suspected Russian drones entered its airspace in July.
Last month, Russia released footage of its massive drone production plant in Yelabuga, Tatarstan. where ninth-grade students are reportedly employed.
