Nonetheless, Russia’s effort to recruit student drone pilots goes toward its goal of having 168,000 drone operators by the end of 2026, according to the Kyiv Independent. In that sense, Russia is copying the success of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Force that became the world’s first standalone military branch focused on drones in June 2024.
The Russian recruitment efforts have typically promised that university students can serve as drone pilots without risking their lives in bloody infantry assaults on Ukrainian trenches and fortifications. But safety is a relative term as constant surveillance and the threat of drone strikes or artillery fire has created a “kill zone” stretching as far as
→ Continue reading at Ars Technica