Chechnya is among the Russian regions introducing a drone-piloting standard under the GTO physical fitness programme as part of the federal project Na Vysote! (“At Altitude!”). According to the Vedomosti newspaper, the initiative aims to “popularise” drone piloting among young people and train specialists for the unmanned aircraft industry. Russian officials have also openly acknowledged that the skills acquired could be used in the war against Ukraine.

Alongside Chechnya, the pilot programme includes Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod and Smolensk regions, Krasnoyarsk Krai and Bashkortostan, according to the Russian Ministry of Sport’s website.

The Na Vysote! project was presented in Moscow with the participation of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko and Sergei Kiriyenko, first deputy chief of staff of the Presidential Administration. It предусматривает the establishment of specialised unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) classes in educational institutions, drone-piloting competitions and the introduction of a corresponding GTO standard.

Chernyshenko said that more than 700 educational institutions had already received equipment for training, while around 200 more were awaiting deliveries. In October 2026, according to Mikhail Kuznetsov, head of the executive committee of the All-Russia People’s Front, the number of such classes was expected to reach around 100. The presentation also revealed that more than half of the instructors at colleges providing drone-piloting training were military personnel who had returned from the war.

Russian authorities view training UAV operators as more than a way to develop engineering skills. Chernyshenko said the knowledge acquired could be put to use “when the motherland needs it”, including during what Moscow calls its “special military operation”.

“War has always been a driver of progress,” Vedomosti quoted Kuznetsov as saying.