<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/22/russia-using-children-design-test-military-drones-investigation-finds>
"Russian authorities have systematically involved children in the design and
testing of drones for the country’s war in Ukraine through nationwide
competitions that begin with innocent-seeming video games and end up with the
most talented students headhunted by defence companies, an investigation has
found.
The revelations, part of an investigation by the exiled Russian news outlet the
Insider, are the latest to show just how much Russia’s leaders are dragging
the country’s youth into the war effort in Ukraine, with “patriotic” and
militarised education often spilling over into outright participation.
“The kids are actively involved in modelling components of systems for various
drones,” one of the teenagers involved told a journalist. “I know of several
people at least who were modelling UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] components for
major enterprises.”
Vladimir Putin has called for Russia to boost its production of drones, which
have increasingly become a key part of the war for Russia and Ukraine. But the
drone battle on the frontlines is constantly changing as both sides discover
new technologies to enable drones to fly further and evade electronic jamming
systems, and Russia is seeking the smartest tech prodigies among its youth to
help with the effort.
The path starts with a video game called
Berloga, launched in 2022, in which
“intelligent bears” have to defend themselves against swarms of bees, sometimes
using drones to repel them, the investigation found. Succeeding in the game,
which is played by hundreds of thousands of young Russians, can lead to extra
credits in exams at the end of high school.
The most successful players move into more advanced competitions, such as one
called Big Challenges, which looks for promising school pupils to be headhunted
by Russian companies, many of which are under international sanctions for their
roles in the Russian defence industry.
The Insider spoke with three teenage finalists from the competition working
on drone technology, who explained how it worked and detailed how they were
fully aware of the military application of certain projects but were encouraged
to hide it.
“We were forbidden to say that it was needed for the war, and we invented
civilian applications. It’s a children’s program … A project must always have a
dual purpose, especially when you’re a school student. It’s an unwritten rule
I’ve observed at every competition,” said one."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
