Lithuania plans to teach more than 22,000 people how to build and operate drones at nine new training centres over the next three years, the country’s defence ministry has announced.
The initiative, run jointly with the Education Ministry, will target both schoolchildren and adults. The first three centres are due to open in Jonava, Tauragė and Kėdainiai this September.
"We plan that 15,500 adults and 7,000 children will acquire drone control skills by 2028. In September, we will open drone control centers in Jonava, Taurage and Kedainiai, and we will open six more drone training centers in other regions of Lithuania by 2028," Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said.
Such facilities are set to open in Šiauliai and Panevėžys in 2026, Utena and Telšiai in 2027, and Klaipėda and Marijampolė in 2028, the ministry said.
The €3.3m programme will fund specialist equipment such as indoor and outdoor first-person view (FPV) drones, control and video transmission systems, software and a mobile educational app.
According to the Defense Ministry, the project aims to strengthen public competences in the field of UAV control and engineering, as well as to expand training in civil resistance. For adults, the training will be delivered by the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union in cooperation with the Lithuanian Non-formal Education Agency (LINEŠA), which will also provide training to schoolchildren from 3rd to 12th grade.
Lessons will be adapted for age groups ranging from primary pupils to upper secondary students, covering everything from building simple UAVs through games to designing 3D-printed drone parts and competing in national contests.
Lithuania has been increasing its focus on drone technology amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, where UAVs are used extensively for reconnaissance and strike missions.
The country has also bolstered its aerial surveillance and counter-drone capabilities following incidents in July, when two drones, believed to be Russian, crossed from Belarus into Lithuanian territory.
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