Shaman, the 19-year-old drone operator, flies a quadcopter drone during a demonstration event organized by members of the “Berkut Military-Sports Cossack Club” in a shopping centre in Voronezh on January 24, 2026.
AFP via Getty Images
Russia is recruiting female university students into its rapidly expanding drone force as drone warfare increasingly rewards technical skills, digital literacy and quick decision making over physical strength.
The Kremlin created the Unmanned Systems Forces in November 2025 after nearly four years of war in Ukraine. The new branch institutionalizes Russia’s growing reliance on unmanned systems. The move reflects the success of elite drone formations such as Rubicon, which helped blunt Ukraine’s offensive into Russia’s Kursk region by using drones to disrupt frontline logistics.
“The Russian military wants to attract the best and brightest and technologically proficient to serve in the Unmanned Systems Forces,” Samuel Bendett, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, told me in an interview. “Today there are many women in Russia who have the required skills.”
Ukrainian operators say Russia’s investment in drone personnel is becoming increasingly evident.
“Their effectiveness is continuing to grow undoubtedly,” Dmytro Zhlutenko of Ukraine’s 413th Separate Battalion “Raid,” an unmanned systems unit, told me. He said Russia has intensified recruiting at leading technical universities while elite formations such as Rubicon continue attracting skilled volunteers.
Recruiting Technical Talent
Russian authorities have approached female university students with offers to become drone operators, portraying the role as a relatively safe technical profession. In May, Bloomberg reported that Russia is recruiting college students with academic leave and financial incentives as it seeks programmers, gamers and drone pilots for its expanding unmanned forces.
A February Jamestown Foundation report found drone operator curricula at 32 Russian universities, creating a long term recruitment pipeline.
Russia is also building a distinct identity for its drone force. Analysts at Ukraine Control Map say many new unmanned systems formations have adopted standardized black and white branding and may also serve as training and force generation hubs, although their exact organization remains unclear.
Russian commentators have also promoted all female drone formations such as the “Night Witches 2.0” unit within the BARS SARMAT volunteer formation, while state media increasingly highlights female drone operators.
“The USF creation is a way for the Russian military to step away from that by creating a new high tech force built around the latest technologies and staffed by the country’s best and most motivated people,” Bendett said.
Russian military lawyer Sergei Mamontov said contracts for drone service offer fewer protections than many recruits believe because commanders ultimately decide personnel assignments.
A June BBC Russian Service investigation found several students recruited as drone operators were initially assigned to assault units despite being recruited specifically as drone operators. The BBC has also identified more than 1,000 Russian drone operators killed during the war, underscoring that the role remains highly dangerous.
Former Rubicon drone operator Miroslav Simonov has also described drone specialists being threatened with reassignment to assault units if they failed to meet expectations.
“Russia has likely increased the tactical effectiveness of drone operations by moving operators closer to the front line,” Serhii Kuzan, chairman of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center, told me. “Russia is trading personnel safety for operational effectiveness, and this is characteristic of its current model of warfare: mass, proximity to the battlefield, and acceptable losses.”
Russia’s effort to recruit women reflects a broader shift in modern warfare. The battlefield increasingly rewards technical expertise as much as physical endurance.