Vilnius (Lithuania): Lithuania's government plans to open nine drone training centres over the next three years to teach thousands of people, including schoolchildren, skills in flying and building drones.

Drones have become increasingly common in everyday life and warfare. The project aims to strengthen public abilities in drone control and engineering and to expand civil resistance training, the defence and education ministries said.

Lithuania, a NATO member with about 2.8 million people, borders Russia's Kaliningrad exclave and Belarus, and remains alert to possible security threats.

The first three centres are scheduled to open in September, with the remaining six by 2028. By then, 15,500 adults and 7,000 children are expected to have been trained, Defence Minister Dovile Šakaliene said.

The programme will be tailored to different age groups. Third- and fourth-grade students will build and pilot simple drones, while high school students will design parts and assemble advanced “first-person view” drones. The total investment is estimated at more than 3.3 million euros (USD 3.8 million).