Kazakhstan is expanding its military training to incorporate lessons from drone warfare as it prepares troops for modern combat.
Col. Murat Olzhabayev, head of the Defense Ministry’s Department of Military Education and Science, said military schools are now integrating unmanned aerial systems along with artificial intelligence, simulation technology, and secure digital infrastructure into officer training to support the effort.
Personnel will also receive training to integrate drones into battlefield command-and-control systems, supported by joint exercises that bring together aviation, artillery, air defense, and communication units.
“A special focus of the practical training is on unmanned aerial systems,” Olzhabayev stated. “Cadets are mastering reconnaissance, fire correction, surveillance, and situational assessment using UAVs, as well as countermeasures against enemy drones.”
Fusing in EW Countermeasures
The strategy is coupled with specialized electronic warfare drills in which soldiers practice detecting and suppressing drones, protecting communications, locating radio signal sources, and assessing the security of military facilities under combat-like conditions.
“The battle is waged not only on the ground and in the air, but also on the airwaves,” Lt. Col. Azamat Askar stated.
“Therefore, training electronic warfare specialists is becoming a key area of combat training. At these training sessions, we focus not only on studying modern electronic warfare systems but also on joint work between representatives of various branches of the Armed Forces.”
Testing USVs, Swarms
The training push has been accompanied by a series of equipment trials.
Following the training announcement, Kazakhstan tested domestically developed unmanned ground vehicles capable of delivering ammunition, evacuating wounded personnel, transporting cargo, and providing fire support.
Separate trials also evaluated a swarming system allowing one operator to command hundreds of drones, as well as the platform’s resilience against enemy jamming capabilities.
