Estonia is preparing to train thousands of civilians in military-grade drone skills, launching an ambitious new programme that could reshape the country’s defence readiness for the drone-led battlefields of the future.

The Estonian version of this article was originally published on TalTech’s portal, Trialoog.

The drone-training programme Kuri Kotkas – “The Angry Eagle” – aims to send thousands of Estonians quite literally into the air. Participants emerge with basic military-oriented drone-flying skills, forming a potential pipeline of future drone pilots who could one day offer direct support to national defence.

The initiative, created jointly by the Estonian defence ministry, the Defence League, and the girls’ technology movement HK Unicorn Squad, is a civic project whose founders include the technology entrepreneur and TalTech alumnus Taavi Kotka.

Taavi Kotka believes too few successful people in Estonia give back to society in any meaningful way. Support often goes to board members’ hobbies or isolated sporting events, he says, while a true culture of giving should be far more deeply rooted. Photo: Koos

Kotka argues that Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine has shown just how central drones – and the ability to use them deftly – have become to modern military conflict. Estonia’s own defence capability increasingly hinges on a simple question: how many people here know how to fly drones, and are confident enough to do so?

A civic initiative taking flight

Kotka, a co-founder of the HK Unicorn Squad, notes that drone instruction is already a natural part of the girls’ technology curriculum. Among adults, however, this basic knowledge is far scarcer. “I’ve been immersed in the world of drone building and flying for seven or eight years, and I see how simple and how necessary it really is. Yet you can also see that many adults – including my own friends – lack even the most elementary skills,” he said.

Professional drone courses do exist in Estonia, but few people reach them because they lack the initial confidence and hands-on experience. “It’s a bit like turning up at Kelly Sildaru’s door for freestyle ski lessons when you can’t yet ski,” Kotka remarked.

So the idea was born to start teaching basic drone skills to adults as well. If Unicorn Squad nurtures technological curiosity among girls, Kuri Kotkas aims to offer the same opportunity to adults of all genders – but in a distinctly military key.

The programme follows a “sieve” or “funnel” model: cast the net as widely as possible, allow everyone interested to experience drone-flying first-hand, and let them decide whether it is something for them. Those who show serious interest may later progress to more advanced training to become professional drone pilots.

Taavi Kotka says the programme follows a funnel approach: involve as many people as possible, let them try drone flying first-hand, and allow those with deeper interest to progress to more advanced training towards becoming professional pilots. Photo by Martin Villig.

Interest has been exceptionally strong. Training will take place in small groups of 12, ensuring that every participant gets adequate flying time and practical instruction. The emphasis is entirely hands-on: learners practise real flight sessions and use Ukrainian training simulators that reproduce scenarios such as signal loss, jamming, or operating under fire.

Most of the courses, Kotka adds, will run next year – once the Defence League has procured the necessary equipment and trained instructors, allowing the system to operate at full capacity.

Why good ideas take time

Kotka admits that securing state support and cooperation was not easy. “My first attempt failed. I pitched the idea to the defence ministry a year and a half ago – they said ‘let’s do it’, but nothing happened.” He realised that if one wants change, one must get personally involved.

Working with a police instructor, he developed the training methodology, ran pilot courses, and only then wrote a memo to the defence ministry. This time, things began to move. “You have to be persistent. And often, as an engineer, the only option is to lay everything out as clearly as possible yourself.”

He believes real change comes from action, not waiting. By that principle, he has contributed nearly €2 million of his own funds to HK Unicorn Squad. The initiative has created an environment in which girls feel confident in the world of technology – with the result that, among 8–13-year-olds, more girls than boys are now studying technology.

Unicorn Squad was founded in 2018 in Miiduranna, Viimsi, by Taavi and Kersti Kotka, who felt there was a lack of supportive spaces where girls could explore technology and robotics. Photo by Unicorn Squad.

According to Kotka, Estonia still has too few people who, after achieving success, give enough back to society. Support often flows to board members’ hobbies or isolated sporting events, but the culture of giving could be far more deeply rooted. “It’s not giving back if you hand a couple of scholarships to a university when your profit runs into tens of millions. A reasonable level would be one to three per cent of profits.”

Where you see a problem, fix it

Bolt co-founder and angel investor Martin Villig is one of those who completed the Kuri Kotkas pilot training. “My son and I joined the basic course out of curiosity – to understand better the principles behind the military use of drones and to try flying an FPV (first-person view) drone in a simulator for the first time,” he said.

He sees the topic as both urgent and important, and plans to continue learning FPV flying himself. “The defence industry is evolving at breakneck speed, so it is critical that the Estonian Defence Forces – and ordinary people – stay abreast of new technologies and know how to apply them. This basic training could be seen as a kind of ‘tiger leap’, giving a broad slice of society the foundational knowledge, while a smaller, more dedicated group develops deeper specialist skills.”

Bolt co-founder and angel investor Martin Villig is among those who completed the Kuri Kotkas pilot training. Photo: Estonian foreign ministry.

Villig believes that everyone should contribute to this small country as much as they can – with their time or financially. “Civic initiatives are vital for addressing issues the state does not notice quickly enough – or cannot solve alone.”

He cites as examples Unicorn Squad’s technology clubs and drone courses, the kood/Jõhvi coding school he co-founded, and charitable ventures such as the Good Deed Impact Fund and the Education Fund. “In short: where you see a problem, step in and help. And if an idea proves itself, the state can later step in with regulation and funding to scale its impact.”

Universities must step out of their comfort zone

Kotka expects the same spirit of initiative from TalTech. How could the university and entrepreneurs work together more substantively?

The problem, he argues, is not a lack of will, but the difficulty of connecting the right people. When a student has a genuinely strong idea, a professor should be able to connect them with someone capable of judging the idea’s feasibility and commercial potential. “Not some random junior employee at a company, but someone with real experience in developing and selling such a product,” he stressed.

Kotka concedes that with any new initiative like Kuri Kotkas, there is always the risk that things will not unfold as planned. “We’re ready for that scenario too – but if you never try, you never find out,” he said. This readiness to act shapes everything he does, whether inspiring girls to embrace technology or encouraging ordinary citizens to learn how to fly drones.