Kazakhstan Begins Training Instructors to Shoot Down Drones

Kazakhstan’s Ground Forces have launched a program to train instructors who will teach troops to shoot down drones using small arms, the Ministry of Defense said.

The training is being conducted at a military facility in Astana, based at unit No. 68665. A dedicated infrastructure has been set up to simulate combat conditions involving unmanned aerial systems.

The exercises are overseen by the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, Major General Mereke Kuchekbayev.

As part of the program, instructors are learning how to detect, track and physically disable small, low-flying aerial targets. Special focus is placed on techniques for timely identification and destruction of drones using rifles and machine guns.

Instructors are also being trained to teach others, so they can pass on skills within their units.

The Defense Ministry said the goal is to build a professional instructor corps capable of responding to modern battlefield challenges, particularly the growing threat posed by drones.

The ministry added that the training is expected to enhance the combat readiness of Kazakhstan’s Ground Forces and support modernization of training practices.

Kazakhstan has been stepping up efforts to adapt its military to an environment where unmanned systems play an increasingly central role.

In March, a Russian “Geran-2” (Shahed-136) kamikaze drone with tail number “Ы18358” crashed in Kazakhstan.