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EU Supports Drone Operator Training for Border Officers in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

09.10.2026
Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan
Press and information team of the Delegation to KYRGYZSTAN

Twenty-four border officers from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have successfully completed drone operator certification courses, strengthening their capacity to monitor remote and mountainous border areas.

Drone training
© © European Union, 2026

 

The training was organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in partnership with the Kyrgyz Aviation Institute, under the European Union-funded Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA 11), implemented by a consortium led by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD).

Each course comprised 72 academic hours, combining 40 hours of online theoretical instruction with 32 hours of practical flight training in Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul region.

Participants developed practical skills in flight safety, mission planning and emergency procedures. Field exercises covered border reconnaissance, daytime and night-time surveillance, thermal imaging and the tracking of simulated intruders. Officers also practised transmitting live video footage and geographical coordinates to ground teams, as well as guiding patrols during simulated operations.

All 24 participants successfully passed both theoretical and practical examinations and received unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operator licences issued by the Kyrgyz Aviation Institute.