Come Back Alive Foundation and PrivatBank raised almost 53 million for the development of the “Yatagan” UAV School

Now, up to 3,000 military personnel, can train at the “Yatagan” UAV School each year. Thanks to your donations and the support of PrivatBank, 52 730 509 hryvnias were raised for the school’s development and expansion. These funds were used to build infrastructure and purchase the necessary equipment, allowing the school to train more cadets at the same time.

In 2024,  Come Back Alive Foundation, together with PrivatBank, launched the Yatagan Training School for Unmanned Aerial Systems Specialists within the structure of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As a result, it was possible to procure the necessary equipment, launch the school, and train more than a hundred specialists at the same time. 

At the beginning of 2025, we set a new ambitious goal — to increase the school’s training capacity to 3,000 specialists per year. Together with PrivatBank, the second iteration of the school — “Yatagan 2.0” — was launched.

How were the funds spent?

Increasing the number of cadets at “Yatagan” was made possible through the large-scale expansion of the school — renovating existing facilities and constructing new ones from scratch. “Yatagan” now has three new lecture classrooms and two simulator rooms, as well as a UAV workshop. In addition, the existing lecture and simulator classrooms and two workshops were renovated.

To ensure comprehensive training for cadets, the school also received new vehicles — a passenger bus, three trucks, and three minibuses — as well as generators, drones, laptops, and much more.

The funds raised were transformed into scale and expanded capabilities for high-quality cadet training.

New training areas were launched

Thanks to the procurement of new equipment, an expanded team of instructors, and the development of infrastructure, four new training areas have been introduced at “Yatagan”:

• FPV strike-wing operator
• FPV interceptor operator
• GOR UAV operator
• Aviation weapons operation and maintenance specialist (MOS 240)

“We continually stress that people are our top priority and greatest asset. They are the key factor in this war, making investment in the training of military specialists critically important. That is why at the Yatagan Center we have created an environment where both new operators and experienced service members can learn and upgrade their skills. Training programs are continually updated by instructors with combat experience to reflect the evolving situation on the front line,” says Oleh Karpenko, Deputy Director of the Come Back Alive Foundation.

Stories of the School’s Graduates

Graduates of the Yatagan UAV Operators School successfully apply the knowledge they have gained on the battlefield and demonstrate strong results within their units.

A serviceman with the nickname “Lys” destroyed seven Russian drones during his very first combat mission. Shortly before that, he had completed training at “Yatagan”, and the equipment that helped engage aerial targets was provided to his brigade as part of the “Dronopad” project.

Another graduate of the school is Alim, who has been serving in the Armed Forces since 2015. In November 2022, during fighting in the Luhansk region as part of the 95th Air Assault Brigade, he sustained a severe injury resulting in the traumatic amputation of his left leg. After rehabilitation, the soldier decided to return to the front and enrolled in the Yatagan UAV School.

“This is truly high-quality pilot training, and I have something to compare it with. If we have more specialists like this, we will be able to change something on the battlefield,” says Alim.

Ms. Nataliia also began her journey in drone  aviation at “Yatagan”. She is a servicewoman of the 20th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade K-2 and has been serving in the military since 2023. Previously, Nataliia worked as a Javelin instructor, but over time she became interested in operating heavy bombers and decided to change her specialization. After completing training at the Yatagan UAV School, she now successfully carries out combat missions on the front line, operating Vampire-type drones.

The Come Back Alive Foundation continues to develop the Yatagan UAV School, creating comfortable and modern conditions for cadet training.