The private military company Wagner has posted a vacancy for drone operators. There are only three requirements: age from 21 to 35 years old, knowledge of a personal computer at the level of a confident user and good physical fitness.
It is separately stated that an additional plus will be the experience of control in flight simulators on joysticks and a passion for computer games, especially if a person “sits for hours playing”.
Journalist of “The Verstka” contacted the recruiter of PMCs, introducing himself as a job seeker. As it turned out, potential operators are offered to work with two types of drones: “Copters and more serious things”. As a place to choose Ukraine or Africa.
The recruiter was only interested in his age, criminal record and diseases, and the lack of military experience, including military service, he called “not a problem”.
In addition to operators, PMCs also recruit unmanned aerial vehicle technicians. Here, the requirements are higher: the applicant must be either an aircraft engineer, or versed in two- and four-stroke engines.
Earlier at the front there were voiced proposals to involve gamers to the war. A certain drone instructor told the state agency RIA Novosti that those who were into computer games showed good progress in mastering FPV (First Person View) drones.
“Gamers are better at “flying”, that’s a fact. <…> If it takes me two weeks to understand a topic, one day is enough for them. And after two weeks they already “fly” like adults. <…> If you indoctrinate gamers in their usefulness for military service through social advertising, you can attract more volunteers from this environment”, said the military instructor.
Back in 2020, the Ministry of Defense was doing this. The ministry disseminated targeted ads for contract service, urging gamers to “challenge their friends offline” and play “by the real rules, without cheats or saves”.
