Far‑Right Network Sells Online Military Training — Drone Tradecraft and Crypto Payments Raise Security Alarms

Overview

A transnational far‑right network calling itself the Observations Group is offering paid online military training — including drone tradecraft — and accepting cryptocurrency payments, security analysts say. The group markets courses in both English and Russian and claims links to international neo‑Nazi networks and to an individual associated with the proscribed group known as the Base.

What researchers say

Joshua Fisher‑Birch, a terrorism analyst with nearly a decade of experience, warned that providing military‑style training materials and drone know‑how to extremist audiences appears aimed at "prepping" and at improving the capacity of extremist networks to commit or encourage violence. Fisher‑Birch and other experts have highlighted how online training, closed chat groups, and anonymous cryptocurrency payments make detection and disruption more difficult for law enforcement.

"Offering military‑style training materials, including drone tradecraft, to the extreme right indicates that this is for prepping purposes," Fisher‑Birch said. "[To] improve the capacity of extremist networks to commit violence, or to encourage acts of violence specifically."

Group profile and claimed links

The Observations Group presents itself as a "paramilitary project to prepare people for modern warfare" and advertises a paid online "military course" that it says covers basic command training, soldier preparation for novices, the latest information on drones, NATO doctrine, techniques for fighting in the Russia‑Ukraine conflict, and integration of modern communications technologies into military concepts.

Its public posts assert ties to a figure identified as Rinaldo Nazzaro (who has used several aliases and has been linked in reporting to the leadership of the Base). Observers describe Nazzaro as an accused leader of the Base; he has repeatedly denied acting as an agent of any foreign intelligence service. The Observations Group's leader told the Guardian he was based in Russia and said the group's "units are autonomous and located in different countries." The group's materials appear in English and Russian, indicating an international reach.

From in‑person camps to online seminars

Investigators say the group originally discussed holding an in‑person training camp in Czechia but pivoted to an online seminar that is now advertised as "already live." It has also announced partnerships with an unnamed American extremist group and suggested plans for future exercises in the United States.

Why experts are concerned

Lucas Webber, a senior threat intelligence analyst at Tech Against Terrorism, described the network and its apparent links to the Base as an "urgent danger" on the far right. He warned that groups learning from foreign battlefields can turn combat experience into tactics for domestic or transnational attacks. Webber also highlighted the operational opacity that cryptocurrency payments and closed channels provide to extremist organisers.

National security sources have previously told reporters that US authorities are deeply concerned about easily obtainable first‑person view (FPV) drones being adapted for domestic attacks. Experts point out that non‑state actors worldwide — from criminal groups to extremist organisations — are incorporating drones into paramilitary tactics.

Evidence of knowledge transfer

There are signs that individuals with military training who identify with neo‑Nazi movements are sharing practical drone knowledge online. Reporting has cited an anonymous writer who claims to be a former marine and ex‑member of the now‑defunct Atomwaffen Division, writing about low‑cost, potentially weaponised drones. Atomwaffen is a proscribed, hyper‑violent group that has been linked to murders in the United States and allied ideologically with the Base.

Calls for action

Experts urge a combination of monitoring illicit financial flows, disrupting key digital channels used for recruitment and training, and targeted law enforcement action to prevent a shift from virtual coordination to real‑world violence. They warn that failing to intervene could allow battlefield‑inspired tactics to spread further and increase the risk of high‑impact attacks on civilian or government targets.

What remains unproven

Public reporting and the group's own messages claim alliances and participation by named individuals; some of those links are described as alleged or disputed by the parties involved. Investigations are ongoing and authorities continue to monitor the group and similar networks.