A US firm is pairing a high-end gaming laptop with a handheld controller to create a new first-person view (FPV) drone simulator aimed at giving troops a “highly-realistic” training experience.
MVRsimulation’s FPV system combines its Virtual Reality Scene Generator (VRSG) with high-fidelity flight models from Virginia-based Bihrle Applied Research to mimic the visual and cognitive demands of using drones in combat.
Trainees step into a realistic FPV world modeled on actual locations, with virtual military vehicles, weapons, and other equipment appearing in real time.
The simulator trains soldiers to identify and neutralize ground targets, while a level editor allows instructors to create scenarios that mirror real-world operations.
The VRSG can also scale down video quality to simulate the effects of drone jammers, preparing operators for signal-denied environments.
Implications for the Military
Bihrle’s flight model is based on a lightweight quadcopter drone with a front-mounted FPV camera and attachable payloads, similar to combat drones typically used in the field.
MVRsimulation President Garth Smith said the system supports large-team exercises through open networking standards.
It can also function independently for tactical training or integrate with other air and ground simulators to form a larger VSRG training network.
“Game-style drone simulators that use low-fidelity physics models give users the wrong impression of how extremely agile racing-style drones work on the battlefield,” Smith stressed.
“By partnering with Bihrle Applied Research, we have brought our resulting FPV [unmanned aerial vehicle] Simulator to market in less than six months, and are looking forward to demonstrating this new capability at I/ITSEC this week.”
MVRsimulation introduced the simulator at the 2025 Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference in Orlando, Florida.
