Students from Russia’s Southern Federal University have created a virtual platform that simulates training with anti-drone weapons and detection systems.
Built using Unreal Engine, a game engine developed by Epic Games, the interactive simulator puts trainees in environments where they can practice navigating through battlefield scenarios with anti-drone guns modeled as exact digital copies of their real-world counterparts.
Radio signals, global positioning system (GPS) obstructions, and field devices are also simulated as close to reality as possible, providing soldiers a direct way of developing foundational skills without going to warzones.
“The program helps develop practical skills: to use an anti-drone rifle correctly, to work with detectors, [and] to make quick decisions in stressful situations,” developers told Izvestia.
Beyond physical drills, the system includes an educational layer that tests technical knowledge of troops, where they are asked textbook-style questions and navigate interactive video scenarios, choosing the best response under realistic conditions.
Making Training Comprehensive
Incorporating the virtual platform in the early stages of military training could offer a low-cost alternative to building prototype models for learning purposes.
It could also give soldiers hands-on familiarity with both friendly gear and enemy capabilities.
But virtual immersion alone isn’t enough, said military analyst Yuri Lyamin. He emphasized the importance of bridging the gap with physical mock-ups later in the training process to prepare troops for the demands of real-world use.
“For full immersion, it is better to finalize the project using VR (virtual reality) and physical models of guns, since the tactile sensations from the mass — dimensional analogues improve the habituation to weapons,” he stated.
