- BI visited a facility in Kyiv where Ukrainian soldiers use virtual simulators to train for combat.
- One soldier training on air defense weapons said it helps him gain muscle memory with the system.
- The founder of the company making the simulators believes future training will be entirely virtual.
A quiet, sunny day is suddenly interrupted by the hum of a Russian drone. Moments later, another appears. Then another. Suddenly, they’re crisscrossing in the sky as cruise missiles soar overhead. It is fast becoming impossible to shoot everything down.
This overwhelming scenario is one that Ukraine’s defenders have faced repeatedly over the past three years of war, but when Business Insider experienced it, the Russian attack wasn’t real.
BI recently visited a training center in Kyiv where Ukrainian forces from across the military use highly immersive virtual reality simulators to get ready for a fight — engaging lethal Russian threats like drones, missiles, and aircraft.
Ukrainian technology company PSS by Logics7 makes these simulators. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops have used the company’s systems to sharpen their combat skills and train for real-life battles, ones in which failing to shoot down an enemy threat can have deadly consequences.
“Future training systems will be only in virtual space,” PSS founder Igor Belov told BI in an interview. “We do it right now.”
The training simulators offer Ukrainian soldiers a cheaper and faster training process. They get the same feel for the weapon without expending valuable ammunition. It’s also a safer way to practice and learn, as Russia has demonstrated that it will launch deadly strikes on Ukraine’s training grounds.
BI observed Ukrainian soldiers training on the American-made .50-caliber M2 Browning machine gun and FIM-92 Stinger, and Soviet-era 9K38 Igla. The training weapons mimic the real deal in appearance, weight, and touch, so the soldiers develop strong muscle memory habits and become familiar with the systems.
The Browning is a popular weapon for Ukrainian mobile air defense units tasked with shooting down Russian drones like the Shahed-136, Iranian-made loitering munitions; Russia also has its own domestically produced version. The heavy machine guns are often mounted in the beds of ordinary pickup trucks. The Stinger and Igla, meanwhile, are man-portable air-defense systems, or MANPADS. These shoulder-launched weapons can fire missiles at higher-threat targets like planes, helicopters, and even cruise missiles.
The soldiers wear virtual-reality goggles and are placed in simulated battlefield scenarios. An operator can customize the combat experience, such as having drones attack from different directions or changing the weather to a low-visibility fog, making it significantly more challenging to spot and defend against threats.
Igor said the simulators make the soldiers more effective in actual combat scenarios, and the soldiers can attest to that.
Vitaliy, a Ukrainian soldier in an anti-aircraft unit, told BI through a translator that there’s a clear difference between the simulation and firing a real gun on the battlefield. But the VR experience helps provide that muscle memory and feel that makes it easier to use the weapons in real life.
Vitaliy, who is identified only by his first name for security purposes, said training on the Stinger is easier than the Igla because the American launcher provides its operator with two chances to hit a target, whereas the Soviet system only gives one. He has been in combat before, but the training helps him keep his edge.
Soldiers serving in a mobile air defense unit on the outskirts of Kyiv told BI in a separate interview that simulator training helped them hone their skills on the Browning machine gun.
At the facility in Kyiv, this reporter tested the Browning simulator. It was manageable at first to shoot down a few slow-moving Shahed drones traveling in a straight line, leading the airborne threats by aiming just a little ahead of the drone to ensure the interception was perfectly timed.
But as more drones came in from different directions, it got more complicated. Eventually, cruise missiles were added into the mix, and the complex attack became completely overwhelming.
PSS offers soldiers plenty of other weapons for Ukrainian soldiers to train with beyond air defense, such as drones, small arms, or anti-tank weapons, like the Next-generation Light Anti-tank Weapon, or NLAW.
The simulator service is offered to the Ukrainian military at no cost as it wages war against the Russian invasion force, but Igor said PSS can still sell its product and wants to put it on the international market for foreign militaries to try.
“This system can be the main system for training in the whole world,” Igor said. “It’s necessary to develop as fast as we can.”
VR and AR training is a highly sought-after training capability. Ukraine is not the only military that uses augmented reality to train on different weapons. Last year, this reporter visited a facility at Oklahoma’s Fort Sill, where American soldiers practice with Stinger simulators just like the Ukrainians. BI has also previously participated in augmented-reality room-clearing exercises at what is now Fort Barfoot.
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