Ukrainian Armed Forces train tank crews in VR without pulling vehicles from the front

Why virtual training

Ukraine's armoured vehicles are almost all committed to the front line, so soldiers rarely reach the machines they will operate before they deploy. The gap limits how many crews can be trained, raises risk, and slows units getting to the battlefield.

The deployment

Norwegian XR company Fynd Reality is delivering an immersive training programme to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, with Finnish manufacturer Varjo selected as its XR technology provider. Training covering familiarisation, procedural work and maintenance across multiple vehicle types is being deployed in Ukraine, with 39 XR systems supplied in the first rollout.

Fynd Reality has supported Ukrainian defence training since 2023, initially on the Leopard 2 A4 main battle tank. That Leopard 2 training is in operational use at the Military Institute for Tank Troops at the National Technical University "Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute" in Kharkiv.

Funding and procurement

The systems reached Ukraine through Norway's Nansen Program, the country's largest aid programme, under contract with the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency. The total value of the project is NOK 82.5 million, about EUR 7.2 million.

Hardware and software

Varjo XR-4 Secure Edition headsets, NATO-manufactured and built for secure environments; security was the deciding factor in the vendor choice
Fynd CORE, a dual-use XR training and education platform that runs either in the cloud or on-premise
Multi-user, scenario-based sessions, so soldiers can rehearse working alongside a crew rather than only as individuals

The headsets are procured by Fynd Reality and integrated into its own platform, rather than sold to the Ukrainian Armed Forces directly.

Building Ukrainian capability

After delivery, Ukrainian partners take on content development locally. Fynd Reality has brought in Ukrainian XR studio Sensorama Lab to build training scenarios for the Leopard 1A5 tank and the M113 armoured personnel carrier on the same platform. Fynd Reality says the approach moves trainees from no prior knowledge to operational competence up to four times faster; that figure is the supplier's own claim and is not independently measured in the sources.

Quotes

“XR training is solving a real operational challenge in Ukraine, where access to vehicles and safe training environments is severely limited. Varjo's technology is built for mission-critical training use cases where security, reliability, and visual accuracy are paramount. Together with Fynd Reality, we can actively help accelerate and scale training for Ukrainian soldiers heading to the front lines.”

“We are providing Ukraine with a novel training capability that has already been validated in NATO environments and adapted to meet Ukraine's operational requirements. We are building a global pathway from zero baseline knowledge to advanced simulator-ready performance. Together with Varjo, we enable learning four times faster from basic understanding to confident, operational capability.”

“Ukraine needs the best and the most secure training technology. When we arrive at the front lines, there is no time to learn about the vehicles for the first time. Even our cadets can, after a short XR training session, carry out basic procedures inside a real battle tank. That knowledge improves our safety and ultimately helps us defend our country.”