Finnish company Varjo has expanded its support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces by delivering a mixed-reality training system designed to prepare troops for counter-drone operations.
The system, known as Horizon Guardian, was developed by Australian firm Applied Virtual Simulation in response to lessons from the war in Ukraine.
Using Varjo’s XR-4 headset, it places trainees in a simulated engagement in which one operator flies a first-person view drone while the other attempts to detect and neutralize the threat.
The platform is weapon-agnostic, meaning it can be used with different firearm configurations, and supports both AI-controlled and human-operated drone threats.
It also allows instructors to adjust difficulty levels, environmental conditions, signal interference, and jamming effects, while integrated after-action review tools provide performance analysis and replay functions to evaluate trainees’ decisions and engagement outcomes.
“With drones now accounting for 70-80 percent of casualties in Ukraine, the simulator is designed to replicate the pressures, sounds, and pace that soldiers on the frontline face,” stated Varjo.
Building a Virtual Training Network
The delivery of the counter-drone simulator expands a broader network of XR-based training capabilities already fielded for Ukrainian forces.
Earlier this year, 39 mixed-reality training systems were supplied to Ukraine through a partnership between Varjo and the Finnish software developer Fynd Reality, under Norway’s Nansen support program.
The systems provide familiarization, procedural, and maintenance training for several military platforms, including Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks, reducing reliance on scarce operational equipment for training.
Ukraine has also received an F-16 mixed-reality cockpit simulator developed by the Czech company Dogfight Boss, allowing pilots to rehearse procedures and mission scenarios domestically.
