Defense organizations around the world face a common challenge: how to scale training fast enough to keep pace with operational demands. Live exercises remain critical, but they are costly, logistically complex, and inherently limited in how often they can be run. As a result, virtual and mixed reality simulations have moved from experimentation into regular use across NATO militaries, becoming core components of modern defense training across multiple domains.
In this post, we look at the different military simulation domains Varjo’s XR technology is being applied today. The use cases below reflect some of the most established and widely adopted ways immersive training is currently used across defense, even as new applications continue to emerge.
Varjo’s XR technology is used in advanced military flight training and simulation environments where visual accuracy is a primary requirement. Example customers include the Finnish Air Force, Slovenian Armed Forces, the Royal Air Force, and several other NATO air forces.
The most common applications include foundational training, such as aircraft familiarization; advanced operations, such as Blue/Red Force training with air-to-air combat scenarios; procedural training, such as emergency operations, and operational mission rehearsal for both fixed-wing and rotary-wing platforms.
XR has multiple benefits over traditional flight simulators; for instance, the size and weight of physical flight simulators can be reduced by up to 80%, and adding VR training to the curriculum can speed up learning, cutting the time to first solo flight by about 30 % (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, 2022). Virtual training also greatly improves scalability, as it can simulate a range of training scenarios across different aircraft types.
For example, in the U.S. Army’s Reconfigurable Virtual Collective Trainer program, mixed reality is used to combine physical cockpits with immersive virtual environments. This approach supports collective aircrew training across multiple aircraft types, including Apache, Blackhawk, and Chinook, while reducing reliance on live flight hours.
In Europe, the Slovenian Air Force uses Varjo technology to support pilot training and simulator development. XR enables pilots to train mission profiles, sensor operation, and situational awareness in high-fidelity environments without depending solely on live aircraft or full-motion simulators. Across NATO, air forces are adopting mixed reality as a practical training tool, driven by the need to scale training capacity while maintaining realism and safety.
Mixed reality is used in Joint Terminal Attack Controller training to bridge the gap between classroom instruction and live exercises. In JTAC training environments, trainees operate from realistic observation positions while still seeing and using physical equipment such as radios, maps, and mission software.
Mixed reality training allows JTACs to practice scene scanning, target identification, and coordination with air assets in environments that closely resemble real operational terrain. Because the XR training systems are portable, they can be deployed alongside existing training setups without the infrastructure demands of traditional simulators. High-resolution passthrough enables reading instruments and reference materials naturally, which improves immersion and skill transfer. Learn more about Varjo’s JTAC customer examples.
In the land domain, Varjo is working with Rheinmetall to expand the use of mixed reality in vehicle training and simulation. Varjo headsets are integrated into Rheinmetall’s deployable virtual land training systems, including modular driving and weapons simulators.
These systems combine physical controls with virtual terrain and scenarios, allowing crews to train driver, gunner, and commander tasks in realistic immersive environments. Because the XR simulators are mobile and reconfigurable, they can be deployed at bases or in the field and adapted to different vehicle types. This supports faster training cycles and increased training capacity without the constraints of fixed facilities, helping address the rising demand for training both conscripts and expanding fleets.
“We see XR as a beneficial add-on in our portfolio, which allows us to grow and scale our training solutions to customer needs,” says Bartek Panasewicz, VP Training Systems Land at Rheinmetall.
Varjo is also increasingly used in UAS or C-UAS training through partners such as Applied Virtual Simulation in Australia. XR supports realistic sensor operation, navigation, and mission rehearsal for remotely operated systems. The high visual clarity and depth perception provided by Varjo's XR help operators better interpret sensor data and spatial relationships and practice for their mission safely and realistically in a virtual environment. Drone training can also be integrated into larger joint simulation environments, allowing UAS operations to be rehearsed alongside other forces and command elements.
Across the defense training ecosystem, mixed reality is expanding beyond single-operator simulators. Recent industry demonstrations show XR being applied to artillery support workflows, joint fires coordination, driver and gunner cooperation, and heavy weapons operations.
XR allows teams to rehearse timing, communication, and decision-making in immersive environments where live training would be costly, constrained, or impractical. Virtual and mixed reality allow training systems to be interconnected and used to support collective training, not just individual skill development.
Naval forces are showing growing use of virtual and mixed reality to complement traditional maritime training. Varjo’s XR is currently applied in ship bridge, navigation, and small-craft training, allowing crews to rehearse procedures, maneuvers, and emergency scenarios in environments that closely reflect real operating conditions.
Companies such as Wärtsilä use Varjo to enhance maritime simulation solutions by combining real bridge equipment with immersive virtual environments. This improves visual realism and situational awareness while reducing the need for large, fixed simulator infrastructure. FORCE Technology has similarly developed headset-based maritime training solutions using Varjo, enabling portable and highly scalable training setups that significantly lower operating costs compared to traditional simulators. FORCE Technology estimates that they've achieved up to a thousandfold cost reduction in operating costs of XR simulators compared to traditional maritime simulators.
These approaches allow naval organizations to increase training throughput and accessibility while reducing dependence on scarce sea time and fleet assets.
Mixed reality is increasingly used in command and control to improve situational awareness and collaboration. With Varjo’s XR, operational data, geospatial information, and live feeds can be viewed in immersive 3D environments rather than across multiple flat screens, resulting in an infinitely modifiable virtual command center.
For example, Headwall uses Varjo to build mixed reality command center solutions that allow teams to work around a shared operational picture. This helps staff interpret complex information more quickly and collaborate more effectively, while also enabling command functions to be deployed beyond fixed physical spaces.
High-fidelity XR is also being applied to military medical training. Together with Real Response, Varjo has supported the Royal Australian Air Force in immersive medical simulation scenarios to train personnel to save lives under the most demanding conditions. XR allows medical personnel to practice trauma care, evacuation workflows, and team coordination in conditions that closely reflect operational environments, without the risks associated with live training. This results in the ability to train more people, in more scenarios, at lower resourcing.
Across domains, virtual and mixed reality are core parts of how advanced defense organizations train, evaluate systems, and build readiness. While XR is never fully replacing live training, it offers key advantages to defense forces. By combining immersive realism with flexibility and scalability, XR enables faster, better, and more efficient training across multi-domain, interconnected, and networked environments.
To learn how XR can be implemented to accelerate training in your organization, get in touch with the Varjo team.