Advancing Pilot Readiness Through Lockheed Martin Prepar3D’s Next-Generation XR
Through the powerful combination of Lockheed Martin’s Prepar3D platform and the Varjo XR-4 Series, pilot training is becoming safer, more cost effective, and significantly more immersive.
Key Benefits of VR/XR Training for Fighter Jets
The aviation industry faces a growing challenge: how to deliver high-quality pilot training at scale. For example, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is one of the most advanced but at the same time most resource-intensive aircraft in operation today. Shifting critical parts of pilot preparation into XR allows training programs to scale more efficiently, minimize reliance on costly live flights, and respond to the urgent need for more qualified pilots worldwide.
- Cost efficiency: Dramatically lowers the expense of operating real aircraft and enables pilots to train extensively without burning fuel or using expensive resources
- Improved safety: Allows training in high-risk scenarios without real-world danger
- Increased access & scalability: Reconfigurable solution that removes dependence on weather, location, or aircraft availability
- Realism & effectiveness: Delivers lifelike immersion that builds muscle memory and situational awareness through repeated exposure to lifelike conditions
- Environmental impact: Reduces emissions and fuel use by minimizing live flight hours
Powering the Future of Simulation
Lockheed Martin is a global powerhouse in aerospace, defense, and security and a primary contractor for numerous U.S. and allied government programs worldwide. Their industry-leading software Prepar3D has been a trusted simulation platform in the field for over a decade, designed to support immersive training, mission rehearsal, and educational use across aviation, maritime, and ground domains.
Varjo has maintained a longstanding collaboration with Lockheed Martin and the Prepar3D team to support advanced mixed reality training and simulation use cases. This partnership enables high-fidelity immersive experiences that meet the rigorous demands of defense and aerospace training environments.
“We look to partner with a lot of industries and the smartest minds across to provide second to none mission readiness,” explains Chris Metel, Prepar3D Engineering Program Manager at Lockheed Martin. “Varjo has been a fantastic partner that has enabled us to deliver systems with Prepar3D that are providing the best training for our war fighters.”
Fixing What Breaks Training Immersion
Achieving the level of realism required for effective flight simulation is a technically demanding task. Flight simulators have historically struggled to deliver consistency and have often included visual or behavioral anomalies that don’t exist in real-world operations. This can result in creating a noticeable gap between training and real-world experience.
Pilots, especially those flying complex platforms like the F-35, are quick to detect these inconsistencies, which can shift their focus away from core training tasks and toward identifying simulation flaws. This breaks immersion and reduces the overall effectiveness of the experience.
“Our aim is to create an environment where those gaps are eliminated as effectively as possible, and that way the user can focus solely on the training activities,” Metel explains.
Cockpit as the Extension of the Pilot’s Body
As immersive technologies have become increasingly essential for the next generation of training, Prepar3D has long supported VR/XR headset integration to enable a more immersive and realistic simulation experience.
Mixed reality takes the level of immersion a step further by fixing one of the key limitations of using sole virtual reality: the need to keep everything within the pilot’s field of view. For example, in a real-world scenario like adjusting a car radio, you can make the adjustment without visual confirmation. VR doesn’t allow for that kind of intuitive, muscle-memory-based interaction.
Mixed reality solves this challenge by allowing pilots to reach for switches, knobs, and controls without needing to visually confirm them, which accurately mirrors the real-world experience and enables trainees to gain muscle memory. “With mixed reality, the cockpit ends up becoming an extension of the pilot’s body,” says Metel.
“The benefits of using immersive technologies for fighter pilots come across numerous realms, from cost savings to environmental impacts to safety.”
CHRIS METEL - PREPAR3D ENGINEERING PROGRAM MANAGER, LOCKHEED MARTIN
Immersion Without Compromise
With Prepar3D native support for the Varjo XR-4 Series, the real and synthetically generated worlds blend seamlessly to create an environment where the experience of flying aircraft like the F-35 feels indistinguishable from the real world. Prepar3D provides a rich, high-performance environment, while Varjo technology delivers the visuals in ultra-sharp fidelity right before the pilot’s eyes.
“The seamless integration of the visuals is second to none,” Metel says. With Varjo XR-4’s dual 4K displays and high-performance passthrough cameras, trainees can explore even the smallest details in the immersive environment and see objects at realistic visibility ranges. “The XR-4 is ideal for Prepar3D because it introduces best-in-show technology,” Metel praises. “The quality that we require, Varjo is able to provide for us at top notch levels.”
Additionally, the XR-4’s inside-out tracking significantly simplifies setup and enables rapid deployment across multiple locations, eliminating the need for external sensors.
“We’re able to train our pilots in a very realistic, immersive environment at a small footprint, which is ideal for our customers,” Metel notes.
“With XR-4 integrated with Prepar3D, we're able to train pilots in the most immersive environment possible.”
CHRIS METEL - PREPAR3D ENGINEERING PROGRAM MANAGER, LOCKHEED MARTIN
Putting XR at the Core of Every Pilot’s Journey
As Lockheed Martin’s partnership with Varjo continues to evolve, the team sees a promising future for XR in support of mission readiness. Metel reflects on the remarkable progress made over the past five years and expresses confidence that its momentum will only accelerate in the years to come.
“The future of XR within pilot training is bright. Immersive technologies are going to be more adopted and you’re going to see headsets such as Varjo as being a key component of that training environment,” he states.
“We are excited to continue to grow our partnership with Varjo with future products.”
Additionally, Prepar3D sees AI as new source of help to develop smarter training systems by generating better learning objectives and more dynamic, mission-relevant scenarios for pilots. As XR devices become more comfortable and intuitive, they will become an integral part of every pilot’s training journey.
“I see a future where XR headsets are as common in pilot schools as textbooks, with each student getting their own device,” says Metel.
