case study

Training Without Borders: How Varjo and Fynd Reality Are Bringing XR to the Ukrainian Armed Forces

In an active conflict zone, Ukrainian soldiers are learning to operate battle tanks they have never touched, reaching baseline proficiency within hours with immersive training.

Customer

Industry

Defense

About

Fynd Reality is a Norwegian technology company specializing in virtual and mixed reality-based training and collaboration solutions for defense, industry, and public safety organizations. Their Fynd CORE platform covers the full spectrum of competence development, from first contact with equipment through procedure training, simulator preparation, and operational decision-making.

The company has worked with Ukrainian defense operators since 2023, bringing virtual training to one of the world's most demanding active environments.

the challenge

Training Without Access to Equipment

In an active conflict zone, access to training equipment is one of the most acute constraints a military faces. For the Ukrainian Armed Forces, all operational vehicles are continuously deployed at the front lines, leaving soldiers with no reliable way to interact with equipment before being sent into combat. The consequences are significant: limited training opportunities, increased operational risk, and delays in getting personnel to a deployment-ready standard.

While only a portion of personnel are trained as operators of armored vehicles, a considerably larger group works alongside them in combat units and requires a baseline understanding of how those vehicles function.

Before XR training, soldiers were relying on PDFs to learn their way around the complex battle tanks. "Compared to PDF, VR training is a million times better," says Kristine Kvam, Chief Technology Officer of Fynd Reality. "The use case is basically taking a soldier from zero knowledge up to simulator proficiency, where they can actually use a battle tank."

Fynd Reality and Varjo Integrated XR Systems received in Ukraine

A Nordic Collaboration Built for the Front Lines

The total value of the project is NOK 82.5 million (approximately €7.2 million), with 39 XR systems supplied in the first rollout. The project emerged from a Nordic defense technology partnership between Varjo and Fynd Reality, with Varjo being selected as the XR hardware provider for the training program. The systems were procured and delivered through the Nansen Program, Norway's largest aid initiative, under contract with the Norwegian Defense Material Agency (NDMA).

The simulators have now been delivered to Ukraine as Varjo Integrated XR Systems: a fully packaged offering combining military-grade headsets, XR-optimized workstations, pre-installed software, deployment infrastructure, and advanced support, designed to reduce procurement and setup burden. Following deployment, Ukrainian partners will develop training content locally, strengthening both immediate readiness and long-term competence within the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

"Our collaboration with Varjo brings together the most advanced Nordic simulation technologies. 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,” says Knut Henrik Aas, CEO of Fynd Reality.

The Solution

Multi-User XR Training

At the core of the solution are Varjo XR-4 Secure Edition headsets running Fynd Reality's Fynd CORE platform. With the Fynd CORE platform, soldiers can put on headsets from separate physical locations and find themselves working together as a crew inside a fully rendered virtual Leopard 2A4 tank. The gunner, loader, tank commander, and driver each occupy their respective positions, communicating and executing procedures as a crew, without sharing a room or having access to a real vehicle.

"If you can train 100 times in a virtual tank, you are so much better prepared for the actual real equipment than you would have been without," Kristine Kvam says. The solution ensures that every trainee reaches the same knowledge baseline, covering both theoretical understanding and physical familiarity with controls and sequences that soldiers need before they ever step inside a real vehicle.

Designed for where it counts

Security was a baseline requirement for hardware deployed in or near an active conflict zone. "For anything that we do with defense, we obviously need proper equipment that can be security cleared, that can work in strenuous environments, that can be brought with you and work offline and online," Kvam says.

Varjo XR-4 Secure Edition headsets are built for offline operation and assembled in Finland. The hardware also delivers the visual fidelity required for armored vehicle training. High-resolution passthrough, a wide field of view, and dual 4K displays allow soldiers to read labels, interact with controls, and navigate confined interior spaces as they would in a real vehicle.

"When it comes to security, I think Varjo is the only virtual reality headset that can actually do that." Kristine Kvam, CTO at Fynd Reality

Varjo integrated XR system — Varjo XR Station Mobile, delivered as part of the packaged turn-key XR system

From Setup to Proficiency in Two Hours

After the delivery of 39 systems, Ukrainian forces were up and running on the Leopard 2A4 training module within two hours of setup. This was a direct result of receiving a pre-configured, fully validated bundle rather than having to source and integrate components separately.

"Deploying 39 systems into an active conflict zone leaves no room for integration problems. Varjo's Integrated XR System answered that need with a fully validated, pre-configured bundle that we could roll out with confidence. The XR Station Mobile, the laptop form factor version, gave us a portable platform we could reliably move, set up, and run anywhere," says Knut Henrik Aas.

65%

identified the VR simulator as the most effective learning method — more than twice the combined response for interactive modules (25%) and traditional materials (10%)

67%

said VR and digital tools provided a better understanding of functional responsibilities than traditional methods

80%

reported that VR training increased their motivation to learn

75%

said the methodology should be expanded to additional military platforms

"Ukraine needs the best and the most secure training technology."

Cadets described the immersive environment as more intuitive and easier to remember, with some estimating that learning rates were 3 to 5 times faster than when studying theory alone. The feedback from instructors on the ground reflects what those numbers mean in practice:

"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," says an Instructor for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Looking Ahead

Ukrainian technology partners will now develop additional training content locally, building XR training capability within Ukrainian defense structures over the long term. Fynd Reality plans to expand the platform to additional vehicle types and military platforms.

"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," Knut Henrik Aas says.

For defense forces across Europe facing the same training constraints, the program offers a practical model: portable, secure XR training that does not depend on access to physical equipment, is deployable anywhere and ready from day one.