December 3rd, 2025 – Helsinki, Finland / Orlando, Florida – Varjo, the leading provider of military-grade virtual and mixed reality headsets, has today launched its State of XR in Simulation Training Report 2026, delivering a comprehensive and detailed insight into the landscape, challenges, and future direction of virtual and mixed reality technology in the simulation and training industry.
Launching at I/ITSEC, the premier event for next-generation simulation and training technologies, Varjo’s report reveals the defense industry's growing maturity in adopting highly immersive XR technologies to power the next generation of training.
The State of XR in Simulation Training Report comes at a pivotal moment for the industry, as NATO nations face the dual challenges of readiness and modernisation amid an increasingly unpredictable and ambiguous battlefield. In this environment, XR is playing an expanding role in scaling training capacity.
Comprising both quantitative and qualitative input from 106 industry professionals, the report finds that virtual and mixed reality training is most effective when it complements traditional simulators and live exercises. This combination creates a more efficient and realistic training flow, supporting collaboration across different units, locations, and mission types. The integration of classroom instruction, XR systems, and high-fidelity, full-mission simulators will be fundamental to a successful and effective training framework. Moreover, the report sheds light on the use of XR in defense applications, with realistic simulation, mission rehearsal, and multi-user/joint training dominating participants' training priorities.
Key findings include:
- Adoption maturity is accelerating: Most organizations are beyond experimentation, using XR as a core part of their training ecosystem.
- Mixed reality leads usage: Over 56% of respondents use mixed reality, blending real and virtual elements to achieve operational realism.
- Training goals are evolving: Realistic simulation (86%), mission rehearsal (50%), and multi-user or joint training (44%) dominate priorities, highlighting a shift toward collaborative, distributed training.
- Unity and Unreal Engine remain the engines of choice, while interoperability (HLA/DIS) and multi-domain networking are emerging as critical requirements.
- Hardware progress drives usability: Visual clarity (72.6%) and comfort (60.4%) are the top decision factors, reflecting the need for durable, high-resolution, and ergonomic systems suitable for long-duration training.
- Challenges persist: Reliability issues, procurement hurdles, and lack of expertise remain the main adoption blockers, but organizations are increasingly recognizing XR as a strategic enabler, not a niche experiment.
The publication of the State of XR Report comes off the back of a period of increased momentum for Varjo. In October, the company launched its refreshed XR-4 Series headset, purpose-built to deliver superior training across land, sea, and air. In addition, last week, Varjo announced a strategic collaboration with German defense champion Rheinmetall to integrate its technology into Rheinmetall’s deployable virtual land training systems.
Timo Toikkanen, Varjo CEO, said, “As defense enters an era shaped by synthetic environments, the decisive advantage will belong to the forces that master and scale their training. XR is emerging as a key solution to the challenges of defense modernisation and readiness, and our report demonstrates the uptake, use cases, and future direction of the defense training industry.”
Varjo is showcasing XR training technologies at I/ITSEC in Orlando, Florida, from 1-4 December at booth #2301. In addition, Varjo’s technology will be on display across the I/ITSEC show floor, with over 50 industry partners showcasing Varjo technology as part of their integrated simulation solutions.
For more information, please contact press@Varjo.com
About Varjo
Varjo is the world-leading provider of military-grade virtual and mixed reality solutions, delivering the highest levels of immersion, performance, and security for the most demanding defense and aerospace customers globally. Already used in over 100 defense programs worldwide, we are known for virtual and mixed reality that look and feel as real as the real world, allowing modernizing training across land, sea, air, and beyond.
Our hardware and software solutions integrate with the world’s largest ecosystem of professional 3D software, image generators, and advanced simulator hardware. With Varjo’s offering, including the latest XR-4 Series and the TAA-compliant XR-4 Secure Edition, our customers can recreate the exact feeling and conditions of real life in 3D, allowing them to train faster, better, and more cost-effectively.
