Students at Russia’s Southern Federal University (SFU) say they have built the world’s first dedicated simulator for training with anti-drone rifles and detection systems, hoping to speed up instruction as unmanned aircraft dominate battlefields from Ukraine to the Black Sea.
The interactive platform, built in Unreal Engine, places trainees inside a virtual test range where radio signals, GPS interference, and device behavior are modeled in near-real time.
Users can handle exact digital replicas of Russian-made anti-drone guns such as the “Pars” and “Harpy,” as well as the “Bulat” v3 detector.
A library of target drones spans everything from small first-person-view (FPV) quadcopters to commercial DJI models and the Ukrainian military’s longer-range “Leleki-100.”
“The program helps to develop practical skills: to use an anti-drone rifle correctly, to work with detectors, to make quick decisions in stressful situations,” project representatives told Russian daily newspaper Izvestia.
“There is also a theoretical part, a section with educational materials and tests, ” including video scenarios requiring trainees to choose the correct response.
Virtual drill ground meets real-world demand
The rollout comes as analysts label the Russia-Ukraine conflict the first modern war dominated by unmanned aerial vehicles.
Since Moscow’s 2022 invasion, both sides have fielded drones for surveillance, artillery spotting, and increasingly lethal kamikaze strikes.
Some estimates now attribute 60–70 percent of battlefield casualties to drones, many of them low-cost FPV models carrying small explosive charges.
July alone saw Russia fire more than 6,000 drones at Ukrainian territory, the highest monthly total recorded in the war, according to figures cited by Ukrainian media. Kyiv has also carried out bold long-range attacks.
During Operation Spiderweb on June 1, 2025, Ukrainian forces launched 117 FPV drones from across the border, hitting at least five Russian air bases and reportedly destroying nearly half of Russia’s strategic bomber fleet.
The barrage is considered the largest drone strike on Russian airfields to date.
As volumes climb, so do counter-measures.
Ukrainian charities and military units have begun mass-producing interceptor UAVs that can autonomously ram incoming threats at a fraction of missile-defense costs, claiming roughly 1,500 Russian drones downed in recent months.
Russia, for its part, relies heavily on electronic-warfare jammers that can scramble navigation signals, forcing drone operators to adapt tactics almost weekly.
Against that backdrop, SFU developers argue that a cost-effective, repeatable virtual range is essential.
The simulator lets instructors script scenarios that mirror electronic-warfare conditions without expending live ammunition or hardware.
Military analyst Yuri Lyamin agrees the tool offers solid foundations but stresses it cannot replace field drills.
“However, after the simulator, it is mandatory to practice skills at a real training ground,” Lyamin said. “For full immersion, it is better to finalize the project using VR and physical models of guns, since the tactile sensations from the mass-dimensional analogues improve the habituation to weapons.”
Bridging theory and live fire
Developers included a built-in curriculum of manuals, quizzes, and video case studies so conscripts can study system specifications before stepping onto a real range.
By simulating GPS spoofing or signal jamming, the software aims to teach crews how to cycle frequencies, switch antennas, and prioritize targets under pressure, tasks that can be prohibitively expensive to rehearse with live equipment.
Lyamin believes the approach could save money at Russia’s sprawling drone-defense schools, while foreign militaries may see a template for their own programs.
Yet any digital shortcut still feeds into a broader learning race.
As Ukraine experiments with swarms of autonomous interceptors and Russia refines jamming tactics, both sides are betting on training pipelines that can absorb new hardware in months, not years.