The warfare landscape is an ever-evolving industry. One or two centuries ago, people used swords and other metal weapons to combat wars. But today, the concept of bio and trade wars are be heard in the warfare space. Even though bloodless wars are a possibility with modern developments, on-ground warfare still has its hype. With the help of technology, physical battlefields are turning to be even more complex. Remarkably, the role of AR and VR in defense is revolutionizing the way warfare is carried out.
When we talk about augmented reality, the first thing that comes to our mind is Snapchat filter. It gives a virtual effect to our face and makes it look funny. But the applications of augmented reality are far beyond that. On the other hand, virtual reality espouses AR on many grounds. The defense sector has been at the forefront of availing technological advancement for the purpose of training and enhanced warfare. As war grounds are constantly evolving, top nations across the world have adopted AR and VR in defense to counter their enemies and reach battlefield supremacy. With the expanding possibilities of data and graphics processing, the number of uses of AR and VR in defense is growing exponentially.
But why should we use such futuristic technologies in the military? Are they of any good? Yes, they are very useful in creating a virtual space that helps military personnel figure out the dangers there. Augmented reality and virtual reality also change the way soldiers access information and conduct operations. Some of the basic use cases of AR and VR in defense start from training the military personnel. Virtual reality is used by army members to create a simulation that helps them create a virtual battleground. They try out their tactics and attacks on the simulation to see how they work. Using the virtual mode, army men get a way to gain valuable experience of dangerous or life-threatening environments at less cost. Besides, augmented reality has three major applications namely Tactical Augmented Reality (TAR), helmet-mounted AR display, and Synthetic Training Environment (STE) in warfare. Let's look at some of the countries that have embraced AR and VR in defense to give a technological end to their battlegrounds.
The most recent and wide spoken concept about augmented reality in the military was Microsoft bagging the US$21.88 billion deal from the US Army. According to the deal, Microsoft will deliver more than 120,000 devices based on its HoloLens AR headset to the US defense for over ten years. The HoloLens AR headset lets people see holograms overlaid over their actual environments and internet using hand and voice gestures. By using it in military operations, soldiers will be able to fight, rehearse, and train in one system. Besides, in 2020, Army Times has reported that the US Army Soldiers and Marines could be wearing ruggedized AR headsets in the field by 2021. The US military even carried out trial operations with the help of augmented reality technology even before signing the deal. The US military has also constructed a massive virtual reality platform to help train infantry soldiers in realistic battlefields filled with millions of artificial intelligence agents.
Indian defense sector realized the importance of augmented reality and virtual reality in 2020 when the world was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic followed by lockdowns. Initially, during a seminar, the Indian army analyzed the impact of disruptive technologies in future warfare. Following this, they took technology and carried out virtual trainings. Indian armed forces have specialized training institutions spread across the country. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, they were unable to shift soldiers to various training institutions for training. Henceforth, they used virtual reality to undertake simulated practice in order to gain real-world experience. Even the naval forces used augmented reality to superimpose a navigation chart over the live view.
China has been at the forefront of adopting disruptive technologies for a long time now. As a sequel of that, the country has started training its military personnel with virtual reality technology to increase their combat capabilities. Recently, a logistics support unit affiliated with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Northern Theater Command Navy carried out a wartime fuel support drill in a simulation room.
