The Gandhinagar-based Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) will develop a Wargame Research and Development Centre in New Delhi for the Indian Army to train its soldiers in virtual reality simulation war games designed specifically to meet the challenges of counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations by the armed forces in India.
According to Indian Army officials and the university management, a memorandum of understanding was signed between RRU, an institute specialising in national security and policing, and the Army Training Command of the Indian Army on Friday to develop the Wargame Research and Development Centre in New Delhi.
The laboratory will be prepared by Tech Mahindra, while the RRU intends that the wargame centre provides a “realistic” experience to the user. The Indian Army will provide data to the university to develop model backgrounds for their soldiers to train virtually.
The MoU will facilitate co-operation and collaboration in the niche field of simulation, computer wargaming, and allied technologies,” read a statement from the Army Training Command, Indian Army.
As per officials privy to the development, the project has been given a prototype name ‘WARDEC’ and it will be a first-of-its-kind simulation-based training centre in India where the army can train its soldiers in diverse combat situations through virtual reality wargames where artificial intelligence (AI) will be used to design the “gameplay” as per the present-day needs of the army.
The RRU has been established as an “institute of national importance” through an act passed in the Parliament in 2020 and it functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
“The RRU has enhanced capabilities in domains of Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security, as also defence and strategic studies. Along with Maker’s Lab, which is the research and development division of technology leader Tech Mahindra, RRU will establish the wargame centre which will incorporate emerging technologies into war game development. This will allow realistic experience for the users,” said Colonel Nidhish Bhatnagar, Director, School of Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security at RRU. The outcomes will be an input for the shaping of strategies and doctrines of the Indian Army, he added.
