Biological threat detection missions leave little room for uncertainty. When warfighters are asked to operate unmanned aircraft systems, manage sensor payloads, interpret environmental readings, and support high-consequence reconnaissance operations, they need more than classroom familiarity. They need practice. They need repetition. They need realistic mission conditions that allow them to build confidence before they are asked to perform in the field.
That is why ForgeFX Simulations is proud to announce that we have been awarded a U.S. Army subcontract to expand access to our CBRN drone pilot training simulator, developed in partnership with MRIGlobal. Under this new effort, ForgeFX will convert its fielded Unmanned Vehicle Tele-Operation Training Simulator into a browser-based application delivered through the Joint Acquisition CBRN Knowledge System, or JACKS, the Army’s authoritative training and information channel for CBRN personnel.
This next phase represents an important step forward for scalable simulation-based training. By moving the simulator from dedicated workstation deployments to secure browser-based access, the program is designed to make high-fidelity CBRN drone training more accessible to authorized personnel, while reducing the logistical, technical, and operational barriers that can limit hands-on practice.
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| ForgeFX Simulations’ CBRND UAS drone teleoperation training simulator supports realistic, simulation-based training for biological threat detection and CBRN mission readiness. |
Training for a Mission Where Realism Matters
The simulator trains UAS pilots, sensor operators, and mission commanders to remotely operate the Teledyne FLIR R80D Skyraider drone while using the MUVE B330 Continuous Biological Detector and Collector to detect and collect airborne biological contamination samples.
In a real mission environment, those tasks require coordination, precision, and disciplined decision-making. Operators must understand how the aircraft behaves, how the sensor responds, how contamination zones change relative to drone position, and how mission progress should be managed through each phase of the reconnaissance cycle. They also need to understand the limitations of the equipment and the consequences of missed steps, poor positioning, or delayed action.
Live training for these types of scenarios is inherently constrained. Physical CBRN systems are specialized, expensive, and not always available for repeated training. Live aerosol testing introduces cost, safety, scheduling, and environmental limitations. Dedicated training workstations can be effective, but they can also restrict when and where personnel are able to train.
Simulation changes that equation.
A well-designed training simulator gives learners a safe, repeatable environment where they can practice real procedures with realistic equipment behavior. It allows users to experience mission flow, interpret sensor feedback, make operational decisions, and learn from mistakes without exposing people, equipment, or facilities to unnecessary risk. For high-stakes CBRN missions, that combination of realism and repeatability is critical.
From Dedicated Workstations to Browser-Based Access
The new subcontract focuses on expanding access. ForgeFX will adapt the existing Unmanned Vehicle Tele-Operation Training Simulator into a browser-based application, making it available through JACKS for authorized CBRN personnel.
That shift is significant because accessibility is often one of the biggest challenges in specialized military training. Even when a simulator is highly effective, training value can be limited if users must travel to specific locations, access dedicated hardware, or rely on locally installed software. Browser-based deployment helps reduce those barriers by allowing approved users to access training through a centralized platform without requiring local installation or specialized workstation setups.
For CBRN units, this creates a more scalable training model. Personnel can prepare more consistently. Updates can be managed more efficiently. New lessons, scenario changes, refinements, and future enhancements can be distributed more easily. Instead of treating simulation as a tool available only in limited training environments, the browser-based model helps position it as an operational readiness resource that can reach a broader authorized audience.
As ForgeFX CEO and Co-Founder Greg Meyers noted in the announcement, the effort is about removing barriers between the warfighter and the training they need. The project takes a high-fidelity simulator built around real equipment, real procedures, and real mission conditions, and makes it available through a secure browser without local installation or specialized hardware. That changes the economics of military training and gives CBRN units a more scalable way to build readiness for high-consequence missions.
Built Around Real Equipment, Real Procedures, and Real Mission Conditions
The simulator was originally developed by ForgeFX and MRIGlobal in close partnership with Teledyne FLIR, manufacturer of both the R80D Skyraider UAS and the MUVE B330 sensor. Teledyne FLIR provided technical documentation and unclassified test data, and hosted ForgeFX engineers at the U.S. Army Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah to observe live Skyraider and Nuclear Biological Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle aerosol detection testing.
That level of collaboration matters. In simulation-based training, visual realism is only part of the challenge. A mission trainer must also reproduce operational logic, procedural flow, system behavior, environmental response, and the user interface patterns that learners will encounter when operating real systems.
For this program, ForgeFX created an interactive training environment in which the simulated B330 sensor responds dynamically to the drone’s position relative to simulated contamination zones. That gives learners a more meaningful training experience than static instruction alone. They are not simply reading about sensor behavior; they are seeing how mission decisions influence sensor response, how positioning affects detection, and how procedural accuracy contributes to mission success.
The simulator also incorporates the broader mission workflow. Learners move through a curriculum that covers the reconnaissance mission cycle, including UAS launch, waypoint navigation using the Android Team Awareness Kit, aerosol sampling, and post-mission close-out. An unguided capstone mission then presents a randomized contamination scenario and scores performance.
This structure supports both guided learning and independent assessment. Trainees can build familiarity step by step, then demonstrate competency in a scenario where they must apply what they have learned without relying on scripted guidance.
Why Simulation Is Essential for CBRN Readiness
CBRN training presents a difficult combination of challenges. The equipment is specialized. The operating environment is complex. The consequences of error can be severe. The scenarios that matter most are often difficult, expensive, or unsafe to reproduce in live training.
Traditional instruction can teach concepts and procedures, but operational readiness requires practice. Warfighters need to rehearse the timing, coordination, and decision-making required in real missions. They need to experience changing conditions. They need to repeat procedures until they become familiar. They need to make mistakes in an environment where those mistakes become learning opportunities instead of operational hazards.
Simulation-based training directly addresses those needs.
A simulator can recreate mission conditions that would be difficult or impractical to reproduce in the field. It can expose trainees to varied contamination scenarios, environmental conditions, mission paths, system responses, and performance outcomes. It can standardize instruction across users and locations while still allowing scenarios to vary enough to test judgment and adaptability. It can also capture performance data that helps instructors identify skill gaps and reinforce best practices.
For CBRN drone operations, this is especially valuable. UAS pilots and sensor operators must understand both aircraft control and payload behavior. They must coordinate movement, sampling, and mission objectives while interpreting data and responding to changing conditions. Simulation allows those skills to be practiced together, rather than taught as disconnected pieces of information.
A Multi-Year Collaboration Supporting Defense Training
This subcontract builds on a multi-year collaboration between ForgeFX and MRIGlobal supporting CBRN defense simulation for the U.S. Army. The two organizations previously delivered an unmanned ground vehicle teleoperation trainer for the same NBCRV program, followed by the full Unmanned Vehicle Tele-Operation Training Simulator that serves as the foundation for this new browser-based deployment.
ForgeFX and MRIGlobal have also delivered the CBRND HoloTrainer, a mixed-reality device training suite for CBRN Special Operations Forces under a separate engagement supporting CPE CBRND’s Joint Project Manager for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Special Operations Forces. Each effort has built on shared technical foundations, domain knowledge, and a commitment to creating simulation systems that reflect the complexity of real-world CBRN operations.
For ForgeFX, that continuity is important. Defense training simulators are not one-off visualizations. They are evolving systems that must reflect real equipment, real procedures, and the changing needs of training organizations. Each project strengthens the next by expanding the team’s understanding of CBRN workflows, military training requirements, user experience design, and scalable deployment strategies.
The Future of Scalable Military Training
The move toward browser-based access reflects a broader shift in simulation-based training. Organizations increasingly need training systems that are not only realistic, but also scalable, maintainable, measurable, and easier to deploy across distributed user populations.
In defense environments, those needs are especially urgent. Training must keep pace with new equipment, evolving mission requirements, and distributed personnel. Units need consistent access to high-quality training without always relying on physical equipment, live-test environments, or dedicated local installations. Instructors need tools that can support both guided learning and performance evaluation. Program managers need platforms that can be updated efficiently as requirements change.
Simulation helps meet those needs by turning complex equipment and mission procedures into repeatable digital training experiences. Browser-based delivery extends that value by making those experiences easier to distribute to the people who need them.
This does not replace the importance of live training or hands-on experience with real systems. Instead, it strengthens the overall training pipeline. Simulation gives learners a place to build familiarity, practice procedures, develop confidence, and make mistakes safely before moving into higher-cost or higher-risk training environments. When used strategically, it can make live training more productive because trainees arrive better prepared.
ForgeFX’s Commitment to Mission-Ready Simulation
For more than two decades, ForgeFX Simulations has developed immersive 3D training solutions for organizations operating complex equipment, procedures, and mission environments. Across industries including defense, heavy equipment, energy, healthcare, aviation, and manufacturing, our work is centered on a consistent goal: helping people learn by doing, safely and effectively, before they perform in the real world.
This subcontract continues that mission. By expanding access to CBRN drone pilot training through a secure browser-based deployment, ForgeFX and MRIGlobal are helping support a more scalable model for warfighter readiness. The program combines high-fidelity simulation, real equipment behavior, structured curriculum, scenario-based assessment, and modern deployment architecture to address one of the most important challenges in advanced military training: getting realistic practice into the hands of more authorized users, more efficiently.
CBRN missions demand precision. Drone-based biological threat detection requires coordination, confidence, and procedural discipline. Simulation gives warfighters a way to build those capabilities before the mission depends on them.
ForgeFX is honored to support this effort alongside MRIGlobal, Teledyne FLIR, and the U.S. Army CBRN defense community, and we look forward to continuing our work at the intersection of immersive training, mission readiness, and scalable defense simulation.
Additional Industry Coverage
ForgeFX’s U.S. Army CBRN drone training subcontract has also been covered by defense, unmanned systems, CBRN, and government-contracting industry publications. These articles provide additional context on the program’s role in expanding access to browser-based simulation training for biological threat detection missions, as well as its relevance to UAS readiness, CBRN defense, and modern military training infrastructure.
- Defense Advancement — “Drone Pilots to Receive Web-Based Biological Threat Detection Training”
A defense-industry article highlighting the subcontract, the transition to browser-based training, and the simulator’s role in supporting airborne biological threat detection readiness. - UAS Weekly — “ForgeFX and MRIGlobal Expand U.S. Army Drone Pilot Training for CBRN and Biological Threat Detection Missions”
Drone and unmanned systems coverage focused on the UAS training aspects of the program, including the R80D Skyraider, MUVE B330 sensor, and CBRN mission workflow. - CBRNe World — “ForgeFX Simulations and MRIGlobal Expand Access to U.S. Army Drone Pilot Training for Biological Threat Detection”
CBRN-focused industry coverage placing the announcement in front of readers who follow chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive defense technologies. - SamSearch — “U.S. Army Enhances CBRN Drone Training with New Browser-Based Simulator”
A government-contracting market-intelligence brief summarizing the award, key agencies and vendors, and the broader procurement signals around simulation software, UAS technology, and CBRN training. - ACCESS Newswire — Official Press Release
The original announcement from ForgeFX Simulations detailing the subcontract, program partners, training objectives, and browser-based deployment through JACKS.
