According to ArmyInform, experience has shown that simulators significantly accelerate familiarization with new platforms and reduce wear and tear on operational vehicles.
"When we trained cadets on an actual Bradley, mistakes could be costly — and time was already in short supply," one instructor said. "Having the ability to analyze errors on a simulator — whether during driving, start-up, or other procedures — saves a great deal of time and preserves the service life of combat vehicles."
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When Ukraine first received M2 Bradleys, there was no domestic training infrastructure for the platform, and Ukrainian crews had to complete their courses in Europe.
Mykola Salamakha, director of the company that developed and produced the simulators, said it took about a year to make the decision to build an M2 Bradley trainer.
"We decided to replicate realistic operating conditions inside the IFV. The simulator needed to be dynamic and provide full-scope training for the driver-mechanic. The next stage will be simulators for the gunner-operator and the commander."
Salamakha noted that several systems had been removed from the Bradley vehicles supplied to Ukraine — systems the Ukrainian Armed Forces cannot currently use due to a lack of supporting infrastructure.
"For instance, we don’t have an electronic battlefield environment or the Blue Force Identification system, which is the ground-based equivalent of "friend-or-foe" recognition. Therefore, we don't simulate those. However, we can reproduce the remaining systems with about 90% accuracy. We are now finalizing the software and addressing the remaining technical issues."
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