Training with computers is used to make conscript training more effective. The objective of the virtual training environment is to intensify training at company level. This adds value also to training of personnel for all of the statutory tasks of the Defence Forces. The system will be introduced during 2017 in all of the Defence Forces' brigade-level units.
The software chosen for the virtual training environment is Virtual Battle Space 3. Computer-assisted training increases the efficiency of time used for training as a troop's basic tactical skills can be practised in a virtual environment first, and then applied later in the terrain. Time is not wasted moving from one location to another and there is more repetition. Money is saved in basic exercises when vehicles and blank ammunition are not needed.
The motivation of trainees is high, virtual environments are familiar to many already from before. Effects that adversely affect learning results, such as the weather, are not a factor in the virtual environment, and it is possible to practice things that cannot be practised in the terrain for in-service safety reasons.
In its entirety, the purchase of the system is implemented during 2016–2017. Most of the classrooms will have been assembled by the end of May 2017. The system will be in use in 19 localities. A total of 29 classrooms have been built in 16 brigade-level units of the Defence Forces and three classrooms in the Border Guard. A total of 1,200 computers will be used in the training. The procurement cost is around 3 million Euro.
