India’s military is increasingly using augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality reality (VR) products developed by startups in the process of enhancing its fighting capability.

From applications ranging from training pilots to repairing aircraft, increasing weapons efficiency and making tanks more flexible on the battlefield, all developed by startups.

A C-Through Armour, AjnaESAS (enhanced situational awareness system) featuring an AR-based head-mounted display and a 360-degree camera offering a 360-degree horizontal field of view inside the tank are products designed by a Mumbai-based AR / VR startup AjnaLens 12 crore in Pre-Series A last month.

“One of the limitations of tanks is the visual awareness of what is going on around the tank as they have to navigate through a small periscopic view, which makes navigation difficult”, says Abhishek Tomar, co-founder and chief technology officer, Ajnalens.

The said AR-based device enables drivers to safely navigate through dust, sand and fog, as well as enhancing the crew’s ability to survive.

In real time, a camera feed is created and sent to the AR headset.

“His company’s clients include the Indian Army, Indian Navy and the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO)”, adds Tomar.

The Indian Army, according to Pankaj Raut, co-founder and CEO of the company, was looking for a solution that would allow a soldier inside a tank to ‘see’ through his armored body. 1.5 crore for future development from the Ministry of Defense's iDEX initiative.

“While the project is nearing completion and the user test tests have been successfully completed, the final field tests are yet to be completed. The timeline for deployment has not been decided yet”, says Raut.

However, due to electronic systems like this being hijacked if they're connected to the internet during a conflict, the entire system is turned off and only the tank crew has access to it, according to the company.

Others are experimenting with AR/VR in the hopes of surviving. Many defense groups are working on concepts and demos, according to Kripalu Mehta, co-founder and CEO of Mumbai-based Parallax Lab.

Some of these products are currently being implemented, however adoption rates remain modest. One of the possible development areas where these AR / VR firms are seeing momentum is aircraft training and effective weapon use. Parallax, for example, has created a virtual reality-based customised flight simulator that is a more cost-effective alternative to standard flight simulators. In October 2021, India’s military is increasingly using augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality reality (VR) products developed by startups in the process of enhancing its fighting capability.