Project WARDEC – India’s upcoming AI-powered wargame centre

Context

The Army Training Command recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Gandhinagar-based Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) to develop a ‘Wargame Research and Development Centre’ in New Delhi.

About

About WARDEC:

WARDEC will be a first-of-its-kind simulation-based training centre in India that will use artificial intelligence to design virtual reality wargames.
The Wargame Research and Development Centre will be used by the Army to train its soldiers and test their strategies through “metaverse-enabled gameplay”.
The wargame models will be designed to prepare for wars as well as counter-terror and counter-insurgency operations.

How will these simulation exercises play out?

Soldiers will test their skills in the metaverse where their surroundings will be simulated using a combination of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).
In metaverse, the players will get a realistic experience of the actual situation.
If a weapon weighing 5 kg drops or the air pressure falls, they will feel it like anyone would in a live situation, real-time.
The game would play out player versus player, player versus computer or even computer versus computer.

How will the centre help the Army?

The Army intends to use the wargame centre to train its officers in military strategies.
According to RRU officials, the Army will provide data to set the backdrop of the gameplay, so that participants get a realistic experience.
In Army, it is often said that the enemy can ambush you from 361 directions, where 360 sides are around the soldier, and one is above in case there is an airdrop.
So, wargame simulation helps the Army think of all possible scenarios.
Aspects such as slope of terrain, weather, time, air pressure, enemy surveillance reach, reach of artillery, the position of troops, soldier’s health and enemy’s reaction capabilities are all taken into account by the use of AI.

Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU):

The RRU is an institute under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
It specialises in national security and policing.
Located in Gandhinagar’s Lavad village, it is an “institute of national importance”.
It is established by the Parliament of India, Act No. 31 of 2020.
The University aims to become an academic-research-training ecosystem for national security and police.
Its endeavors focus on highly professional national security, police education, research, and training through its qualified civilian and security faculty, committed human resources, motivated participants and students, intellectually stimulating and professional disciplined environment, and world-wide network, sharing, and exchange.
It aims at providing security and strategic education in the contemporary and futuristic security and strategic studies and interdisciplinary areas.