When they’re not flying real first-person-view drones, some Ukrainian pilots are training inside “Grand Theft Auto V.”
Ukraine has often leveraged video games and simulators to train pilots, helping them build the hand-eye coordination needed for flying FPV drones. The crossover of skillsets has even made gamers ideal candidates for drone pilot jobs. See, mom? Playing video games isn’t a waste of time.
Ukraine’s defense ministry shared a post showing off training, asking, “Are there any GTA fans here?” Yes, many, but they’re trying to figure out if their gaming PC is going to be able to run “Grand Theft Auto VI.”
The video shows a pilot flying inside GTA 5 using a drone controller, flying a bomb into vehicles driving on the highway. “It is noted that this is not a replacement for real training, but a great way to relax,” Ukraine’s defense ministry said in the video.
Ukraine’s new pilots go through training at drone schools across the country, learning the ropes in what’s become a pivotal role in the war: flying drones that scout Russian positions and movements, strike targets, and blow up tanks and troops.
School leaders recently told Business Insider that the best and brightest students are ones with gaming experience. They’ve played video games for years, are familiar with controllers and joysticks, and have the hand-eye coordination to match their movements and orientation with what they’re seeing on the screen or in goggles.
The benefits of enlisting younger gamers as drone pilots has been noted by Ukraine’s drone units as well. In the military’s special drone unit, Typhoon, operators are already familiar with equipment like headsets, goggles, and controllers. Gaming has given them better decision-making skills and fast reflexes.
There’s even a video game, “Death From Above,” that puts players in the position of a Ukrainian FPV drone pilot, prompting the user to fly through the battlefield, find and target enemies, and drop bombs. Anyone can play “Death From Above, which was released in 2024.
While gaming skills can make good pilots, they’re not the only things operators need. Pilots also need to have a strong understanding of drone flight and how they can maneuver on their missions. Operators with technical skills gained from engineering are able to tinker with drones, fix them in the field, and build them for specific missions.
And the realities of drone warfare, Ukraine has noted, have life-or-death consequences. There’s no restart button when an operator is hit by an enemy drone.
