Knowing if or when you should draw your firearm from your belt is very important when de-escalating a scene. Each call is unique, so knowing when to draw your gun versus when to pull your CEW device, or even just use your voice, is crucial.
Being able to train with your own duty equipment is crucial in establishing proprioception and developing the kinesthetic awareness of what it should feel like to draw our service weapon. Simply put, training with the weapon that you would be using on a call is the best way to refine your skills with that weapon. However, when firing live guns in training, costs and cleanup can add up.
VirTra mitigates those additional costs and cleanup time with our laser firearms training simulators.
USING REAL FIREARMS
VirTra’s drop-in laser recoil kit converts a live firearm into a simulation-ready weapon with no permanent modification. Trainees can fire their real weapons in the VirTra simulators, gaining the experience of what it feels like to shoot their own firearm all in our immersive, true-to-life scenarios.
We have various laser firearms training simulator scenarios ranging from de-escalation to marksmanship. In the de-escalation scenarios, officers learn how and when firing their firearm is necessary. With extensive branching options, officers are able to learn the different de-escalation tactics that may or may not involve drawing their gun.
In the marksmanship courses, they can practice firearms fundamentals. With moving targets and selectable environmental conditions, officers can practice how to manipulate their firearm and develop a winning mindset.
Additional curriculums include Red Dot Optic Training & Sustainment, Weapon Transitions, Active Threat/ Active Killer, and more!
IMMERSIVE AND INTENSE
VirTra’s laser firearms training simulators range from one screen to five screens depending on what a department’s specific requirements are. For scenario-based firearm practice under full immersion, the V-180® or V-300® would be best. For a smaller training environment that supports both marksmanship and use of force training, the V-ST PRO® is a great option as well.
With minimized costs and cleanup and a revolutionary training system, VirTra is a valuable asset in police firearm training.
To hear more about our drop-in laser recoil kits and high fidelity simulators, contact a VirTra specialist.
Training needs to be realistic. It’s as simple as that.
However, training needs to also be accomplished in both short and long periods of time, be adaptable to the department’s policies and fit in classrooms. As such, a department’s best solution is simulation training. VirTra offers multiple simulators—complete with a different number of screens and footprint—so departments can choose the best option for them.
Best of all, the training stays realistic by allowing officers to train with their service firearms. To keep training safe, secure and to work with the simulator, officers forgo blanks or FX marking cartridges and instead install a drop-in laser recoil kit into the barrel and CO2 magazine into their magazine well.
Due to the nature of VirTra’s recoil kit design, this is not a permanent modification. Meaning, after training, officers simply remove the drop-in laser recoil kit and can again utilize their firearm in the field.
Don’t just take our word for it. VirTra prides ourselves in being able to show what we preach.
Watch how easy it is to install these kits in the video below!
To learn more about the types of drop-in laser recoil kits and how these revolutionize simulation training, contact a VirTra specialist.
Train hard, train smart, train safely with VirTra.
VirTra customers may notice their simulation training accessories include a small patent number and information printed on the device. This is because VirTra has gone through great lengths to patent-protect many of our training accessories.
After all, VirTra helped develop the use of force training simulation industry, shaping it into what it is today. We are proud of the work we have done, the miles we have paved and the technology that has allowed us to accomplish this feat.
Since we have worked so hard to make simulation training so state-of-the-art, realistic and valuable, VirTra decided to patent protect our products to ensure our training “secret sauce” remains with us.
VirTra’s patents currently apply to three training accessories: the Tetherless Drop-In Recoil Kits, Threat-Fire® and Axon TASER® training cartridges—though more accessories may be added in the future.
Patented Simulation Products
• Tetherless Drop-In Recoil Kits—Personal duty pistols and rifles can easily be converted into simulation-ready weapons with no permanent modification required. Rifle kits support semi- and full-auto fire, while pistol kits operate at the correct cyclical rate.
• Threat-Fire®— The Threat-Fire accessory enhances training by bringing real-life consequences into the simulation. This product delivers an electric impulse that simulates consequence actions, including: gunfire, explosions and dog attacks.
• TASER® training cartridges—Real Axon X2 and X26P TASER®s are outfitted with VirTra’s training cartridges, allowing them to function in a simulator. Upon deploying, characters on screen react accordingly and realistically.
The entire list of patent products and numbers can be found here: VirTra’s Patent Page.
For more information on VirTra’s Patented Products and how these accessories can further increase your training simulator’s abilities, contact a VirTra representative.
*AXON ,TASER, X2 and X26P are registered trademarks of AXON ENTERPRISE, INC which can be referenced at www.TASER.com/legal
Police academies and departments across the nation utilize a wide variety of methods and strategies to train new law enforcement officers. This can consist of roleplaying, lectures, trips to the range and so forth.
While each form of training has its benefits, they all fall short when utilized alone or siloed. This is because many training methods cannot account for the unpredictability officers will experience in the field, nor do they realistically immerse the trainees in the given scenario. This is why VirTra’s immersive simulators, such as the VirTra 300-degree judgmental use of force law enforcement simulator, provides a far more effective training.
The immerse quality is more than the physical immersion, though the V-300’s five screens do physically immerse trainees and officers, once they step into the simulator. Rather, immersion is taken to the next level with surround sound audio and integrated and interactive characters on each screen. In addition to this are the accessories: the Threat-Fire® provides real-life consequences and stress inoculation while VirTra’s recoil kits and CO2 magazines allow officers to utilize their personal firearms within the simulator. Instructors can take advantage of these immersive qualities to train officers in a variety of real-life situations from a safe, controlled and realistic environment.
Working Through Uncertainty
Law enforcement officials must work with unprecedented levels of environmental and situational unpredictability. After all, it’s a part of the job. While it is possible to account for some of the variables an officer might face, it is impossible to account for every variable in every situation, every day.
While lectures are important—after all, discussing the correct order of events provides direction and understanding—it cannot be the only form of training. Instructors can take training to the next level with roleplaying, though going through a scripted situation can only provide so much additional training. Simply put, there are no traditional teaching methods that can best prepare officers for the modern uncertainty they could face at any moment.
Why Scenario-Based Simulations
Even though there is a time and place for lecture-based and scenario-based training, trainees must train with immersive simulators to gain the best possible experience with ever changing outcomes in the moment based on the actions and reactions of the students. VirTra combines state-of-the-art technologies, certified curriculum and professional research to create a highly realistic training environment that increases and transfers skills to the field.
Instead of being told how to work through scenarios, trainees are placed in the middle of any given situation. The scenario begins with a voiceover of the police call from dispatch, then opening on the scene. After, trainees must engage with the subject(s) and make decisions to discover the best possible outcome. Each VirTra judgmental scenario is equipped with extensive branching options, allowing the instructor to choose the path of the scenario, based on the trainee’s decisions and actions inside the simulator. Training after this manner allows officers to engage in the same scenario multiple times, but receive a different ending each time, based on mistakes or proper choices made.
Immerse in Realistic Scenarios
At the end of the day, immersive scenario-based training establishes critical thinking and potentially life-saving skills that lectures. By surrounding trainees visually and auditorily, officers treat the training more seriously and find themselves engrossed in the situation.
Though VirTra’s simulators cannot completely replace other forms of training—such as live fire—it complements these skills and provides a foundation for an officer to build off of.
One of the most beneficial parts of the VirTra simulators is the debrief ability. After the scenario ends, instructors and trainees can replay the scenario and see what the trainee did correctly or mistakes that could have been avoided. The real-time play back, Picture-in-Picture playback videos and after-action provides extra training elaboration. No traditional method of training provides this debriefing opportunity or is as effective at helping officers understand the consequences of their actions.
VirTra’s immersive judgmental use of force simulator is a critical component of any department’s training program. Help your officers learn, build and maintain skills in the most realistic way possible with this immersive technology. To learn more, contact a VirTra specialist.