In August 2019, the National Academy of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine received SKIF training kits. The equipment allowed for carrying out separate stages of combat training without the use of live or blank ammunition. The general level of quality and efficiency of training has been increased, and many new opportunities for the command and soldiers have opened up.
The effectiveness of the SKIF system was noted by both the command and the cadets!
The head of the Academy department, Colonel Andriy Belorus, commented that:
“The systems allow not only to train the shooting skills of soldier, but also to practice full-fledged bilateral fire, with further development in the area tactics as close as possible to the real battlefield. Also, the software records all the information about training:
- The coordinates of soldiers’ movement on the range.
- The conditional shots and other actions of cadets.
- The characteristics and conditional mortality of injuries.”
The cadets liked the fact that regular weapons and military equipment are used during the training without any changes to the design. Cadet Dmytro Kravchuk, in a comment on training using the SKIF personal kit, stressed that the differences from the real fight are minimal:
“When shooting there is no difference, except for the sound and the light-emitting diodes.”
So soldiers can train with their regular weapons, with minimal visual differences.
Summing up the opinion of the National Academy about SKIF systems, we can highlight that the equipment allowed the Academy to:
- Simulate full fire contact, with shooting, tactical movements, and other maneuvers.
- Conduct training without the use of live or blank ammunition.
- Train soldiers in conditions as close as possible to those where they will have their military service.
- Provide the cadets with teamwork skills in tactical and psychological terms.
- Track all the actions and the overall level of effectiveness of each soldier during special training operations.
For the National Academy of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, SKIF training systems have become one step towards the implementation of NATO standards for the training of highly qualified border guards. We wish the cadets and the command success in their studies and future service at the border.