Cyber Innovation Center Won Award for VR Training Tool
The Bossier City-based facility received industry recognition for a virtual reality platform built for Air Force personnel.
Updated on Oct. 11, 2026 in Cybersecurity
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The Cyber Innovation Center has earned a Gold Best in Category award in the 18th Annual 2026 Globee Awards for Innovation for its collaborative work on a virtual reality training platform. The project, designed for U.S. Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal Airmen, was developed alongside partners Adaptive Immersion Technologies and STRIKEWERX.
Why it matters
The system aims to enhance mission readiness and lower training costs by providing scalable simulations for high-stakes environments. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency has committed an additional $2 million in funding to support the ongoing development of the training project.
The platform simulates aircraft crash sites and radiation physics, allowing Airmen to navigate environments and receive feedback on cognitive skills. This approach enables increased training repetitions and reduced setup time compared to traditional, resource-intensive physical exercises.
The players
Cyber Innovation Center
A Bossier City-based organization focused on developing collaborative technological solutions for defense and security.
Defense Threat Reduction Agency
The combat support agency that provides funding and oversight for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threat reduction efforts.
U.S. Air Force
The branch of the military currently integrating this virtual reality training for Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel.
Adaptive Immersion Technologies
A technology firm specializing in immersive simulation and virtual reality platforms.
STRIKEWERX
A collaborative innovation hub that connects Air Force Global Strike Command with industry and academic partners.
The details
The platform utilizes virtual reality to recreate hazardous scenarios, including radiation physics and aircraft crash site conditions. By leveraging this digital environment, the system provides a feedback loop on cognitive performance that is difficult to replicate in field training. This collaborative implementation bridges the gap between software development and tactical readiness requirements for EOD specialists.
Timeline
2026: The 18th Annual Globee Awards for Innovation took place.
The Tech Race
This effort aligns with the Department of Defense's broader pivot toward virtual simulations to maintain readiness against complex threats. It competes with internal and commercial training paradigms that currently rely on physical mock-ups, which are significantly more expensive to maintain and reset.
This development primarily affects the workflow of Air Force EOD Airmen, who will benefit from faster training cycles and lower physical setup requirements. While the system is currently specialized for military use, the underlying simulation architecture establishes a precedent for how high-risk industries perform remote radiation training.
The takeaway
The project represents a significant shift toward digital-first tactical training, demonstrating the efficiency gains of virtual environments. Stakeholders should monitor future project benchmarks to see how this simulation impacts overall mission readiness metrics in the coming year.
Further reading
For more information on how local centers are scaling defense tech, visit the Cybersecurity section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by KTBS.
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Should the military prioritize virtual simulation platforms to reduce its training costs?
