Most FPV drone operators in Ukraine receive a few weeks of training before being sent to the front. WeTrueGun — a training center certified by the Ministry of Defense — is trying to get the maximum out of each of those weeks. One of the tools has become Seek & Destroy: an FPV simulator embedded in Grand Theft Auto V.

What exactly was changed in the game

According to WeTrueGun's YouTube demonstration, the modification transformed GTA V into a full-fledged flight trainer with distance display, RSSI signal level, flight time, and other telemetry — the same parameters an operator sees in the field HUD of a real FPV. The simulator supports professional radio controllers, allows you to change the characteristics of the virtual drone, and uses GTA V's open world as a training ground for pursuing moving ground and air targets.

The name Seek & Destroy reflects the training task: practicing target search, tracking, and engagement — the very phases where a drone or target is most often lost at the beginning of a pilot's combat career.

Place in the training program

Seek & Destroy is neither the first nor the last stage. As WeTrueGun explains, training begins with the LiftOFF simulator, then transitions to the certified military ORBIT platform, and only after that — to real flights first on TinyWhoop, then on 5-inch drones.

«Knowledge passed on at WeTrueGun cannot be found on YouTube or in Telegram channels. Specialized skills are transmitted directly from instructors with combat experience».

WeTrueGun, official website of the training center

Before transitioning to combat 7–10-inch drones and reconnaissance Mavic and Autel models, each student goes through an engineering course: assembling and programming the drone and independently manufacturing batteries. At the end of each training day — repair and checklist inspection.

Why GTA V instead of a specialized simulator

GTA V's open world provides what most FPV trainers lack: dense urban development, diverse moving targets, unpredictable trajectories. Dev.ua notes that the solution also allows pilots to «train and rest» in the same environment — a psychological relief factor that has practical significance in extended courses.

In parallel, other simulation solutions are developing in Ukraine. According to Nextgov/FCW, over 5,000 drone pilots have already completed training on the UFDS simulator in operator schools. A separate direction is trainers for practicing interaction between an FPV operator and an infantry rifleman, which units of the Defense Forces began testing at the end of 2025.

Context: simulation as a competitive advantage

Russia spent approximately 540 million rubles (over 5.7 million euros) in 2024 on drone control courses in schools, covering simulators, FPV drones, and UAV laboratories, according to Doxa. The program is designed to reach millions of specialists by 2030. The Ukrainian response is decentralized: dozens of independent centers like WeTrueGun, each with its own methodology that adapts faster to front-line changes than centralized educational bureaucracy.

Seek & Destroy is a deliberate decision about where exactly in the training pipeline the game engine stands: after basic simulators, but before real hardware. If WeTrueGun opens this tool to other schools or publishes data on its impact in reducing drone losses during the first combat sortie — it will be possible to assess whether the unconventional approach lives up to its name.