Each topic below explains the evidence, the business problem it creates, how GLOBEIR solves it, the benefits to your organisation, and how your data stays private and secure.
1. What a 3D Terrain Model Is
A 3D terrain model is a digital copy of the Earth's surface, built from elevation data and usually draped with imagery so it can be viewed, measured and simulated on.
- DEM (Digital Elevation Model): the bare-earth surface, excluding trees, buildings and other surface objects. DSM (Digital Surface Model): includes buildings and vegetation. DTM is often used interchangeably with DEM [12].
- SRTM: flown on Space Shuttle Endeavour in February 2000, jointly by NASA and the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, producing the first near-global high-resolution digital elevation model [13], at about 30 m spacing [14].
- Cartosat-1 / CartoDEM (India): launched 5 May 2005 with fore (+26°) and aft (−5°) cameras for 2.5 m along-track stereo. Its data built a national DEM for India, and the 30 m CartoDEM released free on Bhuvan was downloaded about 74,000 times. ISRO lists topographic mapping, coastal vulnerability assessment and disaster management among its uses [15].
- Drone photogrammetry: the US Army describes a backpack kit in which a soldier marks an area of up to 1 km² on a tablet and a drone collects imagery automatically, cutting a process that previously took weeks to about three hours from flight to 3D view [16].
- 3D Tiles: an OGC Community Standard for streaming massive 3D content such as photogrammetry, 3D buildings, BIM/CAD and point clouds [17]. It is the basis for the "Well Formed Format" of the US Army's One World Terrain [18].
- Augmented-reality sand tables: the US Army Research Laboratory's ARES projects a topographic map onto real sand and adjusts it as the sand is reshaped, built from low-cost commercial parts to cut the time needed to create a terrain model and scenario [19][20].
Business problem
Many training establishments still prepare terrain study on hand-built sand models and paper maps. A sand table takes time to build, cannot be measured precisely, cannot be shared between classrooms and is lost once the exercise ends. Instructors also face a confusing mix of elevation sources and formats (DEM, DSM, SRTM, CartoDEM, drone surveys) and rarely have the specialist time to turn them into one consistent, usable model [12][14][15].
Our solution
- The Digital Sand Model builds 3D terrain for the areas an institution specifies, from public elevation data such as CartoDEM and SRTM or from drone photogrammetry where the institution has authorised the survey, draped with imagery.
- Terrain is streamed in the open 3D Tiles format [17], so large areas, buildings and point clouds load in a standard browser without special hardware.
- Each terrain package records its source, resolution and date, so instructors know what the model can and cannot show.
- The same terrain can be used alongside 2D map work in the Army GIS Map.
Benefits
- Terrain for a new area in hours rather than weeks. In one published industry example, a drone-to-3D workflow for about 1 km² fell from weeks to about three hours [16].
- A measurable model: heights, slopes and distances are read directly instead of estimated by eye.
- Reusable and shareable across classrooms, courses and years, unlike a physical sand table.
- An open streaming standard avoids lock-in to a single vendor [17].
- Free national datasets such as the 30 m CartoDEM keep data costs low for broad-area study [15].
Privacy & data security
- Data involved: elevation models, imagery and drone surveys of training areas. High-resolution terrain of sensitive locations needs protection even when it is unclassified.
- Stored and processed in India: data finer than the DST threshold (1 m horizontal, 3 m vertical) is stored and processed only in India and is never transmitted to servers of a non-Indian entity [21][22]. Public 30 m CartoDEM and SRTM data are far coarser than this threshold [14][15].
- Negative list and restricted premises: attributes on the DST negative list are excluded or handled as the client directs, and drone or field surveys are carried out only where the client has authorised access, since the guidelines give no right of access to restricted premises [21].
- Delivered offline: terrain packages can be built and delivered for on-premise or air-gapped installation, with no dependency on external servers.
2. Air Force and Aviation Uses
- Flight simulators and mission rehearsal. On 11 November 2024 the Indian Air Force inaugurated a C-295 Full Motion Simulator at Air Force Station Agra for tactical airlift, para-dropping, medical evacuation and disaster-relief missions. A significant part of pilot training can be done in the simulator, saving valuable flying hours [23].
- Terrain awareness. Terrain-following and terrain-awareness systems (such as TAWS) rely on stored terrain and obstacle databases alongside GPS, so the accuracy of the terrain model is central to flight safety [24].
- Synthetic vision. NASA's Synthetic Vision system shows a computer-generated 3D view of terrain and obstacles on the cockpit display, built from onboard terrain, obstacle and airport databases. In NASA testing it lowered the chance of hazardous events by 85% compared with traditional instruments [25].
- Landing-zone and airfield planning. Geospatial products cover helicopter landing zones, drop zones, airfield analysis and vertical-obstruction analysis [26].
Business problem
Flying hours are expensive and limited, yet aircrew must prepare for tactical airlift, para-dropping, medical evacuation and disaster-relief missions over unfamiliar ground [23]. Terrain and obstacle data are central to flight safety [24], and studying landing zones, drop zones and airfield surroundings from maps and photographs alone is slow and gives aircrew little feel for the ground before they fly.
Our solution
- 3D terrain and imagery of the areas a course needs, for ground-school briefing and route familiarisation on the Digital Sand Model.
- Study layers for landing and drop zones: slope, elevation profiles, vegetation and surface objects from a DSM, and approach views along a planned route.
- Terrain exported in standard formats, so it can be integrated with existing simulators where the institution requires it.
- GLOBEIR terrain supports briefing and study; it does not replace certified avionics or simulator databases.
Benefits
- Better-prepared aircrew who have seen the ground in 3D before flying.
- Supports the shift of training to simulators: the IAF notes that a significant part of pilot training can be done in the C-295 simulator, saving valuable flying hours (industry example) [23].
- Terrain awareness improves safety: in NASA testing, synthetic 3D terrain views lowered the chance of hazardous events by 85% compared with traditional instruments (industry example) [25].
- The same terrain package serves briefing, simulator integration and disaster-relief exercises.
Privacy & data security
- Data involved: high-resolution terrain and surface-object data around airfields and training areas.
- Stored in India: any data finer than the DST threshold stays on servers in India, or entirely on the client's own systems, and never reaches non-Indian servers [21][22].
- Air-gapped option: terrain can be delivered and run fully offline, with no external server dependency.
- Authorised areas only: surveys are done only where the client has authorised access, and negative-list attributes are handled as the client directs [21].
3. Training and Simulation
The Live-Virtual-Constructive (LVC) framework. US defence modelling-and-simulation terminology defines three types: Live (real people operating real systems), Virtual (real people operating simulated systems) and Constructive (simulated people operating simulated systems) [27]. A shared, accurate 3D terrain is what allows the three to be combined in one exercise.
US Army Synthetic Training Environment (STE) and One World Terrain (OWT). STE combines live, virtual, constructive and gaming environments for training and mission rehearsal, with One World Terrain as its common 3D terrain [16][28], described as a virtual representation of the physical Earth accessible through the Army network [18]. In March 2024, tank, helicopter and Stryker crews tested STE; one participant noted the value of training virtually instead of spending the fuel, ammunition and logistics of going out in the field [29]. The Army says the STE Live Training System lets soldiers do more repetitions than live fire allows while reducing training costs and improving safety, with fielding at Combat Training Centres starting in FY2026 [30].
NATO. The NATO Modelling & Simulation Centre of Excellence in Rome supports NATO, member nations and partners in all aspects of M&S, with the aim of improving both operational effectiveness and resource management [31][32].
India.
- Army Training Command (ARTRAC), formed in 1991 and based at Shimla, includes among its roles integrating technology such as simulation-based war-gaming into training [33].
- Wargaming Development Centre (WARDEC): at a February 2026 seminar on Enhancing Military Decision-Making through Wargaming and Simulation in New Delhi, the Indian Army released three indigenous tools, including an Auto Evaluation Map Marking Tool and Automated Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield [34].
- Combat Training Node, Infantry School, Mhow: described as India's first Combat Training Node, with 60+ simulators, live-virtual-constructive training and after-action review (reported December 2025) [35].
- Indian Air Force: C-295 Full Motion Simulator at Agra (see above) [23].
Business problem
Live exercises consume fuel, ammunition and equipment life and allow only a limited number of repetitions [29][30]. Combining live, virtual and constructive training needs a shared, accurate terrain [27], and institutions want indigenous systems that run on their own networks. Without a record of how an exercise unfolded, after-action review depends on memory and hand-drawn sketches, so lessons are lost between courses.
Our solution
- A common terrain package that every classroom and exercise uses, built on open standards [17] so it can be shared with existing simulation tools where needed.
- Phase-wise scenario playback and route and movement replay for after-action discussion.
- Scenario builder, symbology library and course-ready exercise templates, with instructor training.
- Developed in India and deployable on-premise or offline on the institution's own hardware.
Benefits
- More repetitions at lower cost: training establishments abroad report lower training costs, safer training and more repetitions than live fire allows (industry example) [29][30].
- A TERI study estimates that simulator-based training could save the Indian Armed Forces over ₹1,000 crore a year; this is a modelled projection, not a measured result [36].
- Better learning from each exercise through replay-based after-action review.
- Consistent exercises across courses, with less live resource use in the preparatory stages.
Privacy & data security
- Data involved: scenario files, exercise replays and trainee assessment records.
- Kept inside the institution: all of this stays on the institution's own servers or an air-gapped system, with no dependency on external servers.
- Client policies and audits: handling follows the institution's information-security policies, and GLOBEIR supports its security audits.
- NDA: confidentiality obligations are set out in a non-disclosure agreement.
4. Civil and Disaster-Response Uses of the Same Technology
The same terrain and 3D-modelling methods support relief work. US Army Corps of Engineers researchers used 2D/3D machine-learning models of aerial imagery to locate debris and estimate its volume after the 2023 Maui wildfires and Hurricane Helene, helping responders allocate resources and plan clean-up [37]. ISRO lists coastal tsunami and cyclone vulnerability assessment, watershed planning and disaster management among CartoDEM's uses [15], and the IAF C-295 simulator explicitly includes disaster-relief and medical-evacuation scenarios [23].
Business problem
Armed forces are often called on for flood, landslide and cyclone relief, and planning staff must prepare quickly: which areas will flood, which routes stay open, where helicopters can land. If training terrain and civil-response maps sit in separate systems, the work is duplicated, and preparation time is lost when it matters most [15][37].
Our solution
- Flood-inundation, landslide-susceptibility and access-route layers on the same 3D terrain used for training.
- Humanitarian assistance and disaster-relief scenarios that use the same scenario builder and replay tools.
- Coordination maps prepared for civil agencies when the client chooses to share them, through WebGIS.
Benefits
- One platform for training and humanitarian assistance, so staff already know the tools when a disaster strikes.
- Faster relief planning: 2D/3D models of aerial imagery have been used to locate debris and estimate its volume after major disasters, helping responders allocate resources (industry example) [37].
- Disaster-relief scenarios can be rehearsed in advance, as in the C-295 simulator's training scope [23].
- Public CartoDEM data already supports coastal vulnerability and disaster-management studies, keeping data costs low [15].
Privacy & data security
- Data involved: terrain, imagery and access routes for disaster-prone areas, often combined with the client's own sensitive layers.
- Client controls sharing: nothing is shared with civil agencies unless the client approves it, and shared maps can be generalised to coarser detail.
- DST rules: finer-than-threshold data stays in India, and negative-list attributes are kept out of shared products [21][22].
- Offline when needed: the full system can run on-premise or air-gapped.
5. Proven Benefits
| Benefit |
Evidence |
| Faster terrain production |
Drone-to-3D terrain for about 1 km² reduced from weeks to about 3 hours [16] |
| Lower cost |
Avoided fuel, ammunition and logistics cited by STE testers [29]; reduced training costs [30] |
| Repeatability |
More repetitions than live fire allows [30] |
| Safety |
Safer training [30]; 85% fewer hazardous events with synthetic vision in NASA testing [25] |
| Saved flying hours |
Significant share of pilot training moved to the simulator [23] |
| Faster planning |
Geospatial products reduce analysis time for planners [26] |
| India-specific estimate |
A TERI study (reported May 2026) estimates simulator-based training could save the Indian Armed Forces over ₹1,000 crore a year. This is a modelled projection, not a measured result [36] |