ArmA Developer’s Australia-Based Military Spin-Off Expands Its NSW Operations

Bohemia Interactive is best known for its ArmA series of combat sims and the standalone version of the borderline masochistic DayZ mod, but you may be surprised to learn that the company has had an outpost in Australia since 2001, with its primary focus being Bohemia’s Virtual Battlespace product (VBS).

Designed for the military, VBS is now used by the armed forces of the US, Canada, Sweden, the UK and of course, Australia. Recently, Bohemia’s local arm expanded its operations to provide a “dedicated training facility” at the Williamtown Aerospace Centre in NSW.

According to a press release from the NSW Government (the facility was helped along by the Regional Industries Investment Fund), the new digs will also be used for customer support and software development.

VBS is kind of a big deal. Support offices exist in multiple countries and pretty much anyone with a military is keen on it:

“The software is ideal for first-person tactical training and mission rehearsal, a very unique capability in the military simulation sector,” Mr Stephenson said.
The company recently launched the latest iteration of the software — VBS3. “We’re already seeing significant interest in what we can offer from military and defence organisations throughout Asia — including Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Singapore,” Mr Stephenson said.

In many ways, Bohemia Interactive Australia, or BIA, is a distinct entity from its Eastern European mothership. The release mentions the company actually snapped up a license from Bohemia to develop VBS — and its sequels — and over the years has become the “standard for military simulation across the majority of NATO partners”.

Military Training Game Company Expands into Williamtown Aerospace Centre [NSW Government]


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