London, 9th September, 2025 – Defence technology specialists, 4GD, have begun work on a significant upgrade to the military training environment at Copehill Down Village on Salisbury Plain. Copehill Down, a purpose-built “village”, is used to train for urban operations in built-up areas. The Urban Training facilities are being fitted with an Audio and Visual Closed Circuit Television capability and incorporated After Action Review (AAR) system.
Once complete, the modernised facility will support urban training serials. 4GD is delivering these improvements on behalf of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), together with Landmarc Support Services (Landmarc) and the Land Warfare Centre.
The village upgrades will provide a much more realistic, high-fidelity training environment which will enhance the war fighting ability of military personnel and help prepare troops for future potential operational deployments. . The utilisation of 4GD’s flagship products will elevate the quality of urban training on the site. Included in this upgrade is 4GD’s 4GAV After Action Review (AAR) system, which provides unrivalled visibility of all training exercises. These works will also deliver special effects to simulate both battlefield effects as well as pattern of life.
The expansion of 4GD products across the UK’s military training estate continues at pace. The news of the Copehill Down delivery adds further credibility to the quality of 4GD’s technology, which is now in use at Merville Barracks in Colchester, Catterick Training Area in North Yorkshire and Rollestone Camp on Salisbury Training Area. This represents a geographic reach covering the South West, East and North of England. The expansion presents an opportunity for an increasing number of soldiers across the country to be booked into 4GD facilities, to hone their urban fighting skills, close to their garrison base.
At over 94,000 acres, Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA) is the UK’s largest training area. It offers live firing and other facilities for armoured vehicles, artillery, engineers, infantry and aircraft. The regular Army, Army reserves and cadets use the training area, as do NATO allies.
Rob Taylor, 4GD Founder and Director, said:
“4GD is at the forefront of delivering technology updates to the military training estate. Starting this work to Copehill Down Village is another major contract for the business and proves the suitability of 4GD’s products for modern defence training. This all serves to enhance training for the warfighter and help prepare the British Army for urban combat.”
DIO’s Colonel Richard Gibb, Deputy Head UK Defence Training Estate, said:
“We are delighted to see this project taking shape.
“DIO supports our Armed Forces by providing what they need to live, work and train. Current operational requirements identified that there was a need for further investment and development in the urban training infrastructure.
“This upgrade in technological systems is a significant milestone in evolving the British Army’s urban warfare capability. It offers a highly realistic space and the ability for immediate after-action reviews which will better prepare military personnel for operations around the world.”
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