- DrillApp launched Masterclasses, a marketplace for professional defense, security, and tactics courses
- Founded by Ukrainian officers in 2021, the company continues its evolution from a basic shooting trainer into an expansive dual-use edtech
- Content is battle-tested and veteran-led, covering tactics, drones, medicine, psychology, and rehabilitation
- Future plans include further synergies with official military bodies, a metaverse and gamified learning for arms enthusiasts, and a marketplace for tactical gear.
This August, the well-known Ukrainian dual-use edtech DrillApp launched Drill Masterclasses — its marketplace for professional courses in defense, security, and tactics. This development follows the startup’s Pre-Seed round earlier this year.
DrillApp in a Nutshell: From Shooting Trainer to Full-Scale Training Platform
DrillApp was founded in 2021 by Azov officer Oleksandr Husarov and Ukrainian Army officer Ihor S, who saw the need for modernized training solutions. The app initially launched as a mobile shooting trainer but quickly expanded when the founders realized its broader potential. One of the early additions was a tactical medicine module, aimed at equipping civilians with lifesaving first aid knowledge in combat and crisis situations. Eventually, it grew into a broad dual-use edtech platform designed to make military and civilian training more accessible, interactive, and practical.
Oleksandr Gusarov, Co-Founder and CEO at DrillApp, Head of Combat Psychological Support Department at AZOV brigade
From the start, DrillApp worked closely with Ukrainian military units to test and refine its content. Unlike traditional training tools, its modules are created and validated by active service members and veterans with real battlefield experience, ensuring that lessons are both relevant and practical.
‘Our courses are not ‘presentations about war’ but battle-tested content. Every instructor has frontline experience. Every lesson has been proven in combat,’ Mr Husarov states.
As of today, the app covers areas such as small unit tactics, drone operations, psychological support, and rehabilitation. With over 200,000 users—more than 50,000 of them active military—DrillApp has established itself as a trusted training resource blending combat expertise with modern technology.
Career Paths for Veterans Beyond the Trenches
Importantly, DrillApp provides long-term career opportunities for veterans who serve as instructors on the platform. From this perspective, DrillApp can be compared not only to the likes of Coursera or Udemy, but also ‘Patreon for the military,’ as Mr Husarov puts it. Veterans, instructors, medics, UAV operators, — all can create courses, monetize their knowledge, and build their further careers in civilian life.
DrillApp provides:
- the platform (web + mobile app);
- monetization tools (payments, analytics, licensing);
- an audience of 200,000+ users across 159 countries.
Veterans are welcome to benefit from a new path. Instead of just retiring and resting after their service, they can become professional trainers, influencers, experts, transitioning from the trench to entrepreneurship.
Global Reach and Partnerships
With users in 159 countries, the biggest challenge is filtering risks and adapting to cultural contexts. Mr S explains:
- In Latin America (Mexico, Brazil), it is necessary to carefully vet the audience to prevent knowledge from reaching cartels or criminal groups.
- In Europe, tolerance toward weapons is very low, so DrillApp positions itself as a platform focused on safe weapon handling, similar to NRA-style certification schools.
- In the US, the company targets lawful gun owners and builds a B2C community.
‘We are actively preparing more localizations, legal adaptation, and white-label solutions for B2G,’ the co-founder adds.
DrillApp also collaborates with the likes of PSDInfo and Ukrarmor on its content. They have become the platform’s key partners in launching the new Drill Masterclasses section, publishing their own courses, training people on a secure platform, and monetizing.
‘They are much more than just logos. They co-create content with us, become course authors, and earn from their knowledge,’ Mr Hurasrov emphasizes.
Opening to Civilians Through Masterclasses
The military remain DrillApp’s core clientele, with 50,000+ verified users from the Armed Forces, Territorial Defense, and volunteer battalions. They use DrillApp to sharpen their skills directly in combat conditions.
The key takeaway from the newly launched Masterclasses is that this new feature opened the door to the civilian sector: instructors can now host paid online or offline courses, and users can train even offline.
Mr Husarov points out the main differences:
- Military users seek specific skills: survival, teamwork, tactical training.
- Civilians seek confidence, safety, and personal development: basic medical skills, firearms handling, self-defense.
Following up on the balance between the military and civilian clientele, the CEO recalls that it drastically shifted after the onset of Russia’s full-on war against Ukraine. Before — the focus was on the US market (short arms), but after — it moved to the intersection of the military and civilian spaces. More specifically:
- Civilian content is certified, adapted, and excludes sensitive technologies.
- Military content is available only to verified accounts, under NDA, with strong focus on security.
‘We’ve already started cooperating with the Ministry of Education of Ukraine to prepare a platform for schools, universities, and cadets. We call it ‘digital mobilization through education,’ Mr S adds.
Future Outlook
Looking forward, DrillApp envisions itself as a fully-fledged ecosystem accredited for official training. The platform can already boast about positive evaluation from the General Staff of Ukraine. As a Brave1 project, the company’s solution underwent expertise by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, and we have official recommendations.
Sharing their future ambitions for DrillApp, the founders envision building a metaverse for weapon owners that would combine courses, trainers, events, shooting range bookings, chats, and perhaps even procurement. Another goal is to launch a marketplace where tactical brands and arms stores can sell gear and merchandise directly to their target audience through the platform. In addition, they plan to create a gamified educational environment with levels, NFT badges, and internal rewards.
At a time when companies like Meta, Google, and TikTok restrict weapon-related ads and content, DrillApp aims to establish an independent community channel for the military, veterans, police, the relevant Ministries, and civilians focused on self-defense.
The company opened a USD 500K SAFE round with a 15% discount at USD 3–5M cap. The investment is meant for expanding content, scaling Drill Masterclasses, and growing B2B SaaS.
Kostiantyn is a freelance writer from Crimea but based in Lviv. He loves writing about IT and high tech because those topics are always upbeat and he’s an inherent optimist!
