Inside Full Sail University's IBM Cyber Defense Range and Drone Innovation Center

A close look at where the talent pipeline is being built

Desra Group joined members of the Central Florida defense, simulation, and technology community for a tour of Full Sail University's IBM Cyber Defense Range and Drone Innovation Center. Both facilities sit at the intersection of education and mission readiness, and both are producing the kind of practitioners regulated organizations struggle to hire.

The IBM Cyber Defense Range

The IBM Cyber Defense Range, powered by AWS and Cloud Range, puts students and professionals inside live-fire cyber attack simulations rather than slide decks. A wall-sized operations display tracks global attack activity, targeted countries, and active scenarios in real time while teams work incidents the way a security operations center actually does.

For organizations working through RMF and CMMC obligations, the value is obvious: analysts who have already sat in the seat during a simulated intrusion arrive better prepared for the documentation, escalation, and accountability expectations of a real environment.

The Drone Innovation Center

The Drone Innovation Center pairs a netted flight enclosure with an engineering bench where students design, build, repair, and test unmanned systems. The tour included a flight demonstration inside the cage and a walkthrough of the engineering floor, where UAS airframes, avionics, and test equipment are handled hands-on.

Uncrewed systems continue to move deeper into defense, public safety, infrastructure inspection, and logistics missions. Facilities like this one are where the field-service and technical personnel supporting those programs are formed.

Why this matters to Desra Group

Desra Group supports government, defense, healthcare, and other regulated organizations with technology operations, GRC leadership, mission support, and talent operations. Understanding where capable technical people are trained — and what environments they train in — directly informs how we identify, screen, and mobilize personnel for our clients.

We appreciate Full Sail University and the Central Florida community for the access and the conversation. Organizations interested in workforce development, cyber readiness, or UAS-adjacent programs are welcome to connect with our team.

About Desra Group

Desra Group is a cleared government services company headquartered in Central Florida that provides cybersecurity and RMF/GRC support, IT and mission support, and specialized workforce solutions to the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, and the Defense Industrial Base across Florida's installation corridors.