ms&t magazine - issue 5/2010

The InTernaTIonal Defence TraInIng Journal

www.halldale.com

Training Technology

Armored Vehicle Simulators Technology applicaTion

MSHATF BensonnaTional Focus

Eurofighter: Training the Austrian Way

Issue 5/2010ISSN 1471-1052 | uS $14/£8

Training Technology

Developing Cost Effective LVC Training

BETWEEN VIRTUAL AND REALITY,

THERE IS ONE IMPORTANT WORD: HOW.

When knowing what to expect is the key to mission success, warfighters know they can count on Lockheed Martin. Our innovative approach to training means low-risk solutions — tailored to any environment, vehicle, or mission. Helping warfighters prepare for their tomorrow is all a question of how. And it is the how that makes all the difference.

312-59485_STS_Virtual_MST.indd 1 9/15/10 3:44:21 PM

Conference with speakers The conference is free to attend and will include a wide range of themes and open discussions

ExhibitionThe exhibition includes displays of latest products and innovations

Training & Simulation ConsortiumThe IberSim training and simulation consortium aims to develop collaboration between Iberian training and simulation players, to share experience and to talk about projects and technologies available in the Iberian zone

IberSim 2010 will take place in Madrid, Spain on27-28 October 2010 . For more event information and to register...

and simulation event of the Iberian zone

www.ibersim.com

please visit www.ibersim.com or

email [email protected]

The first training

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

IberSim_2010_MS&T_WITH_BLEED_Ad_207.pdf 24/09/2010 20:13:14

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/how

BETWEEN VIRTUAL AND REALITY,

THERE IS ONE IMPORTANT WORD: HOW.

When knowing what to expect is the key to mission success, warfighters know they can count on Lockheed Martin. Our innovative approach to training means low-risk solutions — tailored to any environment, vehicle, or mission. Helping warfighters prepare for their tomorrow is all a question of how. And it is the how that makes all the difference.

312-59485_STS_Virtual_MST.indd 1 9/15/10 3:44:21 PM

Conference with speakers The conference is free to attend and will include a wide range of themes and open discussions

ExhibitionThe exhibition includes displays of latest products and innovations

Training & Simulation ConsortiumThe IberSim training and simulation consortium aims to develop collaboration between Iberian training and simulation players, to share experience and to talk about projects and technologies available in the Iberian zone

IberSim 2010 will take place in Madrid, Spain on27-28 October 2010 . For more event information and to register...

and simulation event of the Iberian zone

www.ibersim.com

please visit www.ibersim.com or

email [email protected]

The first training

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

IberSim_2010_MS&T_WITH_BLEED_Ad_207.pdf 24/09/2010 20:13:14

UAS CREWS REQUIRE MISSION READY TRAINING.

That’s why we’re advancing the capabilities of UAS training systems.

L-3 Link continues to field the Predator Mission Aircrew Training System. This high-fidelity training system offers a new level of simulation realism for training unmanned aircraft pilots and sensor operators. And, as the line between training, mission rehearsal and mission execution begins to blur, we’re ready with our Blue Box HD solution to provide crews with total immersion. To learn more, visit www.link.com.

Link Simulat ion & Training L-3com.com

http://www.L-3com.com

Editorial

Editor-in-Chief: Chris Lehman[e] [email protected]

Managing Editor: Jeff Loube[e] [email protected]

ContributorsWalter F. Ullrich - Europe Editor

Chuck Weirauch - Training ProcurementLori Ponoroff - US News Editor

[e] [email protected] Greenyer - RoW News Editor

[e] [email protected]

advErtising

Business Manager: Jeremy Humphreys [t] +44 (0)1252 532009 [e] [email protected]

Business Manager, North America: Mary Bellini Brown [t] +1 703 421 3709


Marketing Manager: Lizzie Daniell [t] +44 (0)1252 532008


Sales & Marketing Co-ordinator: Karen Kettle [t] +44 (0)1252 532002 [e] [email protected]

dEsign & Production

David Malley[t] +44 (0)1252 532005 [e] [email protected]

intErnEt

www.halldale.com/mst

subscriPtions & distribution

Subscriptions Hotline [t] +44 (0)1252 532000

[e] [email protected] issues per year at US$168

Distribution Co-ordinator: Sarah de Wet [t] +44 (0)1252 532006


Publishing housE and Editorial officE

Military Simulation & Training (ISSN 1471-1052)is published by:

Halldale Media Ltd.Pembroke House, 8 St. Christopher’s Place,

Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 0NH, UK.[t] +44 (0)1252 532000[f] +44 (0)1252 512714


us officE

Halldale Media Inc.115 Timberlachen Circle

Ste 2009Lake Mary, FL 32746

USA[t] +1 407 322 5605[f] +1 407 322 5604

Publisher & CEO: Andrew Smith

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means,

electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise especially translating into other languages - without prior written permission of the publisher. All rights also reserved for restitution in lectures, broadcasts,

televisions, magnetic tape and methods of similar means. Each copy produced by a commercial enterprise serves a commercial purpose and

is thus subject to remuneration.

MS&T Magazine (ISSN 1471-1052, USPS # 022067), printed October 2010, is published 6 times per annum by Halldale Media Ltd, Pembroke House, 8 St. Christopher’s Place, Farnborough, Hampshire,

GU14 ONH, UK at a U.S. subscription rate of $168 per year.

Periodical postage rates are paid at Middlesex New Jersey New York U.S.A. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Halldale Media Inc.,

115 Timberlachen Circle, Ste 2009, Lake Mary, FL 32746, USA.

Editorial Comment

MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010 05

Jeff Loube

Quest to learnLast week I read a wonderful story about a talented group of innovators seeking ways to make learning and school more relevant to students and at the same time more connected to the world beyond school; a goal that is somewhat like “train as you fight, train as you work”.

In the new York times, contributing writer sara Corbett tells the story of a very special school in new York City, a school called Quest to Learn. according to the article, the experiment, and it is an experiment, is attempting to answer the question “what if, instead of seeing school as we’ve known it, we saw it for what our children dreamed it might be: a big delicious video game?”

the programme is organised “around the idea that digital games are central to the lives of today’s children and also increasingly, as their speed and capability grow, powerful tools for intellectual exploration”. that idea, and Quest to Learn, is the idea of game designer katie salen, who, working with learning scientists and curriculum designers spent two years planning the school. the school is one of a handful of demonstration sites for innovative technology-based instructional methods and is part of a larger effort on new York City’s part to create and experi-ment with new models for schools.

every aspect of Quest to Learn is game like: levels of expertise instead of grades, defeating villains, and quests. they even build their own games, record podcasts, film and edit videos, play video games, and blog.

salen notes that a game is just a ‘designed experience’ in which a participant is motivated to achieve a goal while operating inside a prescribed system of boundaries and rules. Quest to Learn is a designed experience: there are three full-time game designers supporting the work of the school’s 11 teachers. Clearly, the school is not about technology; it is about design!

Quest to Learn is now beginning its second year, with about 145 sixth and seventh grade students, all of whom were admitted by a district wide lottery; however, the big question remains – does this educational approach work? students who took the federally mandated standardised tests scored no better or worse than other sixth graders in their district. work is being done to develop tests that may be more relevant, measuring outcomes such as systems thinking, team work and time management. overall, the story notes that it is somewhat too early to say whether the approach works, but that it is a part of an ongoing dialogue about the skills needed for a digital world and how to prepare learners for that digital world.

reading the story, I noted parallels to the military challenge – training technicians to work in an integrated digital environment where the lines between training and work are becoming blurred, as is the line between life and work. How do we make training more relevant and more connected to the world of work? How best to use technology? what about design? at the same time, I could not help but note what a resource rich environment Quest to Learn is: motivated students, full time designers, technicians, talented teachers, innovative and entrepreneurial champions, cutting edge technology, and funding! - a basket of resources that military technical trainers can only dream about.

For years we have been focussed on acquiring training technology to address training needs – after all, militaries know how to buy technology. and technology in maintenance training is becoming ubiquitous and easier and easier to use. the conundrum is no longer about technol-ogy, but rather how to help leaders, military educators and trainers, designers and developers use the technology to design and produce excellent training. this will continue to be a chal-lenge as long as students are digital natives – and educators/trainers are digital immigrants; this challenge will not go away. as long as there are younger and older generations there will always be a digital divide.

military organisations can help meet the challenge by: encouraging trainers’ professional development supporting training innovation, providing support, and setting high expectations for training leaders and establishments, using metrics that are relevant to the business of war.

Jeff Loube, CPtms&t managing editor

read about Quest to Learn at www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/magazine/19video-t.html

Circulation audited by:

UAS CREWS REQUIRE MISSION READY TRAINING.

That’s why we’re advancing the capabilities of UAS training systems.

L-3 Link continues to field the Predator Mission Aircrew Training System. This high-fidelity training system offers a new level of simulation realism for training unmanned aircraft pilots and sensor operators. And, as the line between training, mission rehearsal and mission execution begins to blur, we’re ready with our Blue Box HD solution to provide crews with total immersion. To learn more, visit www.link.com.

Link Simulat ion & Training L-3com.com

http://www.baesystems.com

05 Editorial CommEnta Quest to learn. managing editor Jeff Loube seeks a lesson in an innovative

new York school.

08 training tEChnologyarmored Vehicle Simulators. modular, reconfigurable and 6 doF electric

motion bases are defining the new class of simulators. Chuck weirauch reports.

12 tEChnology appliCationMSHatF Benson. It is 13 years into the msHatF PFI contract. dim Jones

visited raF Benson and reports.

16 training tEChnologyrobust and dynamic. Leveraging LVC provides a robust and dynamic training

environment. kristen Barrera and 1Lt kara thoreson write.

23 national FoCusCommon defence: an EU army? From cooperation to synchronisation to?

walter F. Ullrich examines the path to a european army.

26 national FoCusaustrian Eurofighter. as usual, austria tailors an approach to meet their

unique requirements. walter F. Ullrich writes.

29 training tEChnology10 Years of adl. speakers at the recent adL Fest reviewed the past, the present

and the future. Chuck weirauch reports.

30 training tEChnologyMedical Simulation Network. the Us department of Veterans affairs is

implementing simLearn. Chuck weirauch explains.

32 nEWsSeen and Heard. a round up of developments in simulation and training.

Compiled and edited by Chuck weirauch.

CoNtENtS ms&t 5/2010



www.halldale.com

Training Technology

Armored Vehicle Simulators Technology applicaTion

MSHATF BensonnaTional Focus


Issue 5/2010ISSN 1471-1052 | uS $14/£8

Training Technology


co

ver

cr

edit

met

aVr

FE

at

Ur

E a

rt

ICLe

s F

ro

Nt

Co

Ve

r

tr

ain

ing

tE

Ch

no

lo

gy

8

tE

Ch

no

lo

gy

ap

pl

iCa

tio

n

12

tr

ain

ing

tE

Ch

no

lo

gy

16

na

tio

na

l F

oC

us

26

08 MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

Modular,Reconfigurable& Realistic

TR

ain

ing

Te

ch

no

log

y


I hit the group of three close-together hillocks going far too fast; I didn’t know any better.

My M1A2 Abrams tank wildly and vio-lently pitched up and then down, snap-ping my head back and forth like a yo-yo gone mad. great feedback and my still-sore neck underscores the lesson learned, reminding me to take more care next time I drive through that terrain. Fortu-nately, not having broken either my neck or the Abrams M1A2 variant of the SAIc common Driver Trainer (cDT), there will be a next time. I know better now and I will do better traversing the tank driv-ing course in SAIc’s orlando Integrated Simulation center, and that’s the whole point – doing better next time.

That all-too-real pitching motion is driven by a Moog electric six-degree-of-freedom (6DoF) motion platform to which the actual driver’s cab of an Abrams is attached. Under a US Army Program executive office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (Peo STRI) contract, SAIc will provide 18 Abrams cDT variants to the Army’s Fort Benning in georgia by this December.

Modular and ReconfigurableThe beauty of this configuration is that any number of different actual vehicle cabs can be mounted on the electric motion platform. Just switch out the cab of an Abrams with that of a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP)

armored vehicle, for example, and you have a full-motion driver trainer for that particular vehicle. As SAIc Vice Presi-dent Dutch Sley explained, the cDT software is “smart enough” to auto-matically reconfigure the trainer from a tracked vehicle to a wheeled one, for example, programming the motion platform to match the dynamic motion performance of the reconfigured vehi-cle cab.

The Army has embraced the modu-lar cDT concept, and in fact Peo STRI initiated the cDT approach, starting with a contract with SAIc, which part-nered with FAAc to develop a Stryker armored vehicle cDT. Since that time, Peo and SAIc have worked together to additionally provide cDTs for a number of different MRAP armored vehicles, the most recently the MRAP All Terrain vehicle (M-ATV). Work is also under-way to employ the cDT Tank Variant for the Abrams for the Joint Assault Bridge (JAB) and Assault Breacher (AB) armored tracked vehicles as well.

At the 2010 Training & Simulation Industry Symposium (TSIS) in orlando in June, Peo STRI announced a $350 million cDT request for proposal (RFP). Some of this funding will go to establish a cDT Program of Record, which will assure that the cDT program will be a line item for funding consideration in future Army budgets. This effort will help facilitate the Army’s goal of having one

common driver training system for all of its combat vehicles.

According to lt. col. charlie Stein, Peo STRI Product Manager for ground combat Tactical Trainers (gcTT), the requirement for the cDT program is currently being finalized. he expects the cDT competition to take place in the 2nd quarter of Fy 2011. The vehi-cles that the contract action will cover is still being developed, but generically it will cover the Joint light Tactical Vehicle (JlTV), Family of Medium Tac-tical Vehicles (FMTV), heavy equip-ment Transporter (heT) and Armored Security Vehicle (ASV) lines, as well as more Stryker and MRAP vehicle cDTs. however, “once we show the goodness of the cDT tank variant,” more of those trainers will be allocated, Stein feels. There is also a considerable need for a cDT for the MRAP-based armored route clearance vehicles such as the Buffalo, he added.

Motion and MRaP all Terrain VehicleThe cDT 6DoF motion platform is a par-ticularly valuable asset in training driv-ers to operate in the steep, mountain-ous terrain of Afghanistan, where the few roads are narrow with pitched soft shoulders. Recognizing that large, high-center-of-gravity conventional MRAP vehicles cannot be driven safely in such an environment, the Army awarded

Feedback that matters and lessons learned;Chuck Weirauch takes a close look at armored vehicle training.

SAIc’s common Driver

Trainer (cDT) tank varient.

Image credit: SAIc.

Training & Simulation

PROTECTS YOUR MISSION

TRAINING & SIMULATION –

as real as it gets – highly real-

istic vehicle simulations born

from real vehicle expertise.

| www.kmwsim.com |

Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG


Mail: [email protected]

Wegmann USA, Inc. Orlando Office



which will undergo initial evaluation in a Bradley this november, will be used to sustain gunnery skills onboard the vehicle, according to Jorge cadiz, oasis Manager for Programs and Business Development.

The ceTS software will also be incorporated into the new, stand-alone conduct of Fire Trainer Situational Awareness (coFT –SA) trainer. This trainer is being developed by prime contractor oasis with team member subcontractor cubic Simulation Sys-tems Division for the Army national guard under a recently awarded $13 million Program executive office for Simulation, Training and Instrumenta-tion (Peo STRI) contract. The reuse of ceTS software in the coFT-SA will pro-vide a commonalty of training element between coFT-SA desktop trainers, the stand-alone coFT-SA trainers and the ceTS-based embedded gunnery train-ing system onboard the Bradley, cadiz explained.

The coFT-SA, which will be deliv-ered as fixed units for schoolhouses and in mobile trailers, will resemble the ear-lier Bradley Advanced Training System (BATS) trainers but will provide improved training capabilities, cadiz said. oasis is providing the coFT-SA system software and program management, while cubic is providing the system hardware and the commander/gunner turret crew sta-tion, the main feature of the system. The initial delivery will be for 15 mobile and nine fixed-site trainers, with options up to 45 over the four-year contract, as well as 69 individual commander, gunner and crew station tabletop trainers, which also can be linked together for full crew train-ing. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in May 2011.

“In addition to the ceTS software, there are substantial improvements in reliability and maintainability with the coFT-SA over legacy trainers, “said cubic program manager Mike hoffman. “Since national guard personnel have a very limited amount of time to train, maintaining trainer uptime is a critical factor. The coFT-SA is also based on the Bradley model which the national guard will be getting for the most part, the M2/M3A2 operation Desert Storm vehicle upgraded to oDS-Situational Awareness.”

one of the most prolific armored vehicle gunnery trainers is the Advanced

a $1 billion contract to produce more than 2,200 of the smaller, more off-road-capable M-ATVs to oshkosh Defense in July 2009.

With all M-ATVs being rapidly deployed directly to Afghanistan, there was an urgent need to provide a device to train US armed services personnel in M-ATV safe operation Stateside before they were deployed. According to both Stein and Sley, the production of the M-ATV cDTs had the highest govern-ment priority; Peo STRI and SAIc team, with assistance from oshkosh Defense, were able to deliver the trainers in just 128 days.

As with the Abrams cDT that I drove, the M-ATV 6DoF motion plat-form can provide the vital real-time feedback of terrain and weather condi-tions that one needs to experience to learn to drive in the treacherous Afghan environment. While my cDT employed a generic terrain database, the M-ATV cDT features an Afghanistan geo-spe-cific Synthetic environment (Se) core database.

So far SAIc has delivered 13 mobile M-ATVs based in trailers that are being rotated around to Army training cent-ers throughout the US. An additional seven M-ATV cDT driver cabs have also been delivered which can be mounted on any of the 21 Army bases in the continental US (conUS) that have a cDT in place. Stein said that building the mobile 6DoF system in a trailer was a challenge because of sta-bility issues. however, now, with those issues resolved, the mobile system can serve as a base for conventional MRAP, Stryker and tank training because cabs for those vehicles can be employed on the mobile motion base as well, he pointed out.

“We’re taking the training to the troops with the mobile cDTs instead of them coming to the training, and that’s a win-win for everyone,” Sley said.

gunnery The next step in embedded vehicle gun-nery training primarily for the Abrams and Bradley Fighting Vehicle platforms is being provided by oasis Advanced engineering’s contract with the Army’s Program Management office heavy Brigade combat Team (PM hBcT) to develop the common embedded Train-ing System (ceTS). The ceTS software,


PROTECTS YOUR MISSION

TRAINING & SIMULATION –

as real as it gets – highly real-

istic vehicle simulations born

from real vehicle expertise.

| www.kmwsim.com |

Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG



Wegmann USA, Inc. Orlando Office



Above

The cAe-built T-90 tank driver trainer.

Image credit: cAe.

gunnery Training System (AgTS) pro-duced by lockheed Martin global Train-ing and logistics. The AgTS is used to provide gunnery training for more than a dozen armored vehicles, including the Abrams, Bradley and Stryker vehicles, the most recent addition being for the Stryker Mobile gun System that features a 105-millimeter cannon.

According to Andre elias, Director of Virtual Training Solutions for lock-heed Martin global Training and logis-tics, the company’s most recent effort to support the US Army has been to match the training system to changes on the Abrams tank platform. one of the most recent changes has been the addition of the Tank Urban Surviv-ability Kit (TUSK), which includes such features as a crew remotely operated 50-millimeter machine gun. nearly 900 Abrams tanks are now equipped with the TUSK.

“one example of such upgrading is that urban part of the TUSK requires close-range gunnery, so the training system software has to change since the weapons system is more orientated towards closer combat than tradi-tional long-range tank gunnery,” elias explained. “The virtual environment also has to be updated to replicate training scenarios that are specifically aimed at an urban environment versus a long-range one. Keeping up with plat-forms is our number one priority, but fortunately technology advances allow us to do so in a much shorter timeframe than in the past.”

overall, military budgets are strongly

influencing the drive towards more simu-lation for tank training, elias pointed out.

“obviously there will be less money and resources to buy ammunition, for example,” elias summed up. “I think that the reliance on simulation to sustain skills is going to be as important as it ever was, with more customers looking at how they can do more in simulations.”

T-90The search for effectiveness and economy in training armored units is not unique to America. cAe India and TATA Advanced Systems limited (TASl) have teamed up to develop a complete T-90 training system that includes a T-90 driver trainer, a T-90 gunner trainer, and a T-90 gunnery crew trainer. They have opted for an electric 6DoF full-motion platform. The Indian Army is currently in the request for proposal process to acquire a com-prehensive suite of both T-90 and T-72 tank training systems.

cAe has also developed a training system for India’s domestically devel-oped and produced Arjun main bat-tle tank. The Arjun driver trainer also employs a 6DoF motion platform. The training system includes a turret trainer for commander and gunner training. In August, India opened a Simulation Train-ing centre for the Arjun. ms&t

Since the initial deployment to Saudi Arabia on Operation Granby – aka Gulf War 1 – in

the autumn of 1990, no element of the Royal Air Force has been so heavily and continuously committed to Out-of-Area Operations as the Support Helicopter (SH) force. Granby was followed by Operation Provide Comfort in Eastern Turkey, then Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Gulf War 2, Iraq and finally Afghanistan. Throughout the period, the Falkland Islands commit-ment has endured. The heavy demands on crews, and on airframes in-theatre, have resulted in a need to make the very most of the resources left in UK, both for ab-initio and upgrade training, and for specific pre-deployment training (PDT). Central to the strategy for coping with these requirements is the Medium Sup-port Helicopter Aircrew Training Facility (MSHATF) at RAF Benson.

MSHATF was the first PFI contract of its type in the RAF, whereby CAE Air-

crew Training Services (CAEATS) under-took to build and operate a training and simulation facility for a notional period of 40 years, with a break point at 20 years; the contract was signed in 1997. The heart of the facility is a set of 6 Dynamic Mission Simulators – 3 Chinook, 2 Merlin and one Puma - linked to and through a Tactical Control Centre (TCC). In addi-tion to the flight deck, each simulator has a rear crew position and an on-board instructor position; alternatively, control of the instructor element can be trans-ferred to one of the TCC consoles. The whole spectrum of weather and envi-ronmental conditions, including dust and snow recirculation, can be accu-rately replicated, using any one of 10 terrain databases. The night visual sys-tem allows crews to operate using their own NVG equipment. Air-to-air refuel-ling can be simulated, as can operation from a ship under all conditions of light, weather and sea state. An eye-water-

ing array of threats, both surface-to-air and air-to-air, can be replicated, with attendant fires, explosions and bleeps and squeaks from the Radar Warning Receivers and Missile Approach Warn-ers. The simulators have kept pace with the plethora of hardware and software changes initiated in the past few years by Urgent Operational Requirements and other initiatives. They are currently being upgraded to be fully representa-tive of the aircraft, including all role and defensive aids systems, and allow the crews to practise their tactics in a star-tlingly realistic environment which, in many cases, could not be reproduced for live training.


Te

ch

no

log

y A

PPLI

CA

TIO

N

MShATF BensonMS&T’s Dim Jones recently visited the first of its kind PFI training facility.Thirteen years in, it’s looking good.

Above

The facility’s six Dynamic Mission Simula-

tors are linked through the Tactical Control

Centre (TCC).

Image credit: CAE.


The TCC can also control hundreds of computer-generated inputs, embrac-ing friendly, enemy and neutral forces. This configuration makes possible the creation of the full range of training scenarios, from a simple single-aircraft ab-initio training sortie, through more demanding multi-ship missions in which both supporting and opposing forces can be introduced, to a full-up rehearsal of a complex operational mission in a hostile environment. More flexible and realistic portrayal of friendly and hostile forces – such as friendly CAS assets, enemy fighters or AWACS - can be achieved by individual control though use of the TCC consoles as virtual role-playing desktop simulators.

So that is the simulator set-up; how is the MSHATF used to underpin SH training? As in any training organisation, the cornerstone is the staff. In this case, CAE staff manages the overall operation and supports the training equipment, while Serco provides all the instructors and support staff, and runs the training programme. The simulator instructors are experienced ex-military helicopter operators and, reflecting their ab-initio training role, are all Qualified Helicopter

Instructors (QHIs), whose instructor cat-egories are ratified by the Central Flying School annually. The simulator facility is collocated with the ground school, whose instructors are also employed by Serco and, crucially, with the Rotary Wing Operational Evaluation and Train-ing Unit (RWOETU), the centre of excel-lence for the operational employment of SH. The customer’s team is headed

up by Wing Commander Roger Flynn, who is dual-hatted as both OC MSHATF and SO1 Simulation at the Joint Heli-copter Command, thus maintaining a

Above

The author (right) at the controls of one of

the facility’s three Chinook simulators.

Image credit: Gordon Woolley.

http://www.rgb.com

direct link with the SH Force’s com-mand structure. Flynn works extremely closely with the MSHATF MD, Ian Bell, a former SH Station Commander and QHI, and with the TCC Manager, Gor-don Woolley, an ex-Chinook squadron commander. At the coal-face, the Serco QHIs are supported at every required level by the Qualified Helicopter Tactics Instructors (QHTIs) and senior staff of the squadrons and the RWOETU. This ensures that the instructional expertise of the QHIs – who, by definition, are removed by a greater or lesser number of years from front-line experience – is supplemented by operators whose ‘recency’ can often be measured in days; this regular interface also helps to keep the QHIs abreast of the latest tactical developments. From my limited exposure to MSHATF, it is apparent that the blend of service and civilian instruc-tion is virtually seamless and extremely effective.

operational environmentsThe geographic location of MSHATF is ideal for the Puma and Merlin forces, whose squadrons are based at Benson, but not as convenient for the Chinook squadrons at RAF Odiham. However, this disadvantage is more than out-weighed by the benefits of centralisa-tion. Ab-initio students for all RAF SH types undergo ground school at Ben-son, in which the initial simulator sor-ties are embedded. Even at this stage, the ability of the simulators to replicate the full spectrum of training and opera-tional environments is invaluable, since it allows the students to practice in the simulator everything they will later experience in the aircraft – plus a lot of things which peacetime constraints and availability of resources will not permit for real. New aircrew leave the Opera-tional Conversion Flights (OCFs) as Lim-ited Combat Ready (LCR). This qualifies them to go straight into an operational theatre; although they will be mentored by experienced aircrew until they them-selves have more experience. The cur-rent pace of operations dictates that a first deployment will happen sooner rather than later, and any exposure to the operational environment which they can glean from the MSHATF prior to deployment is priceless in terms of both their states of mind and their early operational effectiveness.

The MSHATF can also be configured to host squadron upgrade training at all levels – from LCR to CR, and thence to formation leader, Training Captain, and ultimately QHTI. The highest levels of operational training at the MSHATF are the periodic full mission exercises known as ‘Thursday Wars’. Typically, 5 of the 6 simulators will be manned by appropriate crews. The scenario is pro-vided by the TCC staff, with a tactical overlay from the QHTIs, and replicates the outline plan which would be pro-vided to a mission leader in Afghanistan by the joint planning staff at Camp Bas-tion. This encompasses the task, the friendly forces available, and the threat; how the objective is accomplished is, within certain constraints, up to the mission leader. He and his crews will plan the sortie, with the assistance, as required, of QHTIs from the squadrons and the RWOETU. There will then be a full mission brief; if there are external role-players in the TCC, they may give specialist briefs as part of this proc-ess, for instance on Close Air Support or AWACS procedures. The crews will then walk for their ‘aircraft’ as they would in theatre. The whole mission may comprise several phases, and the total airborne duration will be about 3 to 4 hours. Again, QHTIs will be on hand

to advise, instruct and observe, and may occupy the on-board instructor’s posi-tions for this purpose. If appropriate, the exercise can be temporarily halted, simulating a refuelling stop, so that a specific issue can be addressed or dis-cussed. At the end of the mission, the whole process is thoroughly debriefed, using the comprehensive recording and debrief facilities in both the individual simulators and the TCC. The debrief is not generally the blow-by-blow recon-struction beloved of fixed-wing crews bred on exercises such as Red Flag, but the learning points are all brought out, once more with the assistance of the QHI and QHTI staffs.

Thursday Wars can be used for a variety of purposes. PDT is an obvi-ous example, but upgrade training and QHTI training are others. In the latter, the students are not only honing their personal skills, but are rehearsing their future roles as instructors to the exercise participants. There is also the opportu-nity to allow those who contribute to the mission in non-flying roles to ‘follow the aircraft over the hill’. For instance, legal advisers, specialising in the interpreta-tion and application of Rules of Engage-ment, have the chance to see how quickly decisions have to be made based on information which is rarely black or white, but usually a murky shade of grey. The SH force is also acutely aware that, while it fully occupies their attention at the moment, Afghanistan is not the whole story. The capabilities of MSHATF can equally be used to ensure that skill sets which are not required for Afghani-stan – for instance, fighter evasion – are not lost.

Quality of TrainingSo, has the PFI and the MSHATF been a success? Without intimate knowledge of the terms of the contract, it is impos-sible to say whether it has provided the value-for-money envisaged at the outset. However, based on the qual-ity of training demonstrated during my short visit, and the obvious satisfaction of the customer, it has to be classed a success story. CAEATS are contracted to provide a certain number of simu-lator hours, for which the RAF pay, regardless of whether they are used. Utilisation is currently running at 11000 hrs per annum, which is equivalent to the output of more than 3 operational


Te

ch

no

log

y A

PPLI

CA

TIO

N

Above

Onboard – the instructor operating station.

Image credit: CAE.

squadrons. Unused capacity can be sold by the contractor to third parties, with a commensurate pay-back to the MOD, and many other forces, such as the Royal Netherlands Air Force, have benefitted from this. The contract has been running for 13 years, during which much development has taken place; over and above the work needed to keep the simulators representative of the air-craft – the latest example of which is the provision of a simulated flight data display in NVGs – improvements to sim-ulators and TCC, such as the upgrade of the video wall in the TCC from CRT to Digital Light Point technology, and the replacement of 12” screens with 19” touch screens, have been embodied at no cost to the customer. In the medium term, the specification for the visual displays was frozen 14 years ago; a lot of water has flowed under Wallingford Bridge in that time, and negotiations are in hand for the installation of a modern system.

What of the future? The situation at the contract review point is interest-ing, in that CAEATS will continue to own the facility, albeit on MOD soil. The MOD’s Rotary Wing Strategy envisages

the addition of upgraded Puma and Chi-nook Mk 6 to the RAF fleet, and transfer of RAF Merlin to the RN/RM as replace-ments for the ‘Jungly’ Sea King 4s; this alone, provided that it survives the upcoming Strategic Defence and Secu-rity Review, will give food for thought in terms of reconfiguration of, or addition to, the existing set-up. Observing the adage that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, the smart money would be on continua-tion of the current arrangements. How-ever, I have spent too long being amazed at the vagaries of MOD procurement to risk my pension.

There is little doubt that increased use of synthetic training is the accepted way forward, especially since the ‘real flying’ die-hards of my generation are being replaced by the products of an age where simulation is accepted as an inte-gral part of the package, rather than as an unsatisfactory cost-cutting substitute. This is reflected in the conversion course for Merlin; new pilots will go ‘solo’ after 3 hours in the aircraft, but 26 in the simu-lator. The whole course is 67% synthetic, as is 33% of all continuation training and PDT; the Chinook and Puma rates are slightly lower than this, but moving

towards the Merlin rates, within a JHC policy of maximising synthetic capa-bilities and using the simulators as effi-ciently as possible. The statutory require-ment is for 12 hours per year per crew; the average is actually about 35 hours. Wg Cdr Roger Flynn and his staff are also giving thought to augmenting the capa-ble but expensive FMSs with more cost-effective Part-Task Trainers delivered at the point of need – be that in UK or in theatre.

In sum, then, the MSHATF is used to train for any operational application of SH, including those for which scarcity of assets or complexity of scenario pre-clude live training. As a parting observa-tion, I asked Squadron Leader Si Cole, a QHTI with the RWOETU, what improve-ments, if any, he could think of. After some thought, he said that the ballistics of the simulated ground weapon fire might be refined so that a more accurate assessment could be made of whether evasive tactics had been effective. At the risk – nay, the certainty - of mixing metaphors, if the proof of the pudding is in the eating, we already have the cake and the icing – this must represent the candle. ms&t


http://www.htpostrava.cz

mailto:[email protected]

In the past, an Airman needing training would attend a train-ing event or course, either on-

site or on temporary duty, without much thought to cost and time. However, with today’s budgetary and resource con-straints, the Air Force is investigating new, less expensive yet equally effective ways to augment training programs. One solution is through Modeling and Simu-lation (M&S) and the use of Live, Virtual, and Constructive (LVC) training environ-ments. The Air Force Research Laboratory, 711th Human Performance Wing, Human Effectiveness Directorate, Warfighter Readiness Research Division (711 HPW/RHA) is currently investigating the use of LVC components in an effort to increase robustness and decrease the cost of train-ing Warfighters in both the air-to-air and air-to-surface mission arenas. Specifically, the 711 HPW/RHA at Mesa Research Site, Arizona, is investigating efficient ways to link systems together in joint and coali-

tion environments, and apply methods to capture and assess training performance during LVC training.

LVC is the combination of live play-ers, virtual (human-in-the-loop) plat-forms, and constructive (computer-gen-erated) entities in a common battlespace. While the “V” and “C” of LVC are M&S based (e.g., Distributed Mission Opera-tions (DMO)), the goal of LVC is to better train live Warfighters in their respective weapon systems while not acting as a training aid to other players. LVC will deliver better performance based train-ing to the live participant by providing a robust and dynamic training environment on live ranges (and eventually range-less operations). The 711HPW/RHA is work-ing with in-house training testbed capa-bilities, various Major Commands, and coalition partners to research, test, and build this capability.

M&S technologies are also increas-ingly applied to air-to-surface missions

through various integrated simulation environments. In response to a task-ing from then USAF Secretary Roche to develop an integrated training capability for the Joint Terminal Attack and Con-trol (JTAC) community, the 711 HPW/RHA created the first JTAC Training and Rehearsal System (TRS). The program produced both a 360 degree and 5 Meter dome (220 degree field of view) to support the Integrated Theater Combat Opera-tions Training Research Testbed at Mesa. The domes have also been used in a vari-ety of LVC events, including the first-ever connection of live F-16s to virtual JTAC trainers calling in Close Air Support (CAS) strikes, passing real-time data over 2000 miles with minimal latency.


Tr

ain

ing

TE

CH

nO

LOg

y

Developing Cost Effective LVC Training Through applied Warfighter research Linking systems together can meet training simulation requirements for communities like JTAC. Kristen Barrera and 1Lt Kara Thoreson describe some current research initiatives.

A Warfighter in the JTAC TRS 5m dome call-

ing for CAS and providing talk-on for a virtual

pilot to neutralize a constructive threat.

Image credit: AFRL.


The R&D innovations embedded in the Integrated Theater Combat Opera-tions Training Research Testbed and JTAC TRS enabled these assets to serve as requirements drivers for the Joint Ter-minal Control Training and Rehearsal System acquisition program. The sys-tems are accredited by Air Combat Com-mand (ACC) to fulfill JTAC simulator training requirements and are currently nominated for Joint Forces Command accreditation, to allow JTACs to replace 4 of 12 annual live CAS events in a simu-lated environment. The testbeds provide an ideal environment to investigate cur-rent JTAC training methods, define the optimal live vs. simulation trade off, and associated cost savings.

To further the 711 HPW/RHA’s research efforts, the team is work-ing with Coalition Mission Training Research (CMTR) partners to further propagate LVC. US Air Forces Europe (USAFE) and the United Kingdom’s (UK) Royal Air Force (RAF) are devel-oping networks for linking virtual and constructive simulations. Based on the cooperative CMTR program, AFRL and the UK’s Defense Science and Technol-ogy Laboratory (DSTL) are pursuing

an ongoing Coalition-LVC Operations Training (C-LVC OT) program to link USAFE and RAF simulator networks and ultimately incorporate live assets.

The AFRL and DSTL work share a common goal with the LVC Pilot Program (PP), to demonstrate a persistent and integrated LVC capability supporting significant training benefits for aircrews flying live aircraft, as well as Warfighters using virtual simulators. The objective of the C-LVC OT program is to create a unique environment, where all players are provided quality training from mis-sion planning, briefing, execution, and debrief, whether they are employing live systems or participating in a simulation environment. C-LVC OT events will be proving grounds for joint and coalition training, mission rehearsal, and advance interoperability standards development, validation, and refinement.

The C-LVC OT team plans to inte-grate the JTAC TRS into the DSTL infra-structure, where US and UK JTACs will further validate use of the technologies, via future exercises. Integration of the JTAC TRS will help demonstrate the technology and serve as use-cases for LVC R&D between the US, UK and other

partners in the follow-on CMTR Program Arrangement, Australia and Canada.

The coalition effort also plans to take advantage of two F-16 Deployable Tactical Trainers (DTT), developed at the Mesa Research Site and delivered to Aviano AB Italy to provide a collaborative R&D opportunity in conjunction with interim on-site simulation training for assigned units. This AFRL and USAFE collaboration provides an in-theater lab, with researchers using data gleaned from operational pilots flying the two DTTs now, with an additional two DTTs to be installed by 711 HPW/RHA experts to form a four-ship.

The Mesa Research Site is also eval-uating alternative methods for using performance data to track and predict performance over time to estimate the proficiency “shelf-life” of tactical knowl-edge, skills, and experiences. Eventually, these prediction and tracking technolo-gies will be delivered as part of a new AFRL and ACC Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) for a learning man-agement system for DMO and LVC opera-tions. The exemplar for this ATD will be developed and evaluated as part of ACC’s LVC PP, a field experiment scheduled at

Future Home of the US Air ForceATFS-400 PHOENIX

Future Home of the US Navy GL-6000 GRYPHON

Artist conception of the 711th Human Performance Wing and Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory (NAMRL) complex being constructed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Navy Research Facility

The Future of Human Performance Training and Research is TODAY!

Future Home of the US Air Force FALCON Hypobaric Chamber Suite

ETCMST.com

FALCON Hypobaric (Altitude) Chamber Suite

ATFS-400 PHOENIX Centrifuge

GL-6000 GRYPHON

Announcing The Award of:

TM

...

Flight Training Without Physiological Stresses...

is Not Flight Training

http://www.etcmst.com

nellis AFB, nevada to evaluate LVC as a long term readiness enhancement capa-bility for the USAF.

The goal of the ACC LVC PP is to prove out integrated LVC training to its fullest potential. The use of modified test Operational Flight Program software will enable virtual and constructive threats to be displayed on the live aircraft’s defen-sive systems and prosecuted as real tar-gets. The training is focused on the live asset using a dynamic training environ-ment enhanced by rapidly positioning constructive threats throughout the range complex through the use of virtual and constructive threat generators.

The LVC PP will demonstrate the ability to reset the training environ-ment in any configuration, immediately add bogey aircraft upon request, aug-ment training scenarios, and measure performance at the individual, team, and team of teams levels. Additionally, LVC technology can effectively expand available range space by positioning virtual and constructive threats out-side range boundaries where live assets cannot fly. By virtually expanding range space, live players within the range space will have the ability to reposition threats or create new threats, as well as capture data for debrief, a true asset to increasing live training through the help of M&S technologies.

To develop technologies for robust debriefs, the 711 HPW/RHA research team has met with numerous custom-ers regarding training needs and how to integrate LVC technologies. Research-ers used Mission Essential Competen-ciesSM (MECSM) – key knowledge areas and skills to be trained – initially devel-oped for fighter roles and missions to demonstrate the training potential and quantitative mission performance metric tracking. With established MECs, Mesa scientists, engineers, and subject-matter experts (SME) took the lead in develop-ing LVC enabling technologies while integrating training aspects into robust debrief capabilities.

AFRL’s debrief tools and technolo-gies comprise the Performance Evalu-ation and Tracking System (PETS), starting as an AFRL and ACC ATD and currently in use at Mesa for the DMO Training Research program. By incorpo-rating a performance measurement and assessment system, such as PETS, in an LVC network, numerous data points can

be captured that were previously unob-tainable during live-fly events.

network traffic standards for data distributed on the network enterprise are essential to the success of assess-ment systems, and conforming to M&S standard data definition creates sub-stantial efficiencies in the development of metrics and algorithms for analysis. 711 HPW/RHA has also demonstrated data, in its native format from operational aircraft and other systems in the form of a proprietary “standard,” can also be harvested, transformed and used in the assessment process.

The current system being fielded in the fast-jet community is composed of three major components: 1) a network-monitoring and data analysis capability to track data of various types on the DMO or LVC network and to yield detailed results and visualizations for after-action review; 2) an automated gradesheet to help capture data for actions not rou-tinely harvestable or available; and 3) a tracking system to store data in a com-mon format for retrieval by a developed reporting system or through USAF sortie tracking systems.

The first component of the new sys-tem is more objective, and like PETS, takes network data to automatically analyze and display key points. Its com-panion component technology is an automated gradesheet that allows an instructor or SME to evaluate mission planning, briefing, mission execution, and post mission debrief and to provide constructive, subjective feedback, as part of the immediate debrief or document in a warehoused assessment database. The final component is a tracking system to

document the proficiency development of individual Warfighters. This informa-tion can be stored in systems such as USAF’s Patriot Excalibur for tracking and reporting, and passed to unit weapons officers and training shops to better mix live and virtual events for training.

LVC is being investigated as a poten-tial way forward for training Warfighters within multiple environments. Technol-ogy evaluations, multiple use cases, and performance based metrics, to name a few, are being used to look at current training through an LVC lens. In col-laboration with ACC, USAFE, and coali-tion partners, AFRL is investigating the potential utility of LVC at varying levels of integration (from full sensor stimula-tion on live platforms via virtual and con-structive systems to situational aware-ness displays only). These multiple efforts support future LVC developments and offer potential solutions to future training shortfalls for various weapons systems. It will take time to prove the utility of LVC, but the 711 HPW/RHA is leading the way with collaboration and guidance from end users, the Warfighters. ms&t

About the AuthorsBoth Ms Kristen Barrera and 1Lt Kara Thoreson are with the 711th Human Performance Wing, Warfighter Readi-ness Research Division. AFRL Mesa Research Site, AZ.


Tr

ain

ing

TE

CH

nO

LOg

y

LVC in action: all elements of the Inte-

grated Theater Combat Operations Training

Research Testbed working together to

represent the entire kill chain.

Image credit: AFRL.

http://www.metavr.com

mailto:[email protected]

The development of advanced com-

puter technologies now enables

ground-based simulators to dis-

charge 90 per cent of helicopter pilot

training tasks. At the present time, air

forces of almost all developed countries

have introduced a common practice of

simulator training, which is efficient and

highly advantageous, saving jet fuel and

aircraft service lives. According to experts,

ground-based simulators account for 70

per cent of flight crew combat training

in European countries. Simulator train-

ing provides another advantage – safety;

safety is a crucial advantage, especially as

far as young and inexperienced pilots are

concerned.

<<

Rosoboronexport is now emphasising total helicopter systems – including

training –and their customers benefit; they save resources and reduce risk.

Advertisement Advertisement

Realistic Helicopter

Training

Advertisement Advertisement

Nowadays simulators facilitate basic

flight training, advanced training in oper-

ating helicopter systems, flight crew team-

work training, and emergency training.

Modern Russian-made simulators simulate

aircraft, their flight dynamics, and opera-

tion of their onboard systems with a high

degree of fidelity. Simulated flight visual

effects are amazingly realistic – modern

systems are capable of simulating any time

of day, various weather conditions, and

any terrain with corresponding features.

Cutting-edge simulators offer efficient

trainee monitoring systems, simulated

flight recording and playback systems,

and flight crew action evaluation systems.

Technologies, inherent in Russian-made

products, allow remote simulators of dif-

ferent types and with different functions

(flight, naval, and ground simulators) to be

integrated into simulator systems, which

enable trainees and instructors to con-

duct simultaneous exercises in a common

simulated, information, and visual environ-

ment.

Advanced helicopter simulators, devel-

oped and manufactured in Russia, strive for

the best cost-efficiency ratio and are based

on the standard IBM-compatible software

and hardware. It ensures high reliability,

easy operation and modernisation.

Russia has been considered to be one

of the leading combat helicopter manufac-

turers for a long time. A total of 65,000

rotary-wing aircraft have been manufac-

tured across the world since 1950. About

26,000 of them, including 6,000 exported

helicopters, were built in Russia. A consid-

erable number of Russian-made helicopters

operate in Southeast Asia, driving a need

for training centres to provide basic flight

training to young pilots, and advanced

combat training to seasoned ones.

The international helicopter simula-

tor market is believed to account for 15

per cent of the overall sales of arms and

materiel and amount to approximately US

$500 million plus. In addition, this market

foresees a rapid development. The current

international growth trend boils down to

the fact that simulators can be used for

both training pilots, tank crews, sailors,

and missile system crews, and conducting

large-scale military exercises, while accu-

rately determining ammunition expendi-

tures and fuel consumption, and allocating

required forces and assets to accomplish

tactical and strategic combat missions; at

the same time simulators save every car-

tridge, shell, or ounce of fuel. They ensure

detailed monitoring and analysis of every

stage of an exercise, and playback of any

action, if necessary.

The Rosoboronexport Corporation,

Russia’s only enterprise authorised to export

and import the entire range of military and

dual-purpose products, technologies and

services, intends to significantly improve its

position in this growing market by expand-

ing the number of foreign customers and

the range of simulators offered.

Previously Rosoboronexport focussed

on selling helicopters proper; now, poten-

tial customers, including those in South-

east Asia, are offered a helicopter system,

comprising both rotary-wing aircraft, and

state-of-the-art training aids, including

full-mission and flight/navigation simula-

tors of various levels and computer-based

classroom training systems. According to

experts, Russia may secure about eight

per cent of the international helicopter

market by 2015. It plans to manufacture

more than 200 rotary-wing aircraft this

year alone, while, on the whole, Russian

helicopter production rates grow by 20-30

per cent on an annual basis. Deliveries of

helicopter simulators will increase corre-

spondingly.

Rosoboronexport establishes produc-

tive cooperation with both national, and

flagship international simulator manufac-

turers. Foreign companies are interested

in using certain Russian systems in their

simulators. It is a positive example of the

world-wide integration in the field of mili-

tary-technical cooperation.

Efforts, undertaken by the corpora-

tion in the past few years, have resulted

in boosting exports of all types of simula-

tors more than 20-fold from US $10 mil-

lion in 2004 up to US $250-300 million

as of now. Rosoboronexport is currently

considering dozens of requests of foreign

customers for procurement of Russian

training aids. Such positive dynamics prove

the efficiency of the new military hardware

sales policy, pursued by the Rosoboronex-

port Corporation.

At the moment, in the international

arms market, Russia’s special exporter

actively promotes full-mission and pro-

cedure-oriented simulators, designed for

basic and advanced flight and combat

training of flight crews, manning such

helicopters as Mi-8, Mi-17, Mi-24, Mi-35,

Mi-26, Mi-28NE, Ka-27, Ka-28, Ka-31,

Ka-32, Ka-52A, and Ka-60. These simula-

tors meet international simulator require-

ments in terms of quality and accuracy

of simulated flight data and the level of

detail and accuracy of visual scenes. Rus-

sian simulators have proved themselves in

many countries, operating Russian heli-

copters. The Mexican Navy airbase in Ver-

acruz houses a Mi-17 pilot training centre,

equipped with a Russian-made simulator.

Delivering a speech at the training centre

opening ceremony, Mexican Secretary of

the Navy Vice Admiral Marco Antonio Pey-

rot Gonzalez highly appreciated the Rus-

sian simulator. Mexico operates about 60

Russian helicopters. In Venezuela, a train-

ing facility, fitted with Russian simulators,

is being built. Russia also develops simula-

tors for Syria and certain Southeast Asian

and African countries.

In order to meet requests of its foreign

partners Rosoboronexport offers multi-

level logistic and technical support with

respect to simulators delivered to custom-

ers. It renders various services pertaining to

simulator deliveries and upgrades, as well

as consultations on simulator maintenance

in any form acceptable to the customer.

Regardless of the location, the corporation

constantly monitors the state of products

delivered and their software.

At the present time Russian helicop-

ter simulator manufacturers have reached

such a level of real-life effects that the dif-

ference in the pilot’s sensations during a

real flight and a simulated one is extremely

imperceptible. At the same time priority is

assigned to the following aspects in the

course of design, production, and exports

of training aids.

SafetyRussia pays much attention to safe opera-

tion of its aircraft. Thus, every helicopter

delivery is accompanied by an offer to sup-

ply simulators of various levels of sophisti-

cation. Our strategic goal is to save military

aircraft for combat missions and prevent

man-caused failures, let alone air crashes,

in the course of training flights. At the same

time a simulator will allow pilots to develop

automatic skills in beyond-critical modes of

operation, in a dogfight, and after sustain-

ing various types of damage, while saving

human lives and combat aircraft.

PrecisionA high precision of simulation is achieved

through direct cooperation with helicopter

manufacturers. Initial data packages on

all versions of Mil- and Kamov-family heli-

copters have officially been delivered to

Russian simulator manufacturers, such as

R.E.T. Kronshtadt Co., Ltd, under contracts

with the Rosoboronexport Corporation.

Realistic EnvironmentThe Russian-made Aurora external visual

environment simulation system is designed

specially for helicopter simulators. The

Aurora system boasts all capabilities,

inherent in advanced visual environment

display systems, such as a multi-channel

capability, a high resolution, independ-

ent vision scale correction, stitching, and

blending, automated generation and tex-

turing of images of landscapes, populated

areas, and airports, realistic simulation of

celestial bodies: gradient changes of the

illumination depending on the coordinates

and the time of day, season, and many

other capabilities.

Aurora also simulates a flight crew’s

operation in third-generation night vision

goggles with the help of organic night

vision goggles.

It also extremely accurately simulates

operation of optronic systems (FLIR),

searchlights, and radars.

Motion SystemsRussian helicopter simulators are fitted

with electromechanical motion bases, load

and vibration simulation systems, pro-

duced by the world’s recognised leading

manufacturers in the international simula-

tor market, such as MOOG-FCS.

ArmamentThe issue of flight safety holds especially

true for combat aircraft. Risks, resulting

from combat piloting techniques, are fur-

ther aggravated by fire of aircraft weapon

systems. Russian simulators simulate full-

scale operation of weapon suites mounted

on helicopters, including gun armament,

missiles, rocket projectiles, air bombs, and

air-to-air missiles.

IntegrationNowadays it is impossible to overestimate

the importance of teamwork training

and accomplishment of tactical missions.

Russian helicopter simulators are fully

compatible with the IEEE 1516 protocol

and the most successful HLA RTI imple-

mentations. Training centres, equipped

with advanced Russian simulators, are

fully compatible with each other and can

facilitate joint virtual manoeuvres, involv-

ing air, naval, and land forces. In order

to ensure integration and scalability of

a simulation system, as well as generate

a virtual tactical environment for all par-

ticipants in a simulated battle Rosoboro-

nexport offers tactical simulation systems,

which integrate simulators into tactical

networks. It goes without saying that

such capabilities provide for both unim-

peded exchange of the results of an exer-

cise, trainee database support and access,

and a boost of the simulation system’s

capabilities for follow-up headquarters

training (Constructive Training).

Integrated Logistic SupportSound planning and consistent implemen-

tation of the integrated logistic support

ensure a high availability ratio of simula-

tors, thus, facilitating non-stop and highly

efficient training of flight crews.

Given the rapidly changing financial

situation, much importance is attached

to determining simulator ownership costs

in order to further streamline operational

costs; this is impossible without ILS meas-

ures that envision acquisition, processing,

and analysis of data on the simulator oper-

ation throughout its life cycle from devel-

opment until scrapping. The simulator ILS

is based on MIL-STD-1369 (EC) and DEF

STAN 00-60 Integrated Logistic Support

(ILS) standards, as well as the latest Rus-

sian achievements in this sphere.

ObjectiveMilitary service is a risk; the trade of a

military pilot has risk and responsibil-

ity for human lives and hardware, which

becomes more sophisticated and expen-

sive with every passing year.

Our objective is to enable professionals

to demonstrate and hone their best skills

without jeopardising human lives, but

simultaneously husbanding the national

budget and helicopter service lives.

The importance of employing cutting-

edge simulators has always been obvious

to professionals involved in helicopter

crew training. Moreover, it is time state-

of-the-art simulators, rather than real air-

craft, shouldered a greater training burden

(Virtual Training). The reasons are obvious

– a cost reduction, a husbandry of service

lives of helicopters and their armament,

etc. However, the main reason consists in

ensuring the safety of flight crews, espe-

cially when they carry out flights in adverse

conditions and practice combat missions

and actions in various emergencies. Jointly

with Russian simulator manufacturers,

Rosoboronexport is ready to meet any

request of its customers. The status of

the sole state intermediary provides the

corporation with a unique opportunity to

expand and strengthen long-term mutu-

ally beneficial cooperation with foreign

partners.

Advertisement


Europe’s long journey in search of a common defence started only a few years after

World War II. In 1952, France, Italy, Bel-gium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg and West Germany signed the Treaty for the European Defence Community (EDC). The pact launched by early advo-cates of European unity provided for pan-European military forces, a common budget, arms and institutions, and cen-tralised military procurement. However, the ECD never came into effect, because it failed ratification in the French parlia-ment. Reservations about Germany’s remilitarisation were just too strong in these early post-war years. Remarkably enough, none of the later treaties came any closer to a true European military force than the EDC.

During the decades of the Cold War, European defence ambitions were clearly overshadowed by NATO. It was

only after the Soviet Union collapsed that European protagonists started reconsid-ering a European concept of common defence. The decisive impetus for mov-ing Europe’s defence policy from the drawing board to action, however, was provided by the Yugoslav Wars (1991-1995), which all too clearly revealed Europe’s shameful incapacity to solve a conflict on its own continent without American help.

In the Treaty on European Union (TEU), also known as the Maastricht Treaty (1992), the Europeans reaffirmed their goal of an independent European Security and Defence Identity (ESDI) that would be separate to but closely coordi-nated with NATO. The European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) really started in 1999, after the Helsinki European Council provided the European Union with autonomous civil and military capa-bilities and the goal of developing an

autonomous European Rapid Reaction Force (ERRF). Since then, the ESDP has developed rapidly. Since January 2007, 60,000 soldiers have been available for the EU Battle Groups that replaced the concept of the ERRF.

The Lisbon Treaty originally con-ceived as a Constitution for Europe, entered into force in December 2009. In it the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) replaces the ESDP, a more than merely symbolic upgrade. The CSDP represents the Member State’s greater willingness to develop the military arm of an EU whose security policy is based on NATO, without, however, prejudicing

Na

tio

Na

l FO

CU

S

towards a European army? In search of security, Europeans have embarked on a path to common defenceand perhaps a European army. Walter F. Ullrich describes that path.

Above

EUPOL Afghanistan providing checkpoint

training in Kabul.

Image credit: Council of the European

Union.

some Member States’ neutrality towards NATO. The Lisbon Treaty also formally introduces the European Defence Agency, which will oversee the capabil-ity definition and development process, including the aim to “strengthen the industrial base of the defence sector”. The EDA has thus become a keystone of the CSDP. The CSDP also greatly expands tasks, which are now: “joint disarmament operations, humanitar-ian and rescue tasks, military advice and assistance tasks, conflict preven-tion and peace-keeping tasks, tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peace-making and post-con-flict stabilisation.” All these tasks may contribute to the global fight against terrorism, including by supporting third countries in combating terrorism in their territories.

ESDP/CSDP MissionsSince 2003 the EU has conducted or is conducting, relatively unnoticed by the transatlantic public, 24 missions under the ESDP/CSDP. Seven of these have been military operations. The rest are civil missions, some with a high pro-portion of military personnel. By June 2010, the EU will have undertaken three military operations and ten civilian missions: one military and four civilian in Europe; two military and three civil-ian in Africa; three civilian missions in the Middle East; and one in Asia. Some of the more prominent are described in the following paragraphs.

EUPOL Afghanistan aims to con-tribute to the establishment of sus-tainable and effective civilian policing arrangements under Afghan owner-ship in accordance with international standards. More particularly, the mis-sion aims to bring together individual national efforts under an EU hat, taking due account of relevant Community activities. The mission monitors, men-tors, advises and trains at the level of the Afghan Ministry of Interior, regions and provinces. In May 2010, the Coun-cil extended the mission for a further three years until 31 May 2013.

EUTM Somalia, a military opera-tion, contributes to the training of Somali security forces. The main objective is to make the Somali Army strong enough to crack down on pirates off and along the Somali coast, thus complementing maritime sur-

veillance operations. The training is part of a wider international effort to help stabilise the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG), which is facing a rebellion by Islamic mili-tants. The country has been without a functional government and army since 1991. About 100 European mili-tary experts provide specific military training to 2000 Somali recruits up to and including platoon level, including appropriate modular and specialised training for officers and non-commis-sioned officers. Having started in April 2010, EUTM Somalia is due to termi-nate in 2011 after two consecutive six-month training periods. The EU mili-tary training will take place mainly in the Ugandan Bihanga Training Camp.

EUNAVFOR Somalia, also called Operation “Atalanta”, is a military oper-ation to help deter, prevent and repress acts of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia. It is part of the global action conducted by the EU in the Horn of Africa to deal with the Somali crisis, and was launched in support of sev-eral resolutions adopted by the United Nations Security Council. This opera-tion – the European Union’s first naval operation – has now been extended by the European Council until December 2010. During this period up to 12 EU ships and a number of Maritime Patrol Aircraft will be operating at any one time. At present, eight EU Member

States are making a permanent opera-tional contribution to the operation.

EUPOL-COPPS builds on the work of the EU Coordination Office for Pal-estinian Police Support established earlier within the office of the EU Spe-cial Representative for the Middle East Peace Process. The EU, which has always been at the forefront of peace efforts in the Middle East, supports the Palestinian Authority in taking respon-sibility for law and order and, in par-ticular, in improving its civil police and law enforcement capacity. The aim of the Mission, which started in January 2006, is to contribute to the establish-ment of sustainable and effective polic-ing arrangements and to advise Pales-tinian counterparts on criminal justice and rule-of-law-related aspects in accordance with the best international standards.

The main objective of EUFOR ALTHEA is to preserve a safe and secure environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). To that end, EUFOR maintains a multinational manoeuvre battalion made up of troops from Spain, Hungary, Poland and Turkey. Thus EUFOR retains its capacity to react throughout the


Na

tio

Na

l FO

CU

S

Above

EUTM training activities for Somalia.

Image credit: Council of the European

Union.

country to any possible security chal-lenges. EUFOR continues to provide active support to the International Crim-inal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in pursuit of persons indicted for war crimes. In January 2010, the Coun-cil of the EU decided to start providing non-executive capacity-building and training support that would contrib-ute to strengthening local authorities. EUFOR also supports the implementa-tion of a number of tasks that have been transferred from the operation to local authorities, i.e. countermine activities and the management of weapons and ammunition storage sites.

Other on-going EU missions are EUPM BiH, EUPT EUSEC RD Congo, EUPOL RD Congo, EUSSR Guinea-Bis-sau, EUJUST LEX, EUBAM Rafah Kos-ovo, EULEX Kosovo, EUMM Georgia.

a European army?It is anticipated that over the next few years the EU will in fact expand its international commitments under its own flag and identity. But will this also lead to a true European military force? The Lisbon Treaty provides that military capabilities remain in national hands. However, it also stipulates that Member States can voluntarily pool civilian and military resources for the implementa-tion of Common Security and Defence operations.

At the Seventh Congress on Euro-pean Security and Defence held in Berlin in November 2008, Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament, introduced SAFE (Synchronised Armed Forces Europe), a concept for the ever closer synchronisation of European armed forces in the context of the Euro-pean Security and Defence Policy. In January 2009 the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs endorsed the concept by a wide majority and incorporated it into the European Parlia-ment’s annual report on the European Security and Defence Policy. Discus-sions concerning the implementation of the concept are currently taking place in the Council of the European Union. SAFE is based on voluntary participa-tion (opt-in model) and is intended to lead to the synchronisation of European armed forces. It stands for the dynamic further development of the current arrangements, which amount to little more than close cooperation between

national armed forces, towards ever closer synchronisation.

SAFE means a Europe-wide bur-den-sharing in the area of military capabilities, which was already in evi-dence in the composition of the Battle Groups or in the Eurocorps. Over and above this, SAFE proposes that mili-tary careers in national armed forces should be opened up to Europeans from all Member States. This is already standard practice in the Belgian armed forces and is being introduced as part of joint organisational arrangements for German and Dutch reservists. In the context of SAFE, a European soldiers’ statute is to be drawn up governing training standards, rules of engage-ment and degrees of operational free-

dom, duties and rights, quality of equipment and medical care, and social security arrangements in the event of death, injury or incapacity.

SAFE is intended to contribute to the further development of integrated European security structures. The idea is that these would combine civilian and military capabilities and secure a high level of social acceptance in the Member States. SAFE may not yet be a European army per se, but it is an essential step in that direction. And SAFE has good chances of being realised, first because the European Parliament is behind it and most importantly because Germany and France, influential vanguards of a true European army, strongly support the plan. ms&t


Get Real!From the makers of AIMTEST, American Apex Corporation Introduces:

American Apex CorporationGunnery Training Solutions

Providing realistic live fire gunnery training solutions to the US military and the world since 1992.

8515 Rausch DrivePlain City, OH 43064 USAToll-Free: 1-800-860-APEX (2739)Outside the US & Canada: +001 614-652-2000Fax: 614-652-2001

[email protected]

The New Gunnery Training System Providing a sub-caliber training solution for all auto cannon and chain gun equipped armored and infantry fighting vehicles from 20-40MM.

The Gunnery Training SystemA Live-Fire Solution - Not Simulation

The Strategic Solution to:• Training Budget Cuts

• Limited Range Availability

• Crew Turbulence





[email protected]





• Crew Turbulence





[email protected]





• Crew Turbulence





[email protected]





• Crew Turbulence

The Hinterstoisser Airbase in Zeltweg, Austria is well known to aviation enthusi-

asts and planespotters in Europe and abroad. In 2003 and 2005, hun-dreds of thousands of visitors made their way to the AirPower air show, a favour-ite of aviation fans and a meeting place for Europe’s most famous display teams. While one would have expected the suc-cess to continue in 2007, the show was not held. However, that was the year the Eurofighter came to Austria, and to Zelt-weg, so all was not lost for Austrian fans. AirPower returned to the Hinterstoisser Airbase in 2009 and was reported to be an unqualified success.

DecisionsIn July 2002, the Austrian government announced the decision to make the Eurofighter its new fighter aircraft. The decision came as a surprise to many, and was not uncontroversial. Many insiders

had expected the Saab Gripen to win the Austrian bid. Yet the official procur-ers had good reason to make the decision they did: the Eurofighter, perhaps the most advanced new-generation combat aircraft available on the global market, provided the more favourable financing model and was superior to its competitor; it featured, for example, 30-40% greater climb-rate capability, which is crucial in Austria’s limited airspace. So, Austria became the launch export customer after the four Eurofighter core nations - Ger-many, Italy, Spain and the United King-dom. Before the decision was taken the military still had 30 aircraft in mind (24 single-seaters and six two-seaters), but by the time contract negotiations actu-ally began that number had dropped to 24 aircraft. In the summer of 2002, after severe floods had hit Austria, which had severe consequences for the nation’s budget, the total number of aircraft was reduced. And the purchase contract that

was agreed on 1 July 2003 provided for the delivery of 18 aircraft, plus logistics, maintenance, training and a simulator. In June 2007, the Austrian Minister of Defence, Norbert Darabos, reduced that number one last time to 15 aircraft. One month later, on 12 July 2007, the first Eurofighter arrived at Zeltweg and for-mally entered into service in the Austrian Air Force.

The AirbaseThe Hinterstoisser Airbase, named after Colonel Franz Hinterstoisser, the founder of Austria’s airship aviation, is Austria’s largest military airbase. Situ-ated in the Mur Valley in the federal


NA

Tio

NA

l FO

CU

S

Eurofighter: Training the Austrian WayTraining Austria’s fast jet air police. Walter F. Ullrich describes the Austrian Air Force’s Eurofighter training capability.

Above

Austria became the Eurofighter’s launch

export customer after the four core nations.

Image credit: Eurofighter/Geoffrey Lee.


state of Styria, it is home to a number of important units, such as the Überwachungsgeschwader (Surveillance Wing), ele-ments of Fliegerwerft (Aircraft Maintenance Yard) 2 and the Fliegerschule (Flight School) for basic training. The site is pro-tected by units from a Fliegerabwehrbataillon (Air Defence Battalion). The introduction of the Eurofighter required wide-spread reconstruction and extension work on the airbase. This work is still ongoing, even though the last Eurofighter arrived in Zeltweg in September 2009. According to the then site man-ager of the Hinterstoisser Airbase, Rainer Brandstetter, some million Euros will ultimately have to be invested in reconstruc-tion and modernisation; most of that would have been needed anyway for a new 43-metre high control tower, for instance, or new buildings for the airbase fire brigade, or for the takeoff and landing strip. The majority of investments, however, are directly related to the Eurofighter deal. New hangars had to be built because the existing ones were not suitable for the new aircraft; state-of-the-art maintenance facilities to provide in-service support to the aircraft had to be installed. And, on top of that, a training centre for the Eurofighter had to be set up at Zeltweg.

The Training CentreThe training centre, dubbed ASZZ, the German abbreviation for ‘Training and Simulation Centre Zeltweg’, commenced opera-tions in 2007, even before the first real aircraft landed in Zelt-weg. It was the result of the efforts of a working group that already had a great influence on the design and organisation of the later training institution at the planning stage. Led by Colonel Wolfgang Kralicek, Chief of the Training Equipment & Simulation Section at the Federal Ministry of Defence and Sport, this group prepared the set-up of the Eurofighter Aircrew Syn-thetic Training Aids (ASTA) and the Ground Training Aids, as well as their integration into the newly built centre. Director Daniel Kraus, now head of the ASZZ, was responsible for organ-ising the construction work on site. “The layout of this centre, in regard to training and education, was managed by us,” says Colonel Wolfgang Kralicek. “Of course, there were architects from the military construction authority, but eventually we had a real say in where equipment would go, and how much space it would take up!” The working group took into account experi-ence gained by the German air force at its training centre in Laage. The final architectural and functional layout, however, was based on Austrian requirements, and tailored to suit the organisational processes of the ASZZ. The result demonstrates what happens when the right experts are given a free hand. The building is spacious; the modern building concept pro-vides for the modular expansion of the individual functional areas in order to enable the centre to grow in line with opera-tional demands. “Right now we have one full mission simula-tor,” explains the Colonel. “To train ‘leader/wingman formation’, we need a second simulator,” he explains. The Interim Training Device, the forerunner of the full mission simulator that existed at the time, was not exactly what the Austrians were looking for. “But we could have been rightly blamed if we had planned to build this centre for one simulator and a desktop trainer alone,” Kralicek continues. In fact, the premises were even large enough to accommodate temporarily limited other units, for example the flight squadron and the aircraft maintenance yard, at the start of the renovation phase.

Maintenance and RepairAustria was the first export customer to get ASTA, the largest and most advanced fast jet training programme in Europe. ASTA is made by Eurofighter Simulation Systems GmbH (ESS), a con-sortium of European key players in simulation comprising CAE/STN Atlas from Germany, Spain’s Indra, Meteor from Italy and the UK’s Thales Training and Simulation. ASTA combines and integrates all training means required to teach others to operate a Eurofighter. ASTA consists of lecture halls, computer worksta-tions and a 360° dome simulator for virtual mission training. The FMS allows the pilots to fully immerse themselves in training their mental skills, including workload management, decision-making and situational awareness. It is also possible for pilots to train by flying close to flight limitations and beyond normal air-craft limitations because the ASTA devices run real aircraft soft-ware. The ASTA that is deployed at Zeltweg does not so much differ from other nations’ systems on account of the equipment than on account of how the equipment is handled. Nothing is outsourced; the ASZZ’s Technical Department does all the nec-essary maintenance and repair work. “We sent our technicians abroad to undergo comprehensive training,” explains Director Daniel Kraus. “Because of their broad-based knowledge of the entire system, our staff of six are in a position to do practically anything – unlike many industry specialists.” The official statis-tics back him up on that: The technical availability of the system is over 98 per cent, and in September 2010 the centre recorded its 2000th simulator flight hour. There were basically economic reasons for not outsourcing ASZZ maintenance, says Colonel Kralicek: “Over the years, we found that it is not necessary to have industry permanently on site and it allows us to operate the centre much more cost-effectively.” Long-term assignments of

www.antycipsimulation.com

Cut Costswith COTS

At Antycip Simulation, we believe that our customers can reduce their development costs with the use of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) technologies.Over the past 15 years, we have built a strong portfolio of Open Standards based COTS toolkits. Our mission is to help our customers successfully design, build and deliver, flexible and reusable systems, with open architectures that are capable of incorporating both current and future technologies.

personnel make this investment in costly education profitable. Austrian regula-tions are yet another reason for having ASZZ personnel. These regulations stip-ulate that flight simulators be treated like aircraft. And aircraft must always be han-dled by government-licensed specialists in Austria.

The ASZZ is self-sufficient in other areas too. The centre produces its own training and education media. The ASZZ is also well on the way to becoming independent when it comes to database generation. “Don’t get me wrong,” says Colonel Kralicek, “We have a really good relationship with the industry, but we can no longer pay for all its services!”

Training Abroad and at HomeThe organisation and execution of Eurofighter pilot training at the ASZZ is adapted to very special Austrian needs and conditions. Even before the Surveil-lance Wing took over the first of its own Eurofighters, they assigned two fully trained Eurofighter pilots to the centre, where they started training as simulator operators. “These pilots have a dual role as active aviators and simulator instruc-tors,” explains Director Kraus. “During a transitional period, until a sufficient number of qualified Eurofighter pilots are available, they will continue to support the squadron, because otherwise flight operations would not be possible.” The first results are very encouraging, sup-porting the decision to have two perma-nent “flying” instructors within the team of seven instructors/operators. “I can proudly say that our simulator instructor pilots have the best system understand-ing of anyone,” says Director Kraus. “And when it comes to emergency training they are real specialists, because they know the system from the perspective of a trainer, as a pilot of the real aircraft and as a pilot of the simulator - like all other frontline pilots, they have to fly their 40 hours on the simulator.”

Overall, the Austrian Air Force has 16 Eurofighter pilots at its disposal. Twenty-three were originally planned, but when the fleet was reduced, the number of pilots was downsized as well. These pilots underwent training based on NATO’s standard six-phase training model. Basic training is done in Austria. Some Phase IV lead-in fighter training was done at the NATO Flying Training Centre in Canada in the last three years;

the last two pilots graduating in March 2010. Due to the lack of two-seaters, the actual conversion training for the Eurofighter has to be done in Germany. This training includes mission essentials which prepares the pilots for their air policing role in the Austrian sky.

Fast Jet Air PoliceSafeguarding Austrian airspace is an important political commitment, as no one may enter Austrian airspace with-out authorisation. However, and this is another Austrian idiosyncrasy, this is considered to be a job for the police. The Eurofighters’ main role is as fast jet air police, since it is they who are tasked with preventing incursions, penetrations, and other violations of Austrian airspace; the Eurofighter is a defence system that is perfectly suited to air policing. Agile and fast, it can no longer be outmanoeu-vred or outrun by the intruder. This task is completed in cooperation with the sub-sonic Saab 105 trainers stationed at the Hörsching Airbase in Upper Austria, and the radars of the Austrian Air Surveillance System “Goldhaube” (Gold Bonnet).

Interception over Austria’s alpine territory is an extremely complex task. It takes a great deal of experience to get the intercepting aircraft to within a few metres of the intruder for identification purposes. When an alien aircraft has to be forced out of the airspace or forced to land, the Eurofighter is always engaged as an interception pair. All this requires a lot of training. Only part of that training can be done at the ASZZ. “We are con-tinually exploring new and innovative ways to improve our training,” says Colo-nel Kralicek. “As I have already said, for networked training, for flying in a forma-tion of two, we would need the Cockpit Trainer here in the centre.” Yet there are other things that are still on the wish list: The next-generation maintenance simu-lator and an Aircraft Combat Manoeu-vring Instrumentation (ACMI) System for unit training for example, but the budget will most probably not allow for such projects in the next years. “We want to optimise the training of our pilots,” the Colonel concludes. “And therefore we have to provide most effective and cost efficient modern training equipment as it is possible to us.” ms&t


NA

Tio

NA

l FO

CU

S

Above

Colonel Wolfgang Kralicek (left) and Director

Daniel Kraus contributed substantially to

shaping the ASZZ.

Left

The Eurofighter Full Mission

Simulator at the ASZZ.

Both image credits: ASZZ.

At the 10th Annual Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Implementation Fest in

Orlando this August, ADL leaders paused for an introspective look at the last decade’s progress and discussed future plans to embrace the latest tech-nological advances. ADL Fest presenters described the ADL path from an initial rush to pepper the Internet with Pow-erPoint courseware, through the devel-opment and worldwide acceptance of the SCORM standard, to the work that now lies ahead: to broaden the scope of ADL to enhance civilian as well as mili-tary math and science education, and to incorporate virtual worlds and social media technologies.

Keynote Speaker Thomas Kalil, Dep-uty Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), highlighted the need for advanced ADL technologies to enhance math and sci-ence education. He pointed out how, for example, intelligent tutoring systems have the ability to give every student the feed-back they need for personalized instruc-tion and feels that this technology could have “an enormous payoff “ in advancing knowledge and learning. He also said that through the ADL program, the military could become a leader for the entire US to help provide the sorely needed advance in the country’s educational system in the areas of science, technology, engineering

and math and encouraged more Depart-ment of Defense (DoD) partnerships with government and civil education entities to accomplish this goal.

Paul Jesukiewicz, Senior ADL Advi-sor for the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense (OUSD) Office of the Director of Readiness and Training Policy and Pro-grams, described how the ADL Initiative is helping the DoD meet its 2010-2012 Per-formance Objectives of Total Force readi-ness as well as the mission-readiness of the civilian workforce. He also outlined how Kalil’s OSTP might collaborate with OSD, the OSD Science, Technology, Engi-neering and Mathematics (STEM) Educa-tion Office and the DoD Education Activ-ity (DoDEA) to employ intelligent tutors for biotechnical, robotics, modeling and simulation and K through 12 language and culture curricula.

Jesukiewicz also announced that the ADL Initiative is collaborating with the Office of Educational Technology at the US Department of Education (ED) in an effort to establish the Learning Reg-istry, where ADL courseware and other SCORM-based content can be assessed and shared. The goal of the Learning Registry project is to make federal learn-ing resources easier to find, access and integrate into educational and training environments for government, military and civilian educators. In the US alone, ADL and ED have linked the Learn-

ing Registry with the National Science Foundation, the White House OSTP, the National Institute of Standards and Tech-nology and the National Archives and Records Administration as well as the data.gov team. The intent is to eventually make certain Learning Registry content available worldwide,

In addition, Jesukiewicz also cited the kickoff of a new OSD study on virtual worlds that is designed to determine how this technology can be advanced to bet-ter support DoD training. Joe Camacho, Director of the Joint Knowledge Develop-ment and Distribution Capability (JKDDC) for the US Joint Forces Command (USJF-COM) told the ADLFest audience how his organization plans to move towards the incorporation of virtual worlds-based cur-ricula for its Joint Knowledge Online (JKO) portal. Douglas Maxwell of the US Army’s Research Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM)’s Simulation and Training Technology Center (STTC) pro-vided an overview of the Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC)’s Vir-tual Worlds Project.

Kristy Murray, Director of the ADL Initiative, gave an overview of how ADL has grown over the past decade and how distributed immersive learning opportunities have expanded with the proliferation of mobile communications, virtual worlds, social networking plat-forms and advanced gaming technology. She emphasized how the ADL Initiative has, can and should capitalize on these technologies to improve and expand the reach of ADL courseware.

Indeed, emphasis was placed on all of these technologies in special ses-sions devoted to them throughout the ADL Fest. Other conference sessions included those given by panels of US service ADL program managers who highlighted how the number of users and online courses successfully com-pleted has risen dramatically over the past two years. A description of the new ADL 3D content repository was also given. More information on the 2010 ADL Fest proceedings can be accessed at http://www.adlnet.gov under the ADL Announcements section. ms&t

Tr

ain

ing

TE

CH

NO

LOg

y

aDL Continues to LeadAfter 10 years of growth, ADL remains an exemplar.Chuck Weirauch reports on the recent ADL Fest.

Left

US Army Mg Stephen Layfield, Director of

USJFCOM Joint Training provided a keynote

address at the 2010 ADL Fest.

Image credit: Team Orlando.


Recognizing the value of sim-ulation technology for medi-cal training and education,

the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is implementing its Simulation Learning, Education and Research Net-work (SimLEARN) throughout its entire system of more than 170 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical cent-ers: work has begun on the SimLEARN National Center in Orlando.

A national program, the purpose of SimLEARN is to develop and manage a strategic and operating plan for the provi-sion of simulation education, training, and research across the VHA. The SimLEARN program proposal was approved by the US Under Secretary for Health in July 2009.

The SimLEARN National Center will be located on the campus of the new Orlando VA Medical Center which is part of the new “Medical City” campus at Lake Nona. The National Center is sched-uled to open its doors in June 2012. Once in operation, the Orlando facility will fea-ture inpatient and outpatient settings and

research areas for new simulation modal-ities. The center staff will also be respon-sible for the development of simulation-based curricula to address high-priority clinical needs and the distribution of this training and education material via the national SimLEARN network.

“What we began to realize was that as some of our facilities began to develop partnerships with their affiliates for sim-ulation training and education, we were not acting as a system in terms of our investments in that area,” said Louise Van Diepen, VA Deputy Chief Learning Officer. “We also were missing the oppor-tunity to use simulation system-wide as a modality to address critical clinical pri-orities and to set a national agenda for which priorities will be addressed using simulation. We also wanted to grasp the opportunity to raise the level of practice in simulation education and training across our system and standardize it where it made sense to standardize it.”

The VA is focusing on medical simu-lation because it improves the quality of

care to the patient, Van Diepen explained. Simulation creates a safe environment for learners where they can make mistakes without harming patients, and it is a cost-efficient, effective mechanism for training on new procedures and technol-ogies with a demonstrated effectiveness in other areas, such as flight simulation, she added.

“There is also a growing body of lit-erature in the medical education area that cites the effectiveness of clinical simulation for training medical students and residents,” Van Diepen said. “We intend to translate that to improvements in workplace performance.”

The VA has established a SimLEARN Website (www.simlearn.va.gov), and is producing a SimLEARN newsletter through which it distributes information on the latest applications of medical sim-ulation technology throughout the VHA system.

The agency plans to start deliver-ing curricula via the SimLEARN net-work before the Orlando National Center opens in 2012. They will initially focus on developing hands-on curricula for several medical simulation applications, includ-ing mannequin-based simulation, virtual patients, standardized patients, virtual environments, and haptic and non-hap-tic task trainers. A SimLEARN Steering Committee is to put together a priori-ties list for the Center to develop training solutions that address the most critical clinical education needs. Top adminis-trative staff has been hired, and leased space has been arranged in Orlando pending completion of construction in 2012. All support staff will be in place by October of this year, with Center design work completed by December 2010.

The VA decided to establish the Center in Orlando because of the con-centration of modeling and simulation expertise and resources in the Orlando area. Van Diepen explained: “We felt that Orlando provided a lot of synergies as it relates to simulation. We are working with a lot of our Department of Defense part-ners there, such as the Army’s Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation, and others such as the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Simulation and Training. The National Center and the Orlando VHA medical center will be located at the Lake Nona Medical city there, and that area has already created its own synergies.” ms&t


Tr

ain

ing

TE

CH

NO

LOg

y

SimLEarnThe VA is leveraging simulation and networks to bring education and training across the VHA. Chuck Weirauch explains.

T H e w o r l d ’ s l a r g e s T m o d e l i n g & s i m u l a T i o n e v e n T

n a T i o n a l T r a i n i n g a n d s i m u l a T i o n a s s o c i a T i o n

I/ITSEC

2 9 n o v e m b e r - 2 d e c e m b e r , 2 0 1 0 u o r l a n d o , F l o r i d a

InterservIce/Industry traInIng, sImulatIon & educatIon conference

w w w . I I t s e c . o r g

why I/Itsec?u 18,000 Industry experts

u 550 exhibiting companies

u 160 technical sessions/tutorials

Save the date!

29 November –

2 December

Imag

e cr

edit

: US

Nav

y/T

odd

Hac

k

T H e w o r l d ’ s l a r g e s T m o d e l i n g & s i m u l a T i o n e v e n T

n a T i o n a l T r a i n i n g a n d s i m u l a T i o n a s s o c i a T i o n

I/ITSEC

2 9 n o v e m b e r - 2 d e c e m b e r , 2 0 1 0 u o r l a n d o , F l o r i d a

InterservIce/Industry traInIng, sImulatIon & educatIon conference

w w w . I I t s e c . o r g

why I/Itsec?u 18,000 Industry experts

u 550 exhibiting companies

u 160 technical sessions/tutorials

Save the date!

29 November –

2 December

http://www.iitsec.org

wo

rld

ne

ws

& a

na

lysi

s


Air Force TrainingCAE USA Upgrades C-5 Weapons System Trainers - CaE Usa won a contract from the United states air Force (UsaF) worth more than $10 mil-lion to upgrade two C-5 Galaxy weapon systems trainers (WsTs). The contract includes options to upgrade more C-5 WsTs and C-5 cockpit procedures train-ers that could bring the value to more than $50 million.

as the prime contractor, CaE Usa

will upgrade the C-5 training devices to

ensure concurrency with current aircraft

upgrades being performed as part of the

C-5 avionics Modernization Program

(aMP) and the C-5 Reliability Enhance-

ment Re-engining Program (RERP).

initially, CaE will upgrade a C-5 WsT at

stewart air national Guard Base (anGB)

to the new C-5 aMP configuration.

another C-5 WsT at Dover air Force Base

that was already upgraded by CaE to the

aMP configuration several years ago will

be upgraded to the RERP configuration,

which includes new engine perform-

ance simulation software and a new

aerodynamics model that simulates the

improved engine performance.

MetaVR Software for F-16 FMTs

- luke air Force Base in Glendale, aZ,

recently purchased 53 MetaVR Virtual

Reality scene Generator (VRsG) licenses

for use in their F-16 full mission train-

ing simulators. MetaVR's software will

be fielded on commercial off-the-shelf

(COTs)-based PC image generators using

the latest game-level 3D graphics cards.

These VRsG licenses replace the Presagis

lyra-based solutions in the existing four

training dome systems for the Us air

Force Education and Training Command

(aETC) which were installed at the site in

2007 and 2008.

The MetaVR VRsG licenses will be

used to equip four dome-based systems

that contain a full cockpit replica of an

actual F-16. For each F-16 cockpit trainer,

the VRsG multichannel visual system

includes 10 out-the-window channels

and two sensor channels. The systems

also include new COTs PC hardware to

replace Concurrent PCs. as part of the

sale, MetaVR is building and will deliver

high-fidelity geospecific 3D terrain of

luke aFB, to include the airfield and the

Barry M. Goldwater Range.

US Air Force Reviewing New Training Campus - The U.s. air Force

awarded an independent-study con-

tract to DP Technology services inc., to

research the development of an advanced

operational-level C2, or command and

control, training campus at Hurlbert Field,

Florida. The study will address training

gaps and standardization for air, space

and cyberspace C2 warfighters and the

creation of a C2 campus.

The goal is an integrated campus

that will consolidate formal training for

component-numbered air Forces, air and

space operations centers and air Force

forces staffs. DP’s report will provide

recommendations for C-naF, aOC and

aFFOR staff training requirements at all

levels – initial and mission qualification,

continuation, advanced and functional.

The study also will address senior leader

C2 training requirements and should be

ready in January, 2011.

SDS Upgrades F-16 MTTs - sDs

international (sDs) has been awarded a

multiyear contract to provide a full range

of specialized operational and techni-

cal support and Distributed Mission

Operations (DMO) conversions for air

Force Reserve Command (aFRC) F-16

multi-task trainers (MTT). Work will be

performed at Fort Worth Joint Reserve

Base, Texas; Homestead air Reserve Base,

Florida; and Mesa, arizona.

To support DMO conversions, sDs

will implement simulation interoper-

ability standards Organization (sisO) and

the institute of Electrical and Electronics

Engineers (iEEE) standards to ensure

F-16 MTT interoperability in the DMO

Edited by Chuck Weirauch.

For daily breaking s&T news - go to www.halldale.com.

seen&Heard

above

MetaVR’s VRsG rendering of an F-16C

approaching luke aFB.

image credit: MetaVR.

network. support will also include integration of Distributed inter-

active simulation and High level architecture into the modeling

and simulation environment.

CAE USA C-130H Simulator to Egypt - CaE has won a

United states air Force contract to design and manufacture a

C-130H full mission simulator for the Egyptian air Force. The con-

tract was awarded to CaE Usa under the United states foreign

military sale (FMs) program.

The C-130H full mission simulator for the Egyptian air Force

will be delivered to Cairo, Egypt during 2013. The simulator will

feature CaE True electric motion system as well as CaE's latest

generation visual solution, including a 210 degree by 50 degree

display system and CaE Medallion-6000 image generator

Advanced Helmet Mounted Display for Australian Air Force - l-3 link simulation & Training (l-3 link) made its first

international sale of its advanced Helmet Mounted Display to

Raytheon australia in support of the Royal australian air Force’s

(RaaF) Hornet aircrew Training system (HaCTs).

l-3 link will provide advanced Helmet Mounted Displays

(aHMD) to support pilot training on the RaaF’s three F/a-18

Tactical Readiness Trainers (TRT). The new aHMDs will replace

current fixed field-of-view flat panel displays, allowing pilots to

view out-the-window imagery and systems symbology over a

360-degree field-of-regard. The aHMDs will be delivered to two

RaaF installations during the third quarter of 2011.

Training AircraftBAE Systems Pitches Hawk Trainer to US Air Force - BaE

systems has announced that it will pursue the Us air Force's

advanced Pilot Training Family of systems with the Hawk

advanced Jet Training system. BaE systems is well positioned

to compete for the UsaF advanced Pilot Training (aTP) Family of

systems (FOs) - commonly called the T-X system - and to provide

the training system for the next generation of operational pilots.

larry Prior, Executive Vice President of service sectors for

BaE systems said: "BaE systems will prime this pursuit from its

Us business and leverage its extensive experience and highly

relevant global capabilities to offer the most advanced family of

systems available now to replace the aging T-38 training system.

We will pursue strategic partners in the Us to provide best value

to the Us air Force while investing in the Us industrial base."

The Hawk advanced Jet Training system does not require

development to meet the air Force's desired 2017 initial Opera-

tional Capability date, and it will substantially lower the total cost

of training mission-ready pilots.

The Hawk family is the F-35 lead-in trainer for the Us navy,

Royal air Force and the Royal australian air Force. More than 900

Hawk aircraft have been delivered across 18 countries and more

are on order in support of training current and future pilots.

Helicopter TrainingFlight School XXI Contract - CsC has been awarded a $28 mil-

lion modification to its Flight school XXi contract for an increase

in simulator-based flight and related aviation training support to

the Us army aviation Center of Excellence at Ft. Rucker, ala.

The Flight school XXi contract modification is issued through

the army's Program Executive Office for simulation, Training and

instrumentation (PEO sTRi). Under the terms of the contract, CsC

will provide training services for new army aircraft configurations

to support aviation training activities. This increase in simula-


tors and services will allow 25 percent more students to take the

initial Entry Rotary Wing course, where officers learn the skills to

become an army aviator.

L-3 Link Full-Motion UH-60M Simulators for FS XXI - l-3

link simulation & Training (l-3 link) has been awarded a con-

tract modification from Computer sciences Corporation to provide

three UH-60M Operational Flight Trainers (OFTs) in support of

training services for the U.s. army’s Flight school XXi program.

These systems will be the first full-motion, high-fidelity simulators

to support UH-60M aircrew training.

The first UH-60M OFT, which will be installed at Flight school

XXi’s Warrior Hall, will enter accreditation testing and achieve

ready-for-training status in the fourth quarter of 2012. This con-

tract modification brings the number of training devices l-3 link

has or is in the process of delivering to Flight school XXi to 35.

“When these simulation services are provided to Flight school

XXi, they will be provided with the highest fidelity UH-60M

Operational Flight Trainers in the world,” said Bob Birmingham,

president of l-3 link. “UH-60M Operational Flight Trainers will

enable aircrews to gain aircraft-equivalent training for all modes

of flight, developing the skills they will need to successfully

undertake sling load, shipboard and troop movement operations.”

Bluedrop Performance Learning for CH-147F Courseware -

CaE inc. has awarded Bluedrop Performance learning a contract

to provide a comprehensive online (computer based training)

and classroom (computer aided instruction) based courseware

solution for the Boeing CH-147F Chinook helicopter. This training

will be developed in support of the Canadian Forces and will help

pilots and other aircrew learn essential skills as part of their train-

ing to fly and operate the Chinook helicopter. Before the project is

completed by early 2013, over 60,000 person hours of labor will be

invested to create more than 400 hours of end training.

www.aerosociety.com/conference

Autumn 2010 Flight Simulation ConferenceThe Challenges for Flight Simulation – The Next Steps

Has Flight Simulation technology reached a plateau? Are there still challenges to be resolved? Join us at this Royal Aeronautical Society conference where we will identify and address these challenges.

Wednesday 17 – Thursday 18 November 2010No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ, UK

Sponsored by:

787 RAeS_flight_sim_qrt_ad_F.ind1 1 4/8/10 16:35:40

wo

rld

ne

ws

& a

na

lysi

s


Bluedrop will create over 20 new

permanent positions for instructional

Designers, and developers to fulfill its

obligations to this contract.

MetaVR Systems in Kiowa Warrior Simulators - MetaVR has reported

that the armed scout Helicopter Project

Office has recently updated seven Kiowa

Warrior Cockpit Procedures Trainer (CPT)

systems with the MetaVR Virtual Reality

scene Generator (VRsG). six systems are

fielded at Kiowa academics at Ft. Rucker,

al, and one system is fielded at the

aMCOM software Engineering Directo-

rate (sED) in Huntsville, al. The MetaVR

visual systems replaced eight Evans and

sutherland EsiG 4530 image generators

(Evans and sutherland is now part of

Rockwell Collins).

The Kiowa Warrior Cockpit CPT

provides OH-58D pilots with the proce-

dural training required to accomplish most

mission tasks required of the OH-58D

Kiowa Warrior. The trainer systems use the

shell of an actual OH-58 with all its control

switches. Each system fielded at Ft.

Rucker has three VRsG channels, one out-

the-window channel and two cockpit dis-

plays. The main development system has

additional channels that further expand

the out-the-window display on the left,

forward, and right. in addition to delivering

26 VRsG channels, MetaVR developed and

delivered high-resolution 3D databases of

Ft. Rucker and Ft. Hunter liggett. Each

database is 100 x 100 km built from 1 meter

imagery and 30 meter elevation posting.

Us Army TrainingAMSO Support Contract - alion sci-

ence and Technology won a $3.6 million

task order to continue its support of the

army Modeling and simulation Office

(aMsO). alion will provide subject matter

expertise and services to support aMsO

and the Modeling and simulation Propo-

nent Office’s mission to train and supply

qualified M&s professionals to the army,

recruit and manage the M&s community

to best meet the army's warfighting

needs and to create a fully trained army

M&s community. alion personnel will

also analyze technical requirements and

conduct staff-level research.

Joint TrainingCACI Supports STRATCOM Joint Exercise and Training - CaCi

international, inc. announced that it has

been awarded a $22 million task order

to support research, information analy-

sis, exercise and training development,

and technical support to implement

the United states strategic Command's

(UssTRaTCOM) joint training objectives.

The contract, for one base year and three

option years, was awarded under the

U.s. air Force's United states strategic

Command systems and Missions support

(UsaMs) ii contract vehicle. The contract

supports the growth of CaCi's business

in its PM sETa (Program Management

and systems Engineering and Technical

assistance) core competency.

CaCi is providing support to

UssTRaTCOM for joint exercise and train-

ing execution and a wide range of training

services, including support for mission

area training. CaCi services and solu-

tions are expected to help UssTRaTCOM

increase command preparedness and

proficiency through realistic training sce-

narios, training objective development and

lessons learned collection and analysis.

Follow-on for US Service Predeploy-ment Training - Cubic Corporation’s

Mission support services segment won a

two-year follow-on task order worth more

than $5.5 million to prepare active-duty

U.s. navy personnel and army reservists

Two-day conference: 28th – 29th October 2010 Venue: CCT Canary Wharf, London

Europe’s leading Military Medical Technology event will address these key issues:The technology solutions employed by international forces and the capability gaps that need to be filled in order to maximise soldier survivability The evolving use of, and place for, simulation technologies both for preparing medical professionals for operations and for helping to treat wounded soldiers in rehabilitation

Overcoming the integration challenges of medical IT and urgent medical responses

+

+

+

Visit: www.MilitaryHealthSupport.com to access exclusive and complimentary interviews, presentations, reports and articles!

“Real warriors, real problems, real solutions discussed in a multinational setting”Dr. George F. Nussbaum, Department of Defence

Exploring Medical Technology to Care for Wounded Soldiers

Please quote “MST+T_HSS” when registering

for deployment at the McCrady Training

Center on Fort Jackson, an Army base in

South Carolina.

The McCrady Training Center is

home to the Task Force Marshall (TFM),

whose mission is to provide Army

basic-skills refresher training to active-

duty Navy personnel being deployed to

support Joint/Army units and to screen,

process, and mobilize Individual Ready

Reserve soldiers about to be deployed.

TFM supports Army Force Generation

(ARFORGEN), a program designed to

ensure a steady supply of trained and

ready combat units. Cubic won an initial

task order in June 2008 for support

services at Fort Jackson such as Soldier

Readiness Preparation and training –

which includes individual and crew-serve

weapon systems, first aid, communica-

tions, IED, VBIED and convoy operations

training. Other services include Battalion

S1 and S4 augmentation, transportation

and motor pool support, ammunition stor-

age and issue, and storage accountability,

issue and repair of weapons.

Maintenance TrainingUS Navy's E-2D HITS-M Program -

Rockwell Collins won a four-year contract

for the U.S. Navy's Hawkeye Integrated

Training System - Maintenance (HITS-

M) program. The company will serve as

the prime contractor in designing and

developing the first integrated main-

tenance training systems on the E-2D

platform.

The HITS-M solution is comprised of

curriculum developed following Instruc-

tional Systems Design (ISD) principles.

Prior to this contract, Rockwell Collins

was awarded the E-2D HITS-A (Aircrew)

contract for which it delivered the E-2C

Weapon System Trainer (WST) and Simu-

lated Maintenance Trainer (SMT).

Air Traffic Control SimulationFrench Defense Picks Egis - Egis has

been selected by the French Defence

(DGA) to deploy simulation and training

systems for Navy air traffic controllers

(referred to as SECAM project).

Radar approach, ground controlled

approach (GCA) and tower simulators

will be provided on three Navy bases in

France (Hyères, Lann-Bihouè and Landi-

visiau). Each system will be comprised of

two control positions, two pseudo-pilot/

instructor positions to develop training

exercises and a 3D screen displaying the

traffic simulated on each corresponding

local airport.

The SECAM project is managed by

the French Defence team in charge of the

airspace operations management system

(SCCOA). Through this contract, DGA is

equipping its ATC centres with a specific

tool matching with the training needs of

its controllers and capable of simulating

any potential scenario.

UAS SimulatorsL-3 Link Delivers PMATS - L-3 Link

Simulation & Training (L-3 Link) delivered

six additional Predator Mission Aircrew

Training Systems (PMATS) and associ-

ated support equipment to two U.S. Air

Force installations and one Air National

Guard site.

Holloman Air Force Base, New

Mexico got four PMATS units and Can-

non Air Force Base, New Mexico, and the

Syracuse Air National Guard at Hancock

Field, New York each got one unit. The

systems support high-fidelity modeling

of the Predator MQ-1 and Reaper MQ-9

unmanned aircraft.

PMATS replicates the mission envi-

ronment that aircrews experience during

real-world operations. Each PMATS unit

“...communicate in the language of the people.”

—William Butler Yeats

As an organization born out of the defense, aerospace and government technology markets, our customers find value working with a firm that speaks their language.

JANSON helps customers develop strategies for communicating and engaging with their stakeholders.

Connect with us at jansoncom.com

jansoncomm

JANSON_AD_MS&T.indd 1 8/25/10 12:50 PMMS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010 35

http://www.jansoncom.com


integrates ground control station hard-

ware with l-3 link’s simulation software

and geo-specific visual system databases

to provide a fully immersive training

system. The synthetic environment

simulates time of day, winds, adverse

weather and thermal effects that can

impact operations. all Predator MQ-1 and

Reaper MQ-9 aircraft platforms, sensors

and weapons are modeled.

live-Fire TrainingRobotic Smart Targets - The australian

company Marathon Robotics has been

awarded a Us$50 million contract by the

Us Marine Corps for the delivery of smart

targets for live-fire training. The targets

are armored autonomous robots that

look, move and behave like real people.

Their paths are unpredictable; and their

human-like motion makes them a realistic

and challenging target.

a team of robotic smart targets can

execute complex pre-planned scenarios,

moving in and out of sight of training

instructors - behaving much as people do.

For example, the system reacts to live fire:

when one robot is hit, it falls and the oth-

ers immediately scatter and run for cover.

Mobile smart targets - armor-plated robots

based on segway platforms - are able to

work as a team, moving freely across the

training range. The targets operate in an

autonomous mode with a single operator

capable of monitoring dozens of robots.

Targets are networked for real-time update

of the command and control stations,

and for exchanging tactical information

between targets.

Saab Awarded USMC Range Target Systems Contract - saab Training Usa

has signed a contract with the Us Marine

Corps to produce and field a large number

of ranges and facilities under their Range

Target systems (RTs) program. The con-

tract has a ceiling price of approximately

Us$ 39M; saab will receive orders during

the next three years.

The ranges will provide live fire

gunnery training for Marines in a train-

as-you-fight environment using saab's

well established target and range control

product line and improvised Explosive

wo

rld

ne

ws

& a

na

lysi

s

sOME 100 DElEGaTEs attended the

fourth annual Kingston Conference on

international security in, of course, King-

ston, Canada, 21-23 June. sponsored by

the Canadian amy’s land Force Doctrine

and Training system, the Us army War

College, and Queen’s University’s Centre

for international Relations, Defence Man-

agement studies, the stated aim of the

conference was to explore and examine

how to provide capabilities for effective

national and local security in countries

experiencing domestic insecurity and

weak governance, how to best deploy

international military and civilian forces

for such purposes and finally to recognize

when the job is well enough done to

permit disengagement. The presenters,

representing a broad spectrum of experi-

ence in the issues: academic and practi-

Device (iED) simulators. The scope of

work includes constructing urban warfare

buildings and shoot houses with realistic

after action review capabilities and pro-

viding logistic support for a large number

of fielded systems.

Afghan National Army Infantry School - The afghan national army

has opened a new infantry school at

Darulaman in Kabul. The move, a first

step toward establishing a brand new

cal, military and civilian and national

and international, provided a broad view

of the issues. and, of course, the confer-

ence allowed plenty of opportunity for

participants to network and learn from

each other

Presentations and follow on discus-

sions were marked by their frankness,

frankness aided and abetted by the

adoption of Chatham House Rules by

the organizers. These rules note that

no attributions or citations are allowed

without the express permission of the

speaker, ensuring that the naturally

comfortable environment provided by

participants with shared interests would

be maintained. Practitioners sharing

recent experiences invariably, with rapier

like sharpness and accuracy, cut to the

issues, the reality of the environment and

the need for pragmatism and flexibility.

lGen Peter Devlin, newly appointed Chief

of the land staff, a keynoter, discussed

his challenges and goals with the same

frankness.

One might ask why Ms&T and by

extension, military trainers and educators,

should be interested in a conference such

as this. We know we must train not only

for the present, but also for the future.

simply put, these conferences paint a pic-

ture of future operational environments

and related new military competencies

-- such as “courageous restraint”, cultural

awareness, and collaboration skills in

international “whole of government”

operations. Find more information about

the conference and the presentations at

http://www.queensu.ca/cir/?q=KCis/

Presentations. - Jeff loube

KCIs - International security: Past, Present and Future

above

Mobile smart targets; armor-plated robots

based on segway platforms.

image credit: Marathon Robotics.

infantry facility in Kandahar, will tempo-

rarily provide the ana a larger, improved

training area for students, as well as hold

larger classes. The new school will teach

infantry tactics and different weapons

systems such as the RPG-7, sPG-9

recoilless rifle, mortar, reconnaissance

and infantry intelligence.

afghan Col. abdul sabor, the new

infantry school commander, said the

school will help the army by focusing

more time and attention on infantry-

specific skills for entry-level soldiers,

non-commissioned officers and officers.

it will also allow trainees to have time for

classroom lessons and hands-on applica-

tion. if courses are run at full capacity, the

new school will be able to accommodate

up to 2,000 students at one time, and

each year they will be able to produce

14,000 infantrymen.

Ballistic Missile defenseNGC, MDA Complete End-to-End BMDS Simulation - The U.s. Missile

Defense agency (MDa) and northrop

Grumman Corporation finalized the

verification and validation of the Ballistic

Missile Defense system (BMDs) Perform-

ance assessment 2009 (Pa09).

Pa09 is an end-to-end system-level

simulation conducted to analyze how the

BMDs integrated radars, communication

networks and interceptors perform during

scenarios. northrop Grumman, the prime

contractor at the Missile Defense inte-

gration and Operations Center (MDiOC)

under the Joint national integration Center

Research and Development Contract, led

the team that carried out the simulation.

The simulation represented a complete

BMDs engagement from enemy missile

launch to intercept by a BMDs kill vehicle.

electronic warfare simulationAAI Advanced EW Simulator- aai

Corporation, an operating unit of Textron

systems, delivered its new advanced

architecture Phase, amplitude and Time

simulator (a2PaTs) to the U.s. naval

air Warfare Center, Weapons Division at

China lake, Calif. The a2PaTs electronic

warfare (EW) simulator was delivered and

installed at the navy’s F/a-18 advanced

Weapons laboratory under a subcontract

from applied Geo Technologies, inc.

(aGT). as subcontractor to aGT, aai is

responsible for all a2PaTs design, deliv-

ery and support activities.

aai’s a2PaTs system verifies that

aircraft EW systems can precisely

locate, identify and defend against radio

frequency (RF) threats including ground-

based and surface-to-air missiles. a2PaTs

uses aai’s direct port architecture — a

modular, plug-and-play technology using

identical phase-coherent, direct digital

synthetic stimulus instruments as the RF

source for all signals. This common RF

source allows customers to reconfigure

the a2PaTs system easily for the desired

signal density and number of ports based

on their specific requirements, supporting

system availability.

Medical TrainingMobile Medic Learning App - Engi-

neering & Computer simulations (ECs)

has launched TraumaCon, its mobile

medic application, available through

Us army Research Development and

Engineering Command (RDECOM). The

application was developed as a platform-

independent web application and targets

mobile platforms such as the iPod Touch,

iPad, iPhone, and android smart phones.

"While TraumaCon allows students

to continue learning during downtime, it

also easily lends itself as a sustainment

training capability available outside the


Is your subscription to Ms&T about to lapse?

www.halldale.com/mst

Dont miss out. Take advantage of our special offer:

25% off all three-year subscriptions

UK International£120 now £90 B165 now B120 $290 now $215

To sign up for this offer email: [email protected] quoting ‘MS&T 25% Offer’

*Offer valid until 19 November 2010

The InTernaTIonal Defence TraInIng Journal www.halldale.com

Technology ApplicATionTraining for Success humAn performAnceFatigue: A Technician’s Breaking Point

TrAnsformATionRevolutionary Aircraft – Revolution in Training

simulATor censusMilitary Flight Simulator Census

Issue 4/2010

ISSN 1471-1052 | uS $14/£8


www.halldale.com

Training Technology

Armored Vehicle Simulators

Technology applicaTion

MSHATF Benson

naTional Focus


Issue 5/2010

ISSN 1471-1052 | uS $14/£8

Training Technology


25%OFF!*

Developing solutions for maneuvering various vehicles in unpredictable environments is just one of our

many jobs. We’re SAIC – 45,000 smart, dedicated people who have the deepest understanding of their

fields and a passion to find the right solution. People like Common Driver Trainer manager Mike Kerrigan.

Smart people solving hard problems. For detailed information, visit saic.com/itec/cdt.html

He helps to keep soldiers safe around the world.

© Science Applications International Corporation. All rights reserved. NYSE: SAI

Energy | Environment | National Security | Health | Critical Infrastructure

Calendar

9-10 November 2010EATS 2010 - European Airline Training SymposiumWOW Hotelistanbul, Turkeywww.halldale.com/eats

8-10 March 2011APATS@AA2011 - Ab initio & Evidence Based TrainingasiaWorld ExpoHong Kong, saR China

www.halldale.com/apats

19-21 April 2011WATS 2011 - World Aviation Training Conference & TradeshowRosen shingle Creek ResortOrlando, Florida, Usawww.halldale.com/wats

28-29 October 2010Health Support Systems and Medical Logisticslondon, UKwww.militaryhealthsupport.com/event

17-18 November 2010Unmanned Aircraft SystemsCrowne Plaza st James,london, UKwww.smi-online.co.uk/uas.asp

29 November - 2 December 2010IITSEC 2010Orlando, Florida, Usawww.iitsec.org

6-7 December 2010Military AirliftVienna, austriawww.smi-online.co.uk/events/overview.asp?is=1&ref=3504

ADVERTISING CONTACTS

Business Manager:Jeremy Humphreys[t] +44 (0)1252 532009[e] [email protected]

Business Manager, North America:Mary Bellini Brown[t] +1 703 421 3709[e] [email protected]

Index of Ads

American Apexwww.americanapex.com 25Antycipwww.antycipsimulation.com 27BAE Systemswww.baesystems.com 6CAEwww.cae.com OBCDefense IQwww.militaryhealthsupport.com 34Environmental Techtonics Corporation

www.etcmst.com 17HTP Ostravia Cz a.s.www.htpostrava.cz 15Ibersimwww.ibersim.com 3I/ITSEC 2010 www.iitsec.org 31Janson Communicationswww.jansoncom.com 35KMW – Krauss-Maffei Wegmannwww.kmwsim.com 10 & 11L-3 Link Simulation & Trainingwww.l-3com.com 4Lockheed Martinwww.lockheedmartin.com/how iFCMetaVRwww.metavr.com 19MS&T Magazinewww.halldale.com/mst 37RAeS Conferencewww.aerosociety.com/conference 33RGB Spectrumwww.rgb.com 13Rosoboronexportwww.rusarm.ru 20, 21 & 22SAICwww.saic.com iBC

wo

rld

ne

ws

& a

na

lysi

s


classroom, making training accessible

anywhere, anytime," said ECs president

Waymon armstrong.

TraumaCon is a mobile training appli-

cation that promotes student retention of

the Combat lifesaver (Cls) course mate-

rial. Used in conjunction with programs

of instruction to compliment classroom

instruction, skills labs, and lane train-

ing, students become more familiar with

fundamental skills during the time they

are not directly involved with instructors.

The 'app', designed for use during 5-10

minute intervals of time between existing

formal instruction courses, allows stu-

dents to independently learn and sustain

skills.

small Arms TrainersVirTra Systems Software for 390 Firearm Simulator - VirTra systems

received a multi-year contract with l-3’s

MPRi division to install and license a

customized version of VirTra’s proprietary

video branching simulation software on

its 390 advanced Training system. l-3

MPRi will also offer VirTra’s self-authoring

software so customers can create their

own scenarios to tailor training more

specifically to their exact requirements.

l-3 MPRi’s 390v6 judgmental

shoot/no-shoot firearm training simula-

tor now delivers portable, deployable,

untethered firearm training in a risk-free

environment. The interactive system

features a new branching capability that

immediately responds to trainee input

or instructor commands for a wholly

realistic experience. The simulator allows

instructors to work closely with trainees

in quickly identifying and improving upon

weaknesses using a variety of scenarios

with dry fire.

Games for TrainingGameTech 2011, Army Games for Training Conference - Team Orlando’s

GameTech 2011 will run concurrently

with the army Games for Training Confer-

ence March 22-25, 2011 at the Orlando

Caribe Royale. Both conferences will

reflect the record growth expansion of

serious gaming to serve training and

education. Collocating the events allows

conference followers to leverage their

training and travel funds and expands the

scope of Gametech 2011.

“The decision for army Games for

Training to join GameTech 2011 just

makes sense, both from a fiscal and

visionary perspective,” stated leslie

Dubow, PEO sTRi’s project director for

army Games for Training. “Many of the

same players are already involved in

both conferences, and we feel that our

attendees will benefit from the exposure

to a wider gaming vision.”

GameTech’s focus in 2011 is to con-

tinue to develop a world class event that

assists the gaming community in improv-

ing human performance through the use

of games and virtual world technologies,

according to Conference Chair, Kent Grit-

ton. information on the 2011 conference

as well as presentations and video high-

lights from the 2010 Defense GameTech

Users' Conference can be found at

www.teamorlando.org/gametech. ms&t

Developing solutions for maneuvering various vehicles in unpredictable environments is just one of our

many jobs. We’re SAIC – 45,000 smart, dedicated people who have the deepest understanding of their

fields and a passion to find the right solution. People like Common Driver Trainer manager Mike Kerrigan.

Smart people solving hard problems. For detailed information, visit saic.com/itec/cdt.html

He helps to keep soldiers safe around the world.

© Science Applications International Corporation. All rights reserved. NYSE: SAI

Energy | Environment | National Security | Health | Critical Infrastructure

http://www.saic.com/itec/cdt.html

cae.comone step ahead

AM

097

prepare

As complexity increases, the need to exploit simulation to support decision making becomes even more critical. Simulation must be embedded in an organization’s strategy and based on an enterprise architecture that gives the simulation environment direct traceability to the organization’s strategic goals. Simulation-based solutions must give decision makers the flexibility to plan and prepare for the unknown and unforeseen.

At CAE, we recognize these requirements and are designing, developing and delivering simulation environments that have the rigor, reusability, and affordability necessary to support complete program lifecycles, from early concept and experimentation through to operational deployment and support. Combined with the expertise of CAE’s Professional Services team located around the world, CAE is delivering integrated simulation-based solutions that provide the foundation for supporting better decision-making, enhanced situational awareness, and better training.

CAE delivers simulation-based decision support solutions to complex environments and critical systems

AM

100a

http://www.cae.com

ms&t magazine - issue 5/2010

Documents

iberian training

mission ready training

simulation event

highfidelity training

simulation players

mission success

mission rehearsal

mission execution