MS&T Magazine - Issue 1/2013

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Volume 30 • Issue 1/2013

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International Focus

CH-47 on the International Stage

Interviews

Facing Down New Budget Realities Training Technology

Training for Air Defense Systems Training Technology

Defeating the IED Network ISSN 1471-1052 | US $14/£8

I MP ROV I N G MISSION READINESS. I T’S O U R SOLE OBJECTIVE.

Source: Swiss Federal Office of Topography

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ISSUE 1.2013

Editorial comment

Are We Fooling Ourselves?

“It is hard to make predictions, especially about the future”. Despite this aphorism, variously attributed to Yogi Berra, Niels Bohr, or Mark Twain, I/ITSEC industry leaders made a collective case for cautious optimism in the face of defense budget uncertainties in both the US and other countries. (See report in this issue).

But is even cautious optimism warranted in such interesting times? Is the US Services decision to sharply constrain travel and participation in the show in the face of the threat of sequestration a portent? In contrast to previous years, the US serviceman was an endangered species. A Canadian military delegate remarked to me how strange it was to “… see more Canadians in the aisles than Americans”. And there were empty stalls: some US Service exhibits were absent, others reduced. Despite that, key senior US officers did make an appearance, mollifying the bigticket exhibitors somewhat. The sequestration threat, however, is not over – just delayed – and the threat of additional significant reductions of military spending further down the road persists.

The current US political situation does not favour Defense spending. David Brookes, writing in the New York Times, posited a stark choice: being a global military power or paying for a welfare state. He notes that the Europeans have chosen the latter and that defense spending has sunk to near 1.5% of GDP. He reports that, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the current budget calls for a significant decline from 4.3% of GDP to 3%. Envisioning the European choice for the US brings up a worst-case scenario that would not only see overwhelming defense cuts, but a significant reshaping of the global strategic Jeff Loube balance.

Managing Editor Speaking in early January, former Deputy Secretary of Defense (2001-2005) Paul Wolfowitz noted that the growing cost of entitlements threatens the US ability to defend itself. “… defense is always the first target. It’s so much easier to say we’re spending too much on defense than to say we’re spending too much on Social Security”.

At the same event, DoD Comptroller Robert F. Hale noted he had never seen greater budget uncertainty, making it extremely hard to plan.

Indeed, it would be hard for any organization

" All military

sectors will feel the pain, however the S&T sector

may be in

a better position than the rest."

to plan, let alone execute, in a permanent fiscal emergency such as this, lurching from fiscal cliff to fiscal cliff.

General Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has expressed his concern that the spending cuts prescribed by sequestration would “hollow out U.S. military forces faster than most Americans imagine”. As reported by the American Forces Press Service he went on to say the kind of hollowness facing the military now is different than that of the past. “We’ve got the people. We’ve got the equipment that we need,” he explained. “But we won’t have the ability to train”. “What we’re experiencing is the potential for hollowness related to readiness”.

Even when the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is publicly concerned about the inability to train leading to a “hollowing of the US military”, we must be cautious not to fool ourselves into a false sense of optimism about the future S&T market or underestimate the challenges that lie ahead. All military sectors will feel the pain, however the S&T sector may be in a better position than the rest.

Certainly, a market for essential training capabilities will continue, but the buying environment will change. The market will be even more competitive, and focused on the “readiness” gaps. An industry shakeout is likely: there will be casualties but there will be opportunities.

Better Buying Power 2.0 is here. Expect affordability caps, cost performance measures, active alignment of requirements to budget, attention to industry profitability, performance based logistics, and strengthened contract management, among other things.

Are we fooling ourselves with our cautious optimism? Perhaps we should heed the words of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, "You must not fool yourself – and you are the easiest person to fool", and temper our optimism.

On the other hand, he also advises "Don't fool yourself by placing too much faith in the findings of experts". And that goes for pundits, too.

Jeffrey N Loube, CPT MS&T Managing Editor

e jeff@halldale.com MS&T MAGAZINE 1.2013

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Contents

ISSUE 1.2013

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MS&T Magazine Military Simulation & Training Magazine

Editorial

Editor in Chief Chris Lehman e. chris@halldale.com Managing Editor Jeff Loube e. jeff@halldale.com

Group Editor Marty Kauchak

e. marty@halldale.com

Europe Editor Walter F. Ullrich e. walter@halldale.com

Procurement Chuck Weirauch e. chuck@halldale.com US News Editor Lori Ponoroff e. lori@halldale.com RoW News Editor Fiona Greenyer e. fiona@halldale.com

Advertising Director of Sales Jeremy Humphreys

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Design & David Malley

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Distribution & Stephen Hatcher

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Are We Fooling Ourselves? Managing Editor Jeff Loube considers optimism in the face of interesting times.

06

The State of the Industry. Group Editor Marty Kauchak, with files from Chris Lehman, Dim Jones, Jeff Loube and Walter F. Ullrich, reports on the views of industry leaders at 2012 I/ITSEC.

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Training for Air Defense Systems. Training is evolving as ground based air defense systems modernize. Chuck Weirauch reports.

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International Focus: CH-47 Training. Group Editor Marty Kauchak provides an update on the rapidly evolving training system for the international customers of Boeing’s CH-47 Chinook.

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Defeating IEDs. Counter IED training technology is continuing to evolve. Group Editor Marty Kauchak reports.

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Leveraging OR/M&S. Hard and soft OR approaches support the optimization of strategic processes. Stefan Pickl explains.

26

I/ITSEC 2012. MS&T editors report on I/ITSEC 2012.

29

NATO MSG Symposium. Kista, Sweden, hosted the NATO Modelling & Simulation Group, in October. Walter F. Ullrich reports.

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ITEC 2013. The organisers have high hopes for this year’s show.

Walter F. Ullrich reports.

32

Seen & Heard. Updates from the training and simulation community. Compiled and edited by Fiona Greenyer.

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On the cover: A Royal Air Force Chinook helicopter comes into land at Camp Bastion, Helmand, Afghanistan.

Image credit: Crown Copyright.

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Training Technology

Facing Down New Budget Realities Group Editor Marty Kauchak, with files from Chris Lehman, Dim Jones, Jeff Loube and Walter F. Ullrich, reports on their discussions with industry leaders at the 2012 I/ITSEC exploring the opportunities and challenges of the current defense budget environment.

A

s this issue was being published, the US Congress narrowly embraced a short-term compromise to avoid the immediate impacts of the so-called “fiscal cliff”. The agreement only set up much bigger battles in the coming months as Washington will once again square off over automatic cuts in military and non-entitlement discretionary spending, the budget resolution and an extension of the nation’s ability to continue borrowing.

As clouds of uncertainty remain over the soon-to-be delivered fiscal year 2014 defense budget and military spending in many other nations, simulation and training (S&T) industry leaders are charting courses to avoid these budget shoal waters. The MS&T editorial team reports on insights obtained from industry leaders during the 2012 I/ITSEC on how the community will survive the near-term budget turbulence and 06

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strengthen their long-range business models and portfolios.

Challenges and Silver Linings Community leaders from both sides of the Atlantic pushed aside any outright bleak discussions about the sector’s future.

Indeed, Gene Colabatistto, CAE’s Group President – Military, noted that while he has seen “a lot of delays” in programs and procurements, he has not seen any outright cancellations.

The Montreal-based executive placed the delays in two categories: those due to the systemic situations where major acquisition programs are going through a cyclical contraction following an expansion phase; and those generated by budget uncertainties at the program manager level. Indeed, at the conference CAE was able to formally announce it was on contract to deliver

helicopter simulators for the Royal Australian Navy MH-60R Seahawk program, a full 18 months after the Commonwealth of Australia declared its procurement of the rotary aircraft as part of a foreign military sale program. “This is a great example of where the operational needs did not go away, and there was ultimately a lot a pressure on the acquisition community to complete the contracting for the training piece. While acquisition and contracting delays do have an impact on the business, it is better than the alternative of outright cancellations.”

MS&T also caught up with a very busy Jean-Jacques Guittard, Thales’ vice president for Training and Simulation in the Avionics Division. Similarly, Guittard indicated that he is not seeing a catastrophic fall off in S&T business, although some programs are “shifting to the right”. Expressing considerable optimism, he repeatedly emphasized that

CAE will deliver helicopter simulators for the Royal Australian Navy MH-60R Seahawk program.

Image credit: CAE.

integrating with the customer as a true partner, and building what is exactly needed by the customer - no less and no more - is a sustainable path forward. “Our Directed-Fidelity® process is an end-to-end training analysis that is designed to deliver a targeted training solution by understanding the customer’s key needs, and then builds an optimum live and synthetic training solution.” Guittard stated that this often results in what he referred to as a “medium-fidelity” balanced solution that delivers the optimum transfer-of-training at the lowest cost possible.

While the two executives’ colleagues were also candid and pragmatic about the industry’s challenges, they provided equally compelling reasons why the sector will weather the defense spending downturn. At the top of their list of benefits for investing in learning technologies were the budget efficiencies continuing to be offered by these products.

Ulrich Sasse, the president of the Simulation and Training Division at Rheinmetall Defence, noted that especially in a period of tight budgets, modern simulation technology offers ways of reducing costs while still maintaining a high level of training effectiveness. Sasse’s comments were from his perspective of being a global supplier of simulation-supported training solutions for both civil and military applications.

The company’s spectrum of products encompasses live virtual constructive simulation for ground, air and naval forces, ranging from individual training resources to highly sophisticated networked systems for training major formations. “Moreover, we’re also global leaders in process simulators and maritime simulation. All of our systems can be subsequently expanded to meet the changing needs of our customers. And, owing to our design-to-budget approach, we can offer customers affordable solutions at competitive prices,” Saase added.

Lenny Genna, the president of L-3 Link Simulation & Training, has been consistent when he has discussed “Why simulation?” with MS&T and its sister publication CAT, through the years. During I/ITSEC Genna again pointed out that training technologies continue to provide an opportunity for the military customer to complete their individual and unit tasks safely and in a more cost-effective manner as opposed to using the actual weapons platform for training.

But Genna sees any challenges in this era residing with the services – to invest money early on in training devices and their supporting technologies in order to achieve returns on investments (ROIs). “The services need to do the cost benefits analysis upfront. It may hurt them in the short term, but in the long term they will get their returns on investment,” he said.

New Strategies, Procurement Challenges and Beyond Henrik Höjer, the president of Saab Training & Simulation, is one of many industry leaders viewing the shifting market through the rapidly unfolding post-Afghanistan and Iraq military strategies of NATO and other nations. The Saab executive noted that as operations in Afghanistan and Iraq are drawing down, the focus for training will broaden to meet the next challenge/threat. “This, combined with an ever-decreasing defense budget and smaller armed forces, means that the need for wider, full-spectrum training will increase if the unseen operational requirements of the

future are to be met. We recognize that those unseen threats will require a rapid response where flexibility, efficiency and innovation are key,” he said.

The significant course change in the January 2012 US military strategy and related funding issues similarly were not lost on Brad Feldmann, the president of Cubic Defense Applications. He observed that the general industry environment is becoming more difficult in the face of fiscal and political challenges, including, in the US, a change in strategic focus. “For the military, training and training investment is critical to maintaining capability.

The risks of a slide into a ‘hollow force’ are ever present in the face of budget challenges,” he said.

Despite the headwinds, he believes there are ways to manage risks and to prosper: diversification of products and markets, and to maintain a strong customer focus.

As to the future, Feldmann says, “I remain optimistic. We have a superior team and we can come up with very good solutions for our customers”.

Some of the many products from Cubic viewed by the MS&T staff included: the MILES Individual Weapon System and Instrumentable MILES Tactical Vehicle System for the US Army along with the Instrumented-Tactical Engagement Simulation System (I-TESS II) for the US Marine Corps; the Immersive Training Environment [ITE], which provides a 360 degree training experience within a virtual dome; the Mission Rehearsal Planning System (MRPS), a virtual sand table system featuring “touch screen” immersive technologies and highly detailed 3-D terrain and MRPS Lite, designed for use in tactical operations centers, and MRPS Tactical, for use in forward locations.

Some of the messages currently reverberating around the industry include the need to take a hard look at the whole military procurement system, and that in these times of asymmetric combat environments, fielding training solutions quickly and efficiently is critical.

When MS&T asked how a large company like Lockheed Martin might respond to this narrative, Jim Weitzel, vice president of training solutions for Lockheed Martin’s Global Training and M S & T M AGA Z INE 1 . 2 0 1 3

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Training Technology Logistics business, provided a reminder of a remarkable company achievement back in 2004. Army and Marine leaders called on US defense companies to find a very quick solution to convoy ambush training that would involve large scale simulators for trucks and HMMWVs. About a dozen companies responded to the requirement, including Lockheed Martin, and the company developed a prototype within two weeks. Funding was realized in 45 days, and 90 days from program inception, Lockheed Martin was awarded a contract to build eight new convoy training systems in just two months. This was the birth of the Virtual Convoy Combat Training system (VCCT).

Similarly, Boeing’s Mark McGraw spared no words on the state of the state of the military acquisition model.

The company’s vice president for Training Systems and Government Services, Global Services & Support, said that from a competition standpoint, the move to the technically acceptable, lowest price standard is not being viewed so well anymore, and added, “This is driving people to go for bottom on lowest price and then the customer, when he is getting his service downstream, is not happy with it because it is bare bones.”

Saab’s Höjer also reflected on the acquisition challenge and suggested, “In the past, a procurement cycle could be several years long. Now we should be aiming to reduce this cycle to months.

We, as an industry, need to meet these evolving requirements head-on and be prepared to partner with the customer whilst delivering value for money at short notice.”

Höjer spoke with the authority of his company achieving customer relationships in its programs with military forces around the world. Of particular interest, the company’s DTES and C-IED training to the British Army have used a commercial model based around leasing.

[Editor’s note: See accompanying feature article on C-IED training in this issue.]

He continued, “This enables the customer or training provider to request a tailored solution for each unit they train.

Saab personnel establish and sustain the training environment and support the delivery of the after action reviews. The 08

M S & T M AGA Z INE 1 . 2 0 1 3

SAIC is under contract to deliver 11 NCM3s to the U.S. Army.

Image credits: SAIC.

unit concentrates on improving and consolidating their performance while Saab deals with the rest.”

Adapting, innovating, and delivering value were themes echoed by Lockheed Martin’s Weitzel. He pointed to the fact that ultimately S&T companies are all about the art and science of “human performance,” and the needs of the warfighter.

The welfare of the warfighter goes beyond delivering tools to successfully win battles: it’s about understanding and caring for those we put in harm’s way. “We are the messengers of our industry,” said Weitzel, and emphasized that ultimately technology is enabling, and properly designed and delivered, can keep on delivering cutting edge capability, transfer-oftraining, and economic value.

At I/ITSEC, Lockheed Martin profiled the elements of its vast training capabilities that are particularly relevant to the current realties, including Cyber Warfare solutions that simulate large-scale, complex networks and allow realistic testing, training and evaluation of cyber threats. 2-D and 3-D equipment simulations for maintenance training were also evident, as were the burgeoning mobile applications for anytime, anywhere training and platform maintenance. Press releases at the conference also noted that Lockheed Martin had delivered its first Digital Range Training System to the US Army for live fire gunnery qualifications by Abrams, Bradley and Stryker Crews.

Pete Morrison, Bohemia Interactive Simulations’ (BIS) CEO, spoke of the ROIs offered by learning technology through the lens of the burgeoning serious games for training domain. The company is the proprietor of VBS2, which has rapidly become the product of choice within military serious games-for training industry, both for customers and industry end users. VBS2 was in use at more than 40 booths on the conference floor.

Morrison pointed out “the current climate as an opportunity for the serious gaming sector to excel as a low-cost alternative to more costly live training.”

The growth in the serious gaming sector has seen BIS expand its network of offices to Prague, the US, the UK and

From top to bottom: Mark McGraw, Ulrich Sasse & Henrik Höjer.

Image credits: Boeing; Rheinmetall Defence; Saab Training & Simulation.

Australia, to support the US Army and Marine Corps, and other customers. The keys to BIS’s success have been the open architecture of the program, and its marketing under enterprise licensing, which allows a customer to buy the product once, and then use it for as many applications as required, give it to contractors for extension or exploitation, and be a part of the VBS2 user community.

BIS’s wide-ranging, expanding portfolio includes projects to improve the terrain model for the US Marine Corps, and implementation of physics-based destructible buildings. “Research is being directed at optimizing the gaming engine, reducing latency and increasing player capacity,” Morrison said. BIS also recently announced the sale of VBS2 to the Swedish Defence Force, which will be underwriting developments in command and control, and the conversion of the adaptation of the existing terrain model to represent the variable properties of snow-covered ground.

Below the integrator and original manufacturer levels, Scalable Display Technologies is a third-tier company riding a wave of technology and business successes. With an approximate 40 percent share of its revenue in the military market, Andrew Jamison, the company’s CEO, is not surprised by Scalable Display’s successes during the last several quarters. He noted the price thresholds for technology, knowledge and other

resources are changing the market dynamics – making new or upgraded flight training devices an attractive option for the military customer in this resource constrained era. “What I am seeing is an expansion of the market. While the price points have come down the quality has remained high,” he reflected.

The company’s portfolio of software calibration products for visual displays is helping to expand the technology envelope with an increasing number of companies. “One of the many exciting things that just happened is we co-developed with NVIDEA its new API (application programming interface). This allows us to use our scalable mesh file and put it on the graphics card,” Jamison pointed out.

Indeed, at the conference Scalable Display had 40 partners, including 12 image generator providers, which used the company’s calibration products in more than 12 displays.

Scalable Display’s products and services are used by integrators or OEMs in more than 12 major defense programs including the Littoral Combat Ship, ships of the USS Ticonderoga (CG-47) Aegis class and others.

Evolving Business Models and Portfolios While a decreasing number of new weapons platforms will enter service through this decade, opportunities will remain for hardware and software, training services

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and other S&T investments through the programs’ life cycle.

CAE is on industry teams for a number of front-line, new and legacy weapons platforms around the world. A short list of programs in the air, ground and maritime domains supported by the company with training products or services, include the P-8, the C-130 family of aircraft, MH-60S and MH-60R helicopters, the C-5 and KC-135, the M346, the Abrams and Bradley ground vehicles, and the Halifax class frigate.

The P-8 is also a major program at Boeing. Indeed, McGraw said the P-8 “is at or near the top of the list of leading programs.” [Editor’s note: see accompanying article on the P-8 training system in this issue’s Seen and Heard department.]

The Boeing training team also supports other programs around the globe including the US Army’s AH-64E Apache Block III. “We delivered the first trainer to Fort Riley. We delivered it before the first aircraft arrived – another benefit of having the OEM do your training, especially for a new program like that,” McGraw added.

Link’s Genna reiterated that a key to his company’s program portfolio is diversification. “Our business remains made up of many programs. It takes a lot of effort to capture these contracts and then keep the programs moving forward, but the good news is it allows us to ‘weather

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Training Technology the storm’ better and provide our customers better value due to our great exposure across all the services at any one time. We have 60 to 70 different programs with different customers we are able to support.”

The Link executive also recalled that part of his company’s business strategy was to enter the civil sector in 2012. “That sector is not feeling the same pressure as the military industry. We see opportunities there and we’re expecting growth,” he emphasized. And Link is also diversifying its market share with international business. “Across the three business areas I anticipate 30 percent of our business this year to be outside of the US,” Genna predicted.

One company strengthening its focus on the military market is Thales.

While the news of the sale of the firm’s civil fixed-wing simulation and training operations to L-3 Communications last year was widely noted, Thales remains a very large corporation with some 67,000 employees in 56 countries, and 13 billion Euro ($(US) 17.3 billion) in annual sales. Given its wide product capabilities in defense, security, transportation, aerospace and space markets and the relatively small size the civil S&T business represented, Thales decision to consolidate its training and simulation product offerings would appear to be appropriate, although it did retain the civil helicopter components. The range of helicopter simulation capabilities was profiled in the Thales Reality H Helicopter Full Flight Simulator display, where the new Hexaline sixaxis linear motion system simulator motion base was unveiled.

High value helicopter mission and tactical training systems remains an area of specialty for Thales and the product

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capability ranges from ground school applications to pre-deployment training. Thales is also a provider of Combat Training Centers, with simulation devices ranging from armored vehicle gunnery and driving trainers to small arms and live training. All can be linked together in a digitized battlespace environment. Synthetic Environments for Mission Training was an area of emphasis on the Thales stand.

Over the Horizon Two US Air Force training development programs represent the potential for new industry business opportunities through the end of this decade.

While, the aircrew training system is in competition for the Air Force’s Boeing’s KC-46 tanker program, Boeing’s McGraw pointed out the tanker’s maintenance training system will enter competition next year. “Similar to the KC-46 ATS competition, the KC-46A MTS represents one of the few large maintenance training opportunities going forward,” he said.

Once the long gestating T-X jet trainer program moves beyond research, development, technology and experimentation phase funding, it also holds promise for increased S&T industry business. “This will be the biggest program out there, from both the ground based system training side, but the aircraft side as well,” McGraw added. mst

Link supports 60 to 70 different programs with different customers.

The company provided the first-ever UH-60M Operational Flight Trainer installed at the U.S. Army's Flight School XXI. Image credit: L-3 Link Simulation & Training.

Training Technology

Modernize the System: Modernize the Training The changing threat environment has prompted modernization of air defense systems and their associated training systems. Chuck Weirauch reports.

Air Defense Artillery School students at Fort Sill conduct Stinger training exercises in the Improved Moving Target Simulator dome.

Image credit: U.S. Army/Marie Berberea.

A

ir threats to ground based assets are arising in unexpected places, and from new sources. It's a dynamic environment and in light of this situation, the US Army is modernizing its air defense systems with an emphasis on upgrades of current systems and the networking of air defense assets.

Patriot Designed for long-range air defense against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft, the 1980's-era Patriot system has undergone incremental upgrades over the years; however, in 2012 the first complete, new-production Patriot system was introduced by prime contractor Raytheon and is now being deployed.

The US Army recently announced that it plans to continue its employment of the Patriot system through the year 2040. Eleven other countries incorporate Patriot into their air defense systems, with 205 Patriot units deployed globally.

According to Ralph Acaba, Raytheon Director of Patriot Systems, the company has made a significant investment, more than $400 million, over the past three to four years to modernize the Patriot system. The modernization to improve the system's capability includes the replacement of analog processors and software with digital processors, operator touch panel user interfaces; maintenance advances and the new GEM-T missile. The new system has gained Army approval and is now in production.

"Along with the new system, we have also made an effort to modernize the training for it," Acaba said. "We are preparing the Patriot system for the next 30 years and the growing demand

for our customers to meet the evolving threat. Our goal is to maximize commonality both for the operational systems and the training products."

According to Scott Gavin, Raytheon Lead for Patriot Training Devices, the Patriot modernization effort has allowed training products to evolve in ways such as in mobility, the downsizing of the trainers and running operational system software. Prior to modernization, Patriot trainers required very large classrooms and consoles, but now they can be much more compact and deployable, he said.

The latest product of the Patriot modernization effort is the Reconfigurable Tabletop Trainer (RT-3) mobile training platform. The RT-3 is a PC-based training system that simulates Patriot missile system operations and features two 30-inch simulated touch screens and operating system displays, including that of a Patriot radar screen. It provides simulations of Patriot tactical displays, controls, indicators and manned stations and can train multiple air battle crews simultaneously. The RT-3 has been fielded to a number of deployed Patriot units and M S & T M AGA Z INE 1 . 2 0 1 3

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Training Technology is also employed at the Army's initial Patriot system schoolhouse, the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC)'s Air Defense Artillery School at Fort Still, OK. "The RT-3 allows us to run different applications, and we can do operational and maintenance training with this new trainer at the fielded sites," Gavin said.

"Patriot crews can use this trainer when they are in the Patriot shelter and can incorporate changes on the tactical side, using a subset of the Patriot operational software. Employing this software in the RT-3 eliminates the time gap of integrating tactical or system updates or changes into the trainer."

Raytheon is also developing a new training capability tied to the RT-3 platform to provide distributed training lessons and exercises from the schoolhouse to fielded units worldwide, Gavin reported. Although the Army has not yet indicated a requirement for this capability, it fits into the service's air defense modernization plans for networked operations, which could call for networked training as well.

"This is also an opportunity for the Army to expand the use of the RT-3 units worldwide as the service goes to a more integrated air missile defense system," Gavin said. "They are going to have to figure out how to train this way as well.

Having a platform that can do distributed simulation and training may be where the Army may be headed in the future."

While the RT-3 has the capability to provide maintenance training, Raytheon is focusing on game-based training systems as well. Training systems subcontractor Heartwood has developed a Patriot Multi-Echelon Training System leveraging a virtual environment.

"We created a virtual 3D simulation environment with a gaming software application for our Radar ACS and launcher models for multiple levels of maintenance, with more involved tasks and more skill sets, Gavin said. "We can have this capability out with fielded units, and can get any changes into the environment at the schoolhouse before the operator actually sees it in the hardware."

SHORAD Systems As with the Patriot system for long-range air defense, the US Army is primarily 12

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Staff Sgt. Jessica Ray sights in a stinger missile on virtual enemy aircraft.

Image credit: James Brabenec/Fires Center of Excellence, Fort Sill.

depending on updates to systems that were developed and fielded in the early 1980's for short-range air defense (SHORAD). These include the man-portable (MANPAD) Stinger and the vehiclemounted Avenger system that consists of a 50-caliber machine gun and a pedestal- mounted Stinger missile rack.

A more recent addition is the mobile Improved Sentinel phased-array radar.

The Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar (C-RAM) Centurion system, a Gatling gun land-based variant of the shipboard Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CWIS), was first deployed in 2005 to protect forward US operating bases in Iraq and subsequently those in Afghanistan. The Centurion is trailer-based and has its own radar to allow it to operate autonomously.

As with the Patriot system, all initial Army SHORAD training is currently conducted at the Air Defense Artillery School at Fort Sill, except for the C-RAM system. Advanced mission-based SHORAD training is provided at Combat Training Centers (CTCs) and when Air Defense Airspace Management (ADAMS) cells composed of SHORAD-trained and qualified soldiers are deployed to their units.

The 30th Air Defense Artillery Brigade at Fort Sill has the responsibility for the Air Defense Artillery School. The school provides initial instruction and courseware for two military career specialties, the Air Missile Defense Avenger Crewmember (14S) specialty and the Air Defense Battle Management System Operator (14G) specialty. The 14S soldiers operate Stinger and Avenger systems, while the 14G personnel operate the Sentinel radars and manage and

coordinate forward air defense control and communications. The ADA schoolhouse also conducts initial MANPADS Stinger courses and provides followon advanced courses, such as the Air Defense/Air Management course for ADAMS cell members on SHORAD command and control.

According to ADA School SHORAD training lead Lt. Col. Matthew Tedesco, both the 10-week 14S and 15-week 14G courses are comprised of classroom and virtual training. The 14S course culminates with a four-day live Warrior Field Training exercise for collective team training and live firing of the MP3 machine gun mounted on the Avenger.

This occupational specialist group is expected to evolve into the one that will be involved in the C-RAM mission, Tedesco added.

Currently the ADA school employs seven Improved Moving Target Simulator (IMTS) in its 14S and MANPADS curricula. The IMTS projects battlefield background scenes and moving aircraft targets onto a 360-degree, 40-foot diameter hemispherical dome screen, creating a realistic battlefield environment. The virtual Avenger Skills Lab and the Conduct of Fire Trainer (COFT) are also employed in the 14S course, while the 14G curricula incorporates the Radar Control Terminal Simulator. The ADA schoolhouse is also expanding its expanding its Visual Aircraft Recognition Training, which Tedesco described as a computer-based cloud-type environment for study that also can be used by units in the field as a database resource.

"At the schoolhouse, right now 25

percent of the content is simulationbased" Tedesco said. "I would say that we are increasing our level on virtual, with more emphasis on virtual than live.

With the budget environment that we are in and everything else, it saves money and the technology is there. Weather has no impact on virtual training, it is low cost for maintenance and upkeep, gives me an accurate feedback on student performance and also enables a greater student- to- instructor ratio to help us train."

C-RAM training is scheduled to begin at Fort Sill within the next fiscal year. According to Tedesco, program instruction for C-RAM will begin as that system is brought on as an Army Program of Record capability. The C-RAM curricula will be comprised of three additional weeks of training for 14S course graduates, culminating in a live-fire exercise of the C-RAM system. The training will support two Army C-RAM battalions transitioned from pure Army Avenger battalions to what will be termed Indirect Fire Protection/Avenger battalions, Tedesco explained.

"C-RAM was an urgent requirement to counter the rocket, artillery and mortar threats in Afghanistan and Iraq," Tedesco pointed out. "The Army took a look at what capabilities they had off-the-shelf to support that counter activity, along with forward area air defense command and control and radar systems involved, and came up with the Land-based Phalanx Weapons System (LPWS)."

Future SHORAD needs Since unconventional treats to groundbased assets are likely to grow in the future, the need for SHORAD systems training for ADAMS cell soldiers and other services, including the National Guard, is likely to grow as well. One of the emerging threats is unmanned aerial systems (UAS). According to Tedesco, there is more focus now at the Army CTCs on the UAS threat and hence there are now more requirements for SHORAD training.

7" x 4.88" "Right now SHORAD training is stable, but with the UAS role, we expect it to grow at the CTCs," Tedesco pointed out. "The UAS threat is considered as a

significant and serious issue that we are addressing in SHORAD training. ‌This is definitely going to be a growth area as far as simulation and training goes."

The need for the defense of US-based assets, in particular the Washington, DC, area has become all too apparent post 9/11. This is a Homeland Defense mission for the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region. That mission now employs a Distributed Mission Operations Air Defense Artillery Trainer for collective and realworld mission training.

"This technology has the potential to be expanded upon for other regions," Tedesco said. "The Air Force and Army are very much involved in this trainer, with its application for other services as the mission requires. The National Guard can just plug into the network and go drill wherever they are. It's a great tool that leverages the network, with simulations tailored to what is going on in the current environment. It's very valuable.

I think that there is great applicability to tie it into other SHORAD missions as they develop." mst

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International Focus

The CH-47 on the International Stage Group Editor Marty Kauchak provides an update on the rapidly evolving training system for the international customers of Boeing’s CH-47 Chinook.

T

he Chinook is the main multimission, heavy-lift transport helicopter for U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan. While the Boeing-built helicopter primarily moves troops and materiel on the battlefield, it also supports medical evacuation, disaster relief and other missions.

The latest Chinook model – “F” – has a fully integrated, digital cockpit management system, common aviation architecture cockpit and advanced cargo-handling capabilities that are a leap ahead from the onboard technologies of the legacy D model, still in service around the globe.

While there have been quantum advancements in onboard hardware and software, the Chinook’s training system has similarly progressed. One insight into the rapidly evolving CH-47 training system can be gleaned from developments for the rotary aircraft’s international operators.

There are more than 1,200 Chinooks (A-F models) in service around the world.

Of that number a mix of 480 C, D and F models been delivered to international

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customers in 18 nations. Alison Sheridan, a Boeing program spokesperson, reported about 200 Chinooks on order for domestic and international customers, with that number expected to increase. Indeed, as this issue was being prepared for publication, Boeing announced its CH-47F won India’s heavy-lift helicopter competition.

Boeing leads one S&T community team to provide training at any point along the continuum of instruction for international Chinook customers’ aircrews and maintenance personnel.

Program decisions on training nonU.S. CH-47 personnel are decided earlyon in the sometimes byzantine world of Foreign Military Sales (FMS). Bill Hackett, Boeing’s Senior Manager for Mobility Training, noted the training system is an individual topic during FMS deliberations, with the U.S. government having the option to provide training in the final contract or subcontracting the training to an industry partner. The prospective Chinook customer is provided information about flight and maintenance training devices, onboard flight training options and other topics during FMS discussions.

Hackett added if the Army is too busy to accommodate the increased training workload from the contract, his company might be able to provide the needed services. “On direct commercial sales, we also do quite a bit of training for both maintenance training and flight training.”

Boeing, in an effort to be more responsive to the training needs of its international customers, teamed with its Dutch partner the Rotary Wing Training Center (RWTC), to open a state-of-the-art CH-47 Chinook helicopter maintenance training facility near Royal Netherlands Air Force base Gilze-Rijen last April 25. The RWTC is a subsidiary of the Netherlands' World Class Aviation Academy (WCAA).

The training at the Netherlands venue includes current technical information and courseware tailored for CH-47 mechanics, technicians, pilots and crew members. The full training program covers theory, troubleshooting and fault isolation, as well as maintenance and servicing. Students also receive practical training on a retired Chinook airframe, providing a more realistic learning experience.

CAE is developing a comprehensive CH-47 training solution for Canada’s Department of National Defence.

Image credit: CAE.

Hackett places the fidelity and rigor of the Netherlands’ maintenance training center’s program at the same level found with the Boeing-built trainer at the Eastern Army National Guard Aviation Training Site at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania.

The full-size Chinook fuselage supports fault insertions and similar hands-on learning strategies. “This has rotor blades, a cockpit, engines (burned out cores) and other systems,” Hackett added. And while it is not a flyable aircraft, the learner can replicate and complete almost any task, in particular “heavy maintenance” – removing the transmission and other components – in the live training domain.

The inclusion of the very capable live training device at the Netherlands facility reflects the state-of-the-art as well as the culture of maintenance training – with some government military customers and industry subject matter experts in agreement that a certain amount of skinned knuckles and other tactile feedback from removing parts and completing other tasks, is still important in the learning process.

Those benefits aside, Hackett added the Boeing CH-47 training venue in the Netherlands will soon take delivery of virtual training devices – perhaps when this issue was being published.

“These are much easier to control and much less expensive,” he emphasized.

A second, similar device is expected to be delivered to an international customer during this quarter.

Hackett pointed out the CH-47 virtual training device consists of a set of large displays that present a virtual cockpit, in addition to other aircraft systems, to complete engine run-ups and other tasks that would be more difficult to complete on a hardware device.

“We expect because of the relative cost – it’s much, much cheaper than hardware – we’ll have more of those for sale in the future for more customers,” Hackett said.

Boeing partners with other S&T companies to provide full flight simulators and other training devices to support international CH-47 aircrew training. In order to deliver the full continuum of Chinook training, Boeing also supplies onboard flight training and other services.

CAE also delivers CH-47 training for the international market.

At CAE’s Medium Support Helicopter Aircrew Training Facility (MSHATF), located at Royal Air Force Base Benson in the United Kingdom, the company supports comprehensive RAF Chinook training in addition to providing all the CH-47 simulator training for the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF). Ian Bell, Managing Director and Regional Business Leader – Europe, CAE, reported at the MSHATF, there are a total of three CH-47 full-mission simulators as well as a comprehensive ground school including multi-media classroom training. “We have the ability to tailor CH-47 training solutions to the requirements of global operators. For example, we have developed one of our Chinook full-mission simulators to replicate the RNLAF CH-47D (Block 5) cockpit, and we have a long-term contract signed in 2001 to provide the RNLAF with CH-47 training through 2018.”

In addition to providing training for the RAF and RNLAF, CAE’s MSHATF has also been used by Australian and Canadian CH-47 aircrews who undertook pre-deployment mission training prior to deployments to Afghanistan. CAE’s MSHATF offers a

wide range of conversion, recurrent and operational training courses for Chinook aircrews as well as tailored pre-deployment training encompassing NVG (night vision goggles) and DNVG (day/night vision goggles) when required CAE has also designed and manufactured the CH-47 full-mission simulator used by the Republic of Singapore Air Force to train its CH-47 aircrews. This simulator was delivered in 2004.

CAE has a long history of partnering and subcontracting specialist companies to assist in delivering the training system. For example, at the MSHATF, CAE subcontracts to companies such as Serco and Selex to support the delivery of CH-47 aircrew training to the RAF, RNLAF and other militaries.

Other Technology Issues Boeing’s operational standards call for its foreign customers’ pilots who transition to the more complex F model to have 750 hours of rotary wing experience (actual flight hours and simulator time) prior to their first flight. “And then we think it takes about 40 hours for the transition.

If the pilot is in the 500 hour range that would put them at 65 hours or so – and that is very dependent on each student as some can solo quicker than others,” Hackett remarked.

While Boeing considers simulator time the equivalent of actual flight hours in the majority of the transition process, the company further believes the stateof-the-art and fidelity of current Chinook flight simulator training devices provide somewhat less than a “zero flight time” to certification experience. So, unlike their many civilian pilot counterparts, in the Boeing 737 fleet for example, prospective Chinook pilots are unable to walk from a flight simulator facility directly into the cockpit qualified for their first flight.

“We’re clearly not to the point of doing simulation only up to the first time being in the aircraft,” Hackett opined.

Boeing has also established an online catalogue of Chinook maintenance training courses. “You can go to the online catalogue and purchase a course in CH-47D/F hydraulics and we can have you in the classroom. While it would be unusual, we could literally do it in a week or two weeks,” Hackett said. He recalled M S & T M A G A Z I NE 1 . 2 0 1 3

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International Focus that for one major CH-47D customer, his company recently was training the service’s maintenance personnel within 60 days of delivering the training concept. This process replaces a time-consuming and rather burdensome legacy procedure, which would typically take months to prepare estimates, a statement of work and other requirements of the contract process.

Indeed, the new process has matured to the point where it is possible for multiple customers to enroll in a course being taught at one venue.

CAE also emphasizes concurrency between training devices and delivered rotary aircraft in its devices’ life cycle management plan.

All three of the CH-47 Chinook full-mission simulators at CAE’s MSHATF have been upgraded over the past three years to reflect the cockpit changes relating to the RAF’s release to service of their Chinook Mk3 and Mk4 variants. CAE is also under contract to develop an upgrade for one of the simulators to represent the RNLAF CH-47F (Block 6) variant. All these CH-47 upgrades incorporate digital glass cockpit technologies that feature upgraded FLIR (forward looking infrared) and moving maps, as well as integrating sensors and upgraded Defensive Aids Suite. The Digital Auto-Pilot Flight Control System is also being upgraded.

On the Training System’s Horizon Boeing expects to establish additional CH-47 training facilities at commercial sites around the globe. Some would be opened to support the company’s partnerships with individual countries.

“These would be in the Middle East and we’re also looking at some Pacific Rim customers as well,” Hackett said, and added, “They will have a training center and I am not sure what they are going to do relative to training others – but they will have a training center of their own that they could train their own pilots and maintainers.”

These ventures would offer partnering opportunities with simulation and training industry members. “We have a number of different partnerships as well as some as the prime and supplier – and some are done completely by the country themselves where we provide the part and they do the integration. And in other cases we do the integration for them,” Hackett pointed out.

Also in the Boeing team’s R&D pipeline for the CH-47 program is much more portable and paperless graphics and courseware for program instruction.

CAE is developing a comprehensive CH-47 training solution for Canada’s Department of National Defence. Under a program called the Operational Training Systems Provider (OTSP), the Government of Canada selected CAE as the prime contractor to provide comprehensive aircrew training services for Canada’s new CC-130J and CH-47 fleets. CAE’s Bell said his team is leading the design and development of CH-47F training media. “The CH-47F training media will include one weapon systems trainer (WST), one tactical flight training device (TFTD), one deployable TFTD, one integrated gunnery trainer, laptop and desktop-based CAE Simfinity virtual simulators (VSIM), and courseware,” he added. The CH-47 training media will be delivered in early 2014 to Canadian Forces Base Petawawa.

Following delivery of the CH-47F training media in early 16

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2014, phase two of CAE’s contract will commence with CAE leading the inservice support of the CH-47F training program. During the 20-year in-service support phase, CAE will be responsible for providing a range of training support services, including simulator upgrades, training device maintenance as well as hardware and software engineering support. In addition, CAE staff onsite at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa will provide services such as courseware updates, scheduling, obsolescence management, and database modeling and generation for common databases. mst

Top: Boeing's full-size Chinook fuselage supports fault insertions and similar hands-on learning strategies.

Image credit: Boeing.

Above: In addition to providing training for the RAF and RNLAF, CAE's MSHATF has also been used by Australian and Canadian CH-47 aircrews.

Image credit: CAE.

Training Technology

Defeating the IED Network Group Editor Marty Kauchak reports on developments in live and virtual training domains that train soldiers to counter the threat of improvised explosive devices.

Saab delivers C-IED training technology and subject matter expertise at the individual and unit levels (platoon through battle staff) through five Counter IED Collective Trainer systems located in Afghanistan (above) and other venues.

Image credit: Saab.

T

he 11-year effort to defeat the Counter-Improvised Explosive Devices (C-IED) threat in Iraq, Afghanistan Yemen and other contested regions and nations since 9/11 has achieved mixed results.

First the bad news. Despite the Pentagon’s investment of billions of dollars to defeat IEDs, more than 60 percent of U.S. combat casualties in Afghanistan, both killed and wounded in action, are caused by IEDs. Year to date through mid-December 2012, the devices killed or wounded almost 1,900 Americans.

Of particular concern, the typically crude, homemade, but easy-to-use devices are increasingly being used worldwide to impact stable governments. IEDs packaged as vehicle-borne explosives and in other applications are targeting military security forces, law enforcement personnel and civilian populations with devastating consequences.

Mike Macedonia, PhD., SAIC’s chief technology officer for training and operational solutions, summarized the evolving training challenges needed to defeat this persistent, expanding threat. The Orlando-based executive pointed out that fighting the IED battle is more than training people to detect and counter IEDs in the physical space, in route clearance operations, for instance. “It’s also figuring out to how get it into the IED network – to defeat the individuals financing and manufacturing the devices, and beyond,” he added.

Now, for some overdue good news. The military-industry training systems team is stepping up its effort to develop solutions in the live and virtual domains to provide U.S. and other nations’ service members with products needed to accelerate their progress in defeating the IED network.

Live Training Update Saab Group is increasing the rigor and scope of its live instru-

mented training services in this sector for the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). Saab delivers C-IED training technology and subject matter expertise at the individual and unit levels (platoon through battle staff) through five systems: two forward positioned in Afghanistan; two based in the UK for pre-deployment training; and one dedicated to serving the 29 EOD and Search Group and its community’s schoolhouse. Saab’s capability in this sector is called CCT (Counter IED Collective Trainer).

“All of our CCT systems are flexible.

If the MoD wants us to move somewhere else we can pick up the capability and fly it wherever, Jordan for example,” Mark Franklin, the company’s director of Current Operations, explained.

One CCT device is a multi-detection sensor that may be affixed to any handheld metal detector and measures the effectiveness of the use of that detector through different search patterns.

“We also address electronic counter measures (ECM), which is difficult to visualize. We have a simulated ‘bubble’ which appears on a screen, set to the dimensions parameters for the event. In the after action review, the training audience can see whether they operated within that ECM spectrum,” Franklin said.

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Training Technology Other C-IED products in CCT include a simulated, GPS-referenced fully functional training IED device.

Saab has trained about 65,000 troops under its current UK MoD C-IED contract.

Enhancements to Saab’s C-IED training strategy include the instrumentation of IED search dogs in training scenarios.

Rheinmetall has relied on its heritage of using successful base line technologies to meet the technology challenges of C-IED training. In this instance, the company has developed a multi-purpose wireless device that, on the one hand, is used to read the status of man-worn live simulation equipment to allow for a correct choice of first aid and medical treatments in live simulation exercises. On the other hand, the same device is also used as an IED–effects simulator system.

Ernst Christians, the company’s vice president for Live Simulation, explained.

“We can place it somewhere, hide it and program it in a way so that it transmits a radio code that corresponds to the scalable, desired effect of the ‘explosive’. Once the training device’s wire is removed and the contacts are open, the device transmits a ‘kill code’ to all MILES or other man-worn or vehicle borne, force-on-force training equipment, indicating those personnel and equipment are IED ‘casualties’.”

Christians pointed out the IED system may be integrated with pyrotechnic devices and other live training equipment.

The company’s C-IED training devices are in service with global customers in Russia and an unspecified military service in the Middle East.

Across the Atlantic, Explotrain featured its new Model X-05 Explosive Simulator at the 2012 I/ITSEC. The product is in service with the U.S. Air Force. The Fort Walton Beach, Florida-based company’s training device has also been delivered to several unspecified overseas nations.

The device offers a number of enhancements to provide a higher fidelity training experience, including the production of a 120(+) dB punch of sound with each “detonation”.

Dean Preston, the company’s president, added the X-05 can be partially buried or submerged, “with the only concern is to keep the opening of the sound chamber above the surface and free of 18

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obstructions”. The device’s legs can also be configured so that it can be deployed vertically or at an angle for a directed “blast”.

Optimizing the Virtual Domain Enhanced and new products and systems in the virtual domain are also being fielded to defeat specific IED threats.

An important upgrade is in the works for Lockheed Martin’s UK Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (CATT). The training system permits more than 700 military personnel to train together in real time on a simulated battlefield with realistic threats. The system supports combined arms training for ground, air and logistics missions at the company, battle group and brigade levels.

To address current and emerging training objectives, the company will add system enhancements for dismounted soldier, IED detection and threat analysis training. Sharon Parsley, a company spokesperson, said the visual systems will also be updated with new threat and friendly simulations and a new mission planning tool. “This will be the first time the UK CATT system supports IED detection training,” she noted.

The UK CATT enhancements will be delivered under a UK MoD contract award in three phases, with the first this March and the final December 2013.

MS&T had a chance to catch up with the ongoing ECO Sim project developed

by Boston Dynamics’ DI-Guy team. DIGuy software is used for real time human simulation and artificial intelligence.

ECO Sim's development, sponsored by the Joint IED Defeat Organization, has

as its ultimate mission to “defeat the network”.

During a December 2012 viewing of their most recent version, we saw a host of improvements to ECO Sim, beginning with characters with impressive, new skin attributes. These characters feature multi-texture shading via bump, specular, shininess, and ambient occlusion channels that dramatically increase the realism of DI-Guy appearances. DI-Guy characters maintain high performance due to their ability to leverage the graphics processing unit and shader code for the majority of the graphics processing.

“DI-Guy character appearances use video game techniques to achieve better realism while maintaining or improving performance,” said Alex Broadbent, DI Guys’ director. Broadbent added that these enhancements are part of a wider effort to meet military customer requirements for more realistic and tactically advanced human characters. “All the characters in ECO Sim, whether they are good guys, enemy soldiers, opposing force IED specialists, or the civilian populace within which the insurgent IED network operates, use advanced artificial intelligence techniques to determine how to act and react to ongoing simulation events, and move about the terrain.

We combine intelligent high-level behavior, quality motion, and realistic appearances, and the result is better characters that improve warfighter training.”

ECO Sim exploits DI-Guy's human simulation expertise to better train Marine intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance missions with lower costs.

USMC company commanders train by

Meggitt Training Systems' FATS M100 weapons simulation and training system is approaching production with a number of recent upgrades. A C-IED training scenario utilizing CryEngine 3 has been added for the prospective military customer.

Image credit: Meggitt Training Systems and CryEngine 3.

receiving virtual battlefield information described in sensorized unmanned aerial system video feeds and a range of over 30 reports – all provided by ECO Sim. Marine trainers use the simple interface to rapidly develop scenarios for training with no contractor assistance, often in as little as an hour, reducing training prep time and costs.

Other new technologies and their applications are capable of supporting C-IED scenarios, according to industry leaders.

In one instance, NGRAIN’s new Augmented Reality (AR) capabilities hold potential for taking virtual reality and placing it in the operational environment. MS&T participated in an AR demonstration application at the 2012 I/ITSEC. In the event, the learner was able to view a piece of equipment through an iPad’s window, seeing and accessing information about key equipment including 2-D and 3-D graphical overlays, video, text and other content.

While Gabe Batstone, the company’s CEO, said the capability is an emergent technology innovation capability, it is more than a concept. “We have developed a robust prototype but need market feedback to ensure our future product solves real business problems,” he said.

Batstone also pointed out that while the AR initially emphasizes maintenance training applications, the capability would conceivably allow service members in the field to identify and learn about IEDs and related topics during a mission.

Meggitt Training Systems’ FATS® M100 weapons simulation and training system is approaching production with a number of recent upgrades from the last phase of research and development.

Tom Shirey, Meggitt’s director for Virtual System Products, noted the system demonstrated at the 2012 I/ITSEC was very near the final production system. The integration of a user-friendly interface and final development on fully-sensored weaponry integration were just a few of the advancements to the system.

A C-IED training scenario utilizing CryEngine® 3 has been added as one proof of concept capability for the prospective military customer, along with a “gas attack” training scenario utilizing VBS2.

During a viewing of the C-IED scenario, Shirey said one of the advantages of Meggitt's FATS M100 is the “flexibility this architecture allows. The system is designed to be image generator agnostic – other game engines are also used depending on customer need.” Shirey added, “[CryEngine 3] allows us to add a lot of detail. You can see where we can make it difficult to find something, an IED, buried in the ground, for example.” While this C-IED scenario was designed using CryEngine 3, other scenarios are designed with VBS2.

The flexibility of the architecture allows Meggitt to design training solutions based on the customer need. “Each of the gaming engines has their advantages,” Shirey said and he emphasized that one engine might allow for greater flexibility on the training elements while another allows for a more crisp design and greater visual detail. The C-IED scenario focused on IED identification, while other scenarios focus on observation and decision skills. A longer, more in depth scenario could be expanded to include convoy operations and other missions typically encountered by soldiers. “We don’t tell our customers how to train, but strive to provide the tools required to fulfill the train-

ing objectives. If they ask us to build the scenario for them we will. We have the capability within the product to create entity behaviors, adjust environmental conditions, and set any item to explode – so the sky is the limit,” Shirey concluded.

The company’s initial military customer, an overseas service, is on contract for 18 FATS M100 systems. A second order for 59 FATS M100 systems is slated for delivery in early 2013.

Service Insight Colonel Mike Flanagan, the project manager for Training Devices (PM TRADE) at the U.S. Army’s PEO STRI, provided one insight on the live training devices used by his service to help defeat the IED threat.

Flanagan noted that since 2001, the Army has created a live training architecture, under which any device on the battlefield that is being recreated for training purposes can be interconnected for real effects and data collection. This is important for industry to understand, Flanagan noted. “This makes sense from a cost aspect, because we identify common standards and interfaces. We count on industry to adhere to our standards so we're all recreating the same battlefield,” he said.

PEO STRI’s Flanagan submitted one opportunity for industry to help advance the state-of-the-art in this sector.

In the effort to increase the effectiveness of route clearance missions, the Army operates the Husky Mounted Detection System (HMDS). “Here’s the challenge,” Flanagan offered. “The HMDS detects triggering devices and IEDs buried below the surface. These are the most lethal. But how do you train the Husky operators and crews? In order to replicate real combat, like we typically do at our combat training centers, we want to reinforce good habits and allow soldiers to safely, in a controlled environment, ‘feel the effects’ if they operate a system incorrectly. We need to replicate the Husky scanning for an IED below the ground and if soldiers incorrectly use the Husky, the challenge is automatically detonating a simulated IED so that soldiers learn the cost of improper scanning techniques without actually getting harmed. That’s the challenge,” he concluded. mst M S & T M AGA Z INE 1 . 2 0 1 3

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Laguna Integrated Naval Simulator Realistic Naval Battle Simulator: Effective, Efficient and Safe

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n the 21st century, naval warfare in open sea and littoral regions requires naval commanders and headquarters to plan combat actions, and undertake tactical decision-making in a complex and volatile environment under extreme time pressure.

Enemy massed fire and electronic and information countermeasures make this combat environment even more complex. The above factors greatly raise requirements for tactical training levels of commanders and senior naval officers.

The theory and practice of modern warfare dictates that commanders and their staff officers should have a sufficient skill level to enable them to properly evaluate battle situations, quickly make decisions, and provide all-round support and interaction for task forces. They must be able to prepare optimal plans at short notice, offering the most effective weapons delivery options for the current situation and nonstandard tactical maneuvers. At the same time commanders and officers must have full and clear A d v e r t i s e m e n t F e at u r e

vision of the real-time battle situation in the maritime battle space, exercise covert and swift control over subordinate forces, maintain communications with superior commanders/headquarters and forecast further development of the situation.

Such skills, knowledge and experience are needed to exercise efficient control over naval, and combined forces and, ultimately to ensure successful accomplishment of surface, antisubmarine, anti-air, assault landing and other operations.

However, the question is how to get all this knowledge in good time, as well as how to gain adequate combat experience during peacetime training?

The conventional approach was to conducthugely expensive, large-scale naval training exercises, which also reduced the availability of ships for other missions and, sometimes resulting in serious damage to naval assets and shipborne equipment, or even loss of life.

Today, the best way to raise readi-

ness levels of naval officers and naval task forces is to actively introduce education methods, training classes and combat/tactical exercises conducted with the help of computer-based simulators.

They provide unlimited opportunities for reviewing and analysing trainees' actions, identifying errors and allow repeated practice in the most complicated and challenging situations.

Well-known Russian enterprises, recognised as world leaders in maritime simulator design have developed a naval task force tactical simulator providing Navies with combat training of various types and at different levels within a single information field. This high-technology product is promoted to the international market by Rosoboronexport, the Russian state trade company for export and import of the whole range of military and dual-purpose equipment and services.

Modern information and networking simulated through software in the Laguna integrated simulator provides realistic operational models of both

single ships and multi-purpose naval task forces, such as search-and-strike, antisubmarine, reconnaissance, landing and other missions.

To realise this potential the tactical simulator has an open architecture allowing its structure to be tailored to match the assigned task and force composition. Its backbone component is a headquarters module integrating simulators of ships and other tactical items into a joint local area network.

At the same time such simulators also integrate simulated ship’s weapons systems and technical subsystems used for crews' combat training. In the group training mode of a naval task force these simulators are not standalone any more, but are entered into a joint information space with a joint tactical background. The new system/technical capabilities allow crews of ships/ submarines/aircraft/helicopters, as well as coastal units, to hone their combat coordination and interoperational skills in joint combat actions.

The naval tactical simulator offered

by Rosoboronexport is designed to teach and train commanders and subordinate officers at headquarters and command posts in order to improve their practical skills in managing task force and tactical formation group operations. It ensures implementation of: • training tasks and special tactical exercises carried out by single ships within flagship command posts of task forces in preparing and conducting combat actions, delivering weapons, and employing joint technical facilities; • combat shakedown of naval task forces and training of their interoperability with other arms; • training of ships' combat crews in performing joint ship evolutions and weapons delivery both independently and within tactical groups; • information support for data collection, situation evaluation, tactical calcu-

lations and analysis of the effectiveness of decisions and plans; • debriefing and analysis of training activities.

In addition, the simulator's modeling system is designed to verify decisions made which allows not only for the training of officers but also for studying tactical and weapons delivery techniques. Ample capabilities offered by high-performance computer simulation allow the navy to elaborate and test new tactical concepts in basic conditions, to assess combat effectiveness and to evaluate tactical and technical solutions implemented in prototypes of naval weapons under development.

Since this tactical simulator is computer-based it costs several times less than full-scale trainers, and its employment allows savings in ships' fuel, service life and ammunition.

The tactical simulator can be used to educate and train military cadets and personnel of active military units at their home bases. Navy combat training practice shows that these simulators help increase tactical training intensity by 20-25 percent, irrespective of

weather conditions, time of the year and other factors. Thanks to early mastering of joint maritime activities with the help of the simulator at naval stations, the number of ship accidents at sea has been decreased by factors of 1.7-1.8, and weapon/equipment failures by a factor of 2.5. Carrying out special tactical training exercises within naval task forces has allowed the development of new tactical concepts, forms and methods of weapons delivery and employment of electronic countermeasures and other systems, as well as reducing the time to bring them into service by a factor of 1.3-1.6.

The tactical simulator composition can be changed to satisfy customer requests. Its cartographic and reference data bases can be reduced. Specialised software written to simulate tactical activities has built-in flexibility allowing instructors to increase the number of training tactical groups to the required quantity. Rosoboronexport also offers education of naval training centre instructors helping them to master training and database preparation methodology.

A d v e r t i s e m e n t F e at u r e

Modeling and Simulation

Strategic Process Optimization – Intelligent IT-based Decision Support Strategic planning requires a reflected understanding of setting the right goals and being aware of changing circumstances. Operations Research supports defining goals and setting up controlling systems over-watching the decisive parameters. Stefan Pickl explains.

M

odern Operations Research offers a comfortable methodological toolbox for decision makers from the level of strategic planning over simulations to operational decisions in the defence and security domain.

Topics addressed in this article include new interoperability issues, advanced realtime analysis challenges, modern soft and hard OR approaches including system dynamics techniques, evolving military and training exercises and the future role and importance of OR/M&S. In a world where interconnectedness, delimitation, complexity, dynamics and uncertainty play an ever increasing role, decision making has become ever more challenging and requires a reflected analysis of the situation. OR/M&S is sometimes defined as the “Science of Making Better,” delivering analysis through qualitative and quantitative methods to support decision makers. In that contribution the “Science of Making Better“ is transformed to a general strategic process optimization that is embedded in an intelligent IT-based decision support: Alex Bordetsky, Director Center for Network Innovation and Experimentation 22

M S & T M AGA Z INE 1 . 2 0 1 3

CENETIX, NPS Monterey states, “Network decision support systems (NDSS) are a new type of DSS which has evolved from the rapid development of mobile technology and needs a new kind of intelligent ITbased decision support.”

Implicit in this citation is that the methods’ bandwidth of Operations Research has changed dramatically over the last 75 years. Initially OR used only quantitative methods and was strongly mathematical. Over the years the understanding of complexity grew and it became obvious that complex decision problems can rarely be solved with mathematical equations but with an integration of soft and hard OR techniques as well as strategic process optimization. Hence OR has changed to address reality!

Nowadays there exist so-called soft OR methods, which capture and describe decision problems qualitatively. Furthermore, the application areas and opportunities extend over all business areas and most sciences, e.g. economics makes heavy use of OR methods like optimization. Logistics without OR support to improve efficiency seems to be bound to failure. Especially military decision makers increasingly use newer OR and simulation techniques methods as well. Last but not least the challenging fields of Humanitarian Logistics and CIMIC as part of “Industry 4.0” (the fourth industrial revolution) are based on the integration of soft and hard OR methods.

According to Goran Mihelcic, “The vision “Industry4.0” is based on the integration of soft and hard OR techniques which interprets ‘M&S’ as modern and powerful Management Science”.

Strategic Planning and IT-based Decision Support In an actual contribution to WinterSim2012 in Berlin a High Level

The heart of CENITIX is a modern network that enables partners worldwide to collaborate and share data.

Screen shot: Naval Postgraduate School, United States.

Panel was invited to discuss the future role of Modeling and Simulation especially in the area of modern decision-making. It was summarized in the conference Proceedings that: “Modeling and Simulation as part of OR together with modern information technology and high computational resources enables decision support in the very early phases by discovering problem areas that even analysts cannot always envision (...)

Strategic planning (for example within modern CD&E experiments) requires a reflected understanding of setting the right goals and being aware of changing circumstances.

OR supports defining goals and setting up controlling systems over-watching decisive parameters. Unexpected future events and developments can impair the implementation of previously formulated goals and plans or even make it impossible. If possible new developments should be considered beforehand, existing plans reviewed and modified when necessary.

Hence OR/M&S offers a whole methodological toolbox for decision makers from the level of strategic planning to operational business decisions.”

This was elaborated in detail by the panel, which consisted of Nabil Adam, Erdal Cayirci, Joseph Sullivan, Andreas Tolk, William Waite and the author, concluding “Such a holistic decision support procedure supports the flexible coordination between multiple disciplines and responsibilities (for example within the creation of OR cells, complex CD&E processes and modern Reachback Operations).”

Therefore OR/M&S is central in the area of IT-supported process optimization as well as issues regarding decision and game theory/ strategic planning, particularly with a view to the background of international military experiments and serviceorientated “reachback”-operations.

Holistic “Operations Research” approaches are the basis for an efficient and intelligent decision making process especially for military decision makers and Operational Analysts who deal with information and knowledge. The so-called IRIS (Integrated Reachback Information System)-approach focuses on the development of a technical platform that seeks to support the effective and efficient application and integration of soft and hard OR techniques within a distributed decision environment.

Information and knowledge as a basis for learning processes are gaining more and more importance in our complex world.

Organisation must be able to store information and distribute it. This applies particularly to the area of critical projects such as military Operational Analysis, Disaster Relief or Humanitarian Logistics that require great experience on the part of those responsible; but, how to make this store of experience available to others?

Figure 1.

KISS is based on a web-based Open-Source Content Management System and thus enables the complete control of the functionality and the adaptability to specific needs without being dependent on a particular company. One application of KISS is the Operational Analysis Toolbox (OAT) (see Figure 2), that was designed to support Operational Analysis Projects in the military field and has been implemented as a prototype. Its purpose is to store, link and provide easy methods that are linked with projects for which they were applied. The user is instantly informed whether and how they could be implemented successfully. KISS was implemented as a prototype for the area of military Operational Analysis.

The developed concept is not confined to the domain mentioned above and can be extended to a wide range of applications. It uses categories for storing information that is derived from the context of the respective application. Since one (OR-) method can be applied within the scope of several projects, this approach serves to avoid different representations and the need for keeping information available at various sites. A detailed description is mentioned in a contribution of "2011 Annual Military Scientific Research Report“ of BMVg. It should be summarized that access to information and the entering and updating of data within the browser based OAT is by completing adapted templates of knowledge for the individual categories. Therefore the system is easy to use which is a great advantage and which demonstrates that Operations Research enables Strategic Process Optimsation and supports Intelligent IT-based Decision Support..

Knowledge and Information Sharing System

CENETIX and Complex Computational Supply Networks

This important question might be answered by the “Knowledge and Information Sharing System” (KISS) (see Figure 1) developed by the research institute COMTESSA, located at the Federal Armed Forces University Munich under the chairmanship of the author together with Goran Mihelcic, Dr. Silja Meyer-Nieberg and Dr. Jörg Wellbrink .

The heart of Center for Network Innovation and Experimentation (CENETIX), which was invented by Alex Bordetsky, at Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) Monterey is a modern network that enables partners to collaborate and share data that they can relay in real time directly to first responders and patrol crews in a position to interdict. International laws and enhanced monitoring M S & T M AGA Z INE 1 . 2 0 1 3

23

Modeling and Simulation capabilities have made it easier to track larger vessels and in many cases, identify any critical materials among their cargo.

Figure 2.

COMTESSA COMTESSA, as part of CENETIX, is engaged in the area of understanding complex supply networks especially in the area of cargo transportation, surveillance and strategic process optimization.

As Bordetsky observes “The question is, if it is hard to detect this maritime traffic, how can we improve our awareness of what is going on?”

The approach requires an elaborate system of sensors, unmanned systems, screening portals, modeling and simulation and unconventional networking capabilities being advanced through the Maritime Interdiction Program (MIO) program. Details might be found on website CENETIX. Such a holistic decision support procedure supports the flexible coordination between multiple disciplines and responsibilities (for example within the creation of OR cells and CD&E processes) to create an optimal operational picture: In a new project related to that article COMTESSA develops a special information system called IRIS.

IRIS As mentioned before OR/M&S is central in the area of IT-supported process optimization as well as issues regarding decision and game theory/ strategic planning, particularly with a view to the background of international military experiments and service-orientated “reachback”-conceptions.

The so-called IRIS (Integrated Reachback Information System) approach focuses on the development of a technical platform that seeks to support the effective and efficient application and integration of soft and hard OR techniques within a distributed decision environment like the Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO) experiment series. In that series we presented several examples for intelligent IT-based decision support. In order to analyze such complex adaptive systems on that platform we can add that agent-based modeling and simulation as part of OR is appropriate.

Agent-based modeling and simu24

M S & T M AGA Z INE 1 . 2 0 1 3

lation are an approach for modeling real world systems that are of complex and adaptive nature. In the following we shall conclude with an adaptive supply chain network. Agent-based approaches enable to design each single actor of a supply chain network individually, based on their own decision rules. Moreover, it allows simulating the aggregate behavior of these heterogeneous organizations.

Supply Chain Control Tower As mentioned in the previous paragraph the vision of COMTESSA is the creation of an intelligent operational picture to support military decision making for example within a supply chain. To adapt as flexible as possible to unexpected changes, information along a (general/ supply chain) network have to be visible.

Yet, achieving visibility in a complex network still remains a problem. A new approach to overcome this difficulty represents the concept of a (supply chain) control tower which should be embedded in the global reachback concept in the future via a special service-orientated approach. The whole initiative, once completed will enable analysts to put together a more complete comfortable operational picture. Our aim is the creation of a robust SOA in an agile complex environment like the Maritime Interdiction Operation (MIO) as experimentation series within CENETIX.

Within the scope of the DatafarmingProject these approaches described here were embedded in a cooperation together with the DSO National Laboratories (Singapore) in the field “Modeling Human Intangibles - Security Scenario Analysis” as a first example for strategic process optimization.

Future Activities This article stresses that “modern strategic process optimisation is based on intelligent IT-based decision support using OR/M&S”. COMTESSA is involved in several activities and research programs that demonstrate this vision.

Furthermore, in 2013 it is intended to intensify the cooperation with the NATO Undersea Research Center NURC, the Centre of Excellence for Confined and Shallow Waters and the NATO COE “Modeling and Simulation” in Rome.

The author is organizing with the German DWT (Studiengesellschaft der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Wehrtechnik) the “Modeling & Simulation Conference” in March 2013 in Bonn.

“No one should think of his work as so godly, that it can not be improved!” – Ludwig van Beethoven Decision makers are urged to attend the conference in Bonn as well as the ITEC 2013 that takes place in Rome where the future role of modeling and simulation in Operations Research will continue to be developed. mst

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

I/ITSEC

InterservIce/Industry traInIng, sImulatIon & educatIon conference ConCepts and teChnologies: empowering the agile ForCe

Why I/Itsec? u 19,000 Industry Professionals u over 550 exhibiting companies u 160 technical sessions/tutorials

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Decembe 2-5, 2013 www.iitsec.org

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Show Report

2012 I/ITSEC Chris Lehman, editor, and editorial staff members Jeff Loube, Dim Jones, Walter Ullrich, Chuck Weirauch and Marty Kauchak, provide highlights from the 2012 I/ITSEC exhibition floor, community events and special sessions.

T

he official theme of I/ITSEC 2012 was the “Power of innovation enabling the global force”: service representatives had a less than global view, focused close to home, as they grasped innovation as the key to salvation and survival. An imminent fiscal cliff does concentrate the mind.

Participants in the General/Flag Officer Panel all made a cry to industry for innovation. Dr Laura Junor, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness, noting that it was essential that that military not be allowed to become a hollow force, stated, “we have no choice but to innovate”. She stressed that initiatives must be seen to improve readiness in a tangible way and “be very clear in value added” to succeed.

The BBP 2.0 (Better Buying Power) special event mapped out innovations in the acquisition and procurement processes [www.acq.osd.mil]. The Honorable Frank Kendall, Under Secretary of Defense for AT&L, speaking remotely from his office, outlined the goals of BBP 2.0 to the participants in the special event, emphasizing that the DoD must do everything it can to execute effectively – “to extract full value from the money with which we are entrusted.”

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MS&T MAGAZINE 1.2013

Some relevant phrases included: ‘should’ vs. actual costs, requirements vs. budget, and value for the dollar.

Hastily imposed DoD travel and conference constraints reduced participation of uniformed US military personnel and reduced or eliminated some DoD exhibits. The show felt smaller and was indeed smaller with some 20% fewer registrants than in 2011. The organizers report that there were about 16,000 total registrants this year, down from 20,000.

Some remaining numbers (with 2011 in parentheses): conference delegates – 3300 (4000); exhibit visitors – 5900 (7500); exhibiting companies – 561 (590); and international registrants – 1900 (2000) from 75 (56) countries.

Interestingly enough, exhibitors took quite a relaxed attitude to the lower attendance figures and the general mood was better than one might have expected.

Many believed they had better business opportunities since the really qualified visitors and important delegations did show up. “I/ITSEC 2012 was the best show ever for Saab!” said Anders Jonzon, Manager Communications & PR at Saab.

Aechelon’s Javier Castellar, Director of Programs, expressed confidence

that the current climate would only strengthen the market for their high fidelity real time computer graphics applications. He sees the market growing for high fidelity simulators as budgets constrain the use of aircraft for training.

On the other hand, several important exhibitors failed to show this year, marking a degree of budgetary constraint.

Among these were BAE Systems, BAES Inc, and all branches of Finmeccanica (eg Alenia, the Selexes, Agusta-Westland).

International Military In an exhibit sponsored by the Brazilian Defense and Security Industry, the Modeling and Simulation Division of the Brazilian Navy Center for Naval Systems Analysis displayed its Seamanship Simulator, while the Brazilian Army's Simulation Division showed off its Ground Operations Command simulator. The Chilean Army was represented at the exhibit of the Santiago, Chile-based FIDAE aerospace and defense industry organization. The NATO Modeling and Simulation Group exhibit featured a Command and Control Simulation Interoperation demonstration, which included a joint exercise that included unmanned aerial system (UAS) and manned Air Operations elements.

Ullrich

US Military The Surface Training Systems (STS) division (PMS 339) of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) made its first appearance at the conference. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) highlighted its function as the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Training Systems Agent by demonstrating the LCS Readiness Control Officer (RCO) simulator integrated with the NCS Navigation Trainer. The LCS Full Mission Bridge Simulator for the LCS 1 variant was also on deck.

Emphasizing its role in human performance development and measurement research for the Navy, NAWCTSD also had on hand two simulation-based performance assessment and measurement tools, Adaptive Training for Combat Information Center Teams (ATCIC) program and the Configurable Aviation TrainerAiding Learning by Integrating Simulation Technology (CAT-ALIST) program.

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) showcased its Integrated Networked Combat and the Synthetic Teammate Project Environment in collaboration with the Cognitive Engineering Research Institute, while the Air National Guard had on hand its Advanced Joint Terminal Attack (JTAC) simulator and MQ-9 Mission Training Device.

Industry on the Show Floor Boeing announced they would be entering the T-X competition with a purposebuilt airframe. That said they declined to elaborate. It is difficult to see how this is going to be achieved with an accepted ISD of 2020. More from Boeing – we are told – in the first quarter of 2013.

SAIC is under contract to deliver 11 Non-rated Crew Member Manned Module (NCM3) to the U.S. Army. The reconfigurable training devices were developed to train the crew chiefs and gunners in the aft section of Boeing CH-47 Chinook and Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. Using virtual reality glasses that snap onto the crewmember’s helmet in the same manner as night vision goggles, crewmembers can practice tasks such as gunnery, sling load and hoist operations. The NCM3 simulators can be linked with the Army Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer simulators.

As visual display systems close in on the “holy grail” of achieving close to 20/20 actual visual acuity, sector companies are sharpening their focus on improving other attributes.

In one development, Barco’s new 2,800 lumens SIM 7 series projector, the 7Q-HC, increases the product line’s contrast ratio from 10,000:1 to 40,000:1. Dave Janke, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing, said the contrast improvements will increase the fidelity of immersive training, especially for night vision missions for pilots.

Christie unveiled its DualView simulator that can separately compute and render the same scene from two unique points of view with excellent image quality. The new system allows two operators to respond to their own, separately warped, full-screen image simultaneously.

Zoran Veselic, the company’s vice president of visual environment, pointed out the DualView allows configurations like tandem seating, while offering the perfect viewpoint for pilot and copilot – or any two viewing positions – since the images are computed and corrected specifically for their eye points, not a halfway-in-between.

Garth Smith, MetaVR’s co-founder and CEO, noted part of the Pentagon’s commitment to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its JTAC community’s training includes migrating live training tasks to the virtual domain. The company recently sold 14 JTAC simulators to the U.S Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and the Air

Combat Command. MetaVR’s JTAC simulation system is developed jointly with Battlespace Simulations. The simulation system is accredited to replace live controls (types 1, 2, 3) for both day and night, and for laser target designation with simulated military laser, in accordance with the JTAC Memorandum of Agreement.

VT MÄK announced their WebLVC Server and MÄK WebLVC Suite, both part of their WebLVC initiative, an effort to bring the web to the M&S industry.

The goal is to expand the reach of LVC simulations to any computer or mobile device with a compatible web browser and access to a simulation network.

Rheinmetall’s reasonably priced ANTares is a kind of high-quality, “jackof-all-trades” tactical training device that satisfies a wide range of military needs.

It provides fully networked and interoperable air, land and maritime weapon platform simulators in a virtual combat training environment. The system can be used for crew coordination training as well as for preparing entire units and task forces for tactical missions in foreign deployment zones. The individual simulator modules (cubicles) can be installed in containers in a freely configurable order as a plug & play unit.

RUAG’s Role Player Station is the Swiss Group’s response to the increased demand from customers to expand existing virtual simulation systems with lowfidelity, flexible and configurable training capabilities for both new and existing systems. The multi-role simulator can

Serious Games Showcase and Challenge As always, the serious games competition was deadly serious and hard fought, but there were some commonalities amongst the bidders for awards: Unity3D’s Davey Jackson, a sponsor, noted with some pride that 50% of the games were powered by Unity.

The winners in the six categories of the Serious Games Showcase & Challenge (SGS&C) were picked from a field of 18 announced in late October, in itself recognition of excellence. The winners of the 2012 challenge are: • Business: Virtual Attain by RealTime Immersive; • Government: Cross-Competency Cultural Trainer by JKO-J7; • Student: Machineers by IT University of Copenhagen; • Mobile: DragonBox+ by WeWantToKnow AS; • Adaptive Force Training (this year’s special emphasis category): Government in Action by McGraw-Hill Education; and • People’s Choice: C-ID Combat Vehicle Detection & Identification by AEgis Technologies.

MS&T MAGAZINE 1.2013

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Show Report be configured in a very short space of time to serve different roles, for instance that of opponents, civilians or support forces. A main 2D/3D map with an intuitive touch interface allows the realistic tactical control of associated simulated units (computer-generated forces).

RUAG used Presagis’ 3D Visualization Kit Vega Prime to create and deploy the visual simulation applications. Presagis also supported RUAG through the whole development cycle.

Indra Systems’ Low Cost Simulation Solutions (LCSS) is the company’s answer to customers’ constrained budgets. The reconfigurable trainer simulates or stimulates the cockpit instrumentation of fixed wing, rotorcraft or ground vehicles. LCSS allows procedural and tactical training as well as mission rehearsal.

It fits into one deployable box with no peripherals and can be manoeuvred by one person. LCSS is scalable, with optional controls force feedback system, out-the-window visual dome and nightvision capability. LCSS is HLA compliant and allows tandem mission training and remote and local instructor control for multiple trainers.

3D perception’s StarScan helps costoriented customers to regain image quality without repairs or the need to replace old and dented screens. The StarScan retrofit measures both the exact 3D screen geometry and the projected image geometry with absolute precision. It is livelinked to the display processor, where the measurement data are processed and geometric warping and blending is

applied to raw source visuals. The result is a precision-aligned, seamless image that is projected onto any screen shape or size in a quality that meets absolute performance requirements.

The Transas Group, a newcomer to I/ITSEC, is a Russian company that provides cost-efficient, competitive naval simulation and training in a global context; however, their Combined-Arms Battlefield Simulator, presented here for the first time was, however, much more interesting. The simulator is a major element of the Russian Armed Forces’ plan to move towards a “virtual battlefield” in military training by 2013. The software and hardware simulator, including CGF, is entirely Russian made, thus following the country’s policy to use exclusively Russian products where available. At first glance, the elements of the Transas simulator shown at I/ITSEC seem to be keeping pace with similar products in the exhibition hall.

Some other exhibitors that caught our editors’ eyes: • Havok’s collaboration with Rocketbox Libraries to produce high quality 3D Models and Animations, available on licence as an affordable alternative to inhouse character rigging and animation and Havok’s own Destruction that simulates, for buildings and other structures, all manner of realistic and satisfying mayhem for the discerning connoisseur of - havoc.

• The demonstration of augmented reality to support maintenance tasks.

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based See-through wearable display and NGRAIN’s iPad based prototype both demonstrated support to procedural R&I tasks.

• Forth Dimension’s QGXA-R9 highresolution near to eye full-colour microdisplay, with applications for HMDs and surgical microscopes.

• SAAB and Chemring’s Safety-Pyro Stun and Frag Grenades, and SAAB’s Next-Generation Personal Detection Device for live instrumented training • Kongsberg’s Proteus maritime Swarm trainer, with special application for asymmetric naval warfare scenarios such as the Straits of Hormuz.

• Transas Marine and SAAB’s Fast Boat Firearms Trainer.

• A very effective motion-cueing MartinBaker seat from Cranfield Aerospace.

• A very capable embedded avionics suite from Elbit, with application to T-X and other low-cost training.

• The novel Hexaline 6 DoF electric motion base from Thales used in their Reality H, helicopter full flight simulator .

• SIMmersion was demonstrating their immersive trainer for “difficult conversations” that develops crucial skills and cultural awareness used in investigative interviews and other interpersonal situations.

• Bohemia Interactive’s ubiquitous VBS2 seemed to be everywhere.  • And finally, Norway’s projectiondesign showcased their innovative high performance projection systems and excellent Norwegian chocolate for booth visitors. mst

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Volume 30 • Issue 1/2013

The World’s Preferred Defence Training Journal Issue 6/2012

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Conference Report

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NATO 2012 MSG M&S specialists gathered in Sweden 18 and 19 October 2012.

Walter F. Ullrich reports.

T

he 2012 Symposium of the NATO Modelling & Simulation Group (NMSG) was held in Kista, located just outside Stockholm in Sweden’s Silicon Valley.

The topic of the symposium – “Transforming Defence through Modelling and Simulation – Opportunities and Challenges” – addressed the need for specialisation and prioritisation, more specifically the search for multinational solutions to NATO’s security challenges, which was introduced under the term “Smart Defence” by the NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen in February 2011.

The Technical Committee, cochaired by Dr Hans Jense from NATO’s Communications and Information

Agency (NCIA) and Dr Farshad Moradi from the FOI, the Swedish Defence Research Agency, had selected 26 papers to be presented at the conference.

“Some presentations took a very pragmatic approach to Defence M&S,” noted Lt Col Dr Francisco J. GómezRamos, the newly appointed Head of the Modelling & Simulation Coordination Office (MSCO). “The majority of presentations addressed fulfilling operational requirements and were well-adapted to the current budget profile, offering numerous opportunities for collaboration,” he added.

In addition to the specialist presentation, there were two keynotes. Col Ronny Modigs, Assistant Head, Policy and Plans Department of the Swedish Armed

Forces Defence Staff, reported on the ongoing and far-reaching transformation of the Swedish Armed Forces. “M&S is a powerful and cost-effective resource in this endeavour,” said the Colonel. He went on to say that M&S supports capabilities throughout their entire lifecycle and that the M&S knowledge base is applied to almost everything.

In the second keynote, Stefan Sandberg, from PITCH Technologies, and Ulf Jinnestrand, from 4C Strategies reflected on “A Future Interoperable Training Capability Business Model”. This in particular involves the ability to reuse technology between systems and from other markets, for example, gaming, they told listeners. In such a model, existing technology enables previously unimaginable functionality to be utilised in mass produced devices. To connect these devices, use is made of new innovative services that are appearing all over the internet, thus avoiding the constant need to reinvest in new software and hardware.

It was not entirely clear whether this was the 30th or already the 31st symposium. That did not matter, however, since attendance figures show that the event has lost nothing of its appeal given that a total of 115 participants from 21 nations attended. Apart from the Swedish host, the 12 visitors from the United States represented the next largest group. This must surely have pleased the new Chairman of the NSMG, Jesse J. Citizen, Director of the US DoD Modeling and Simulation Coordination Office (M&SCO).

Some attendees came from as far afield as Australia and New Zealand.

Next year they will not have so far to travel, as the MSG-111 Multi Workshop will be held on 17/18 October 2013 in Sydney, Australia. mst

A New Structure On 1 July, the NATO Research & Technology Agency (RTA) became the NATO Science & Technology Organisation (STO).

This change occurred to strengthen the objective of the NATO Research and Technology Agency to directly support operational needs and demands. The new organisation is composed of three bodies in three different locations: The Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) at NATO HQ (Brussels); the Collaborative Support Office (CSO) in the former RTA facilities in Neuilly-sur-Seine, close to Paris; and the CMRE (former NURC transferred from ACT), in La Spezia, Italy. The 1st Business Meeting of the new STB (S&T

Board) was held in Norfolk last September. The Modelling and Simulation Coordination Office (MSCO), the permanent support body of the NMSG, has now been integrated into the CSO. No changes are expected in normal NMSG working procedures. The formats for business meetings (BMs), working groups (WGs) and “tool boxes” remain unchanged, as was observed during the last NMSG BM and MSG-094 Conference in Kista, Sweden last October and in preparation for the October 2013 NMSG activities in Sydney, Australia. – Lt Col (SpAr) Dr Francisco J. Gómez-Ramos, Head Modelling & Simulation Coordination Office M S & T M A G A Z I NE 1 . 2 0 1 3

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Show Preview

Image credit: Fiera Roma

Heading for Rome For the first time ever, ITEC will take place south of the Alps.

Walter F. Ullrich previews the event.

F

rom 22 to 24 May 2013, Rome, one of the world’s most beautiful and most visited capitals, will host Europe’s premier event for training and education.

ITEC 2013, its 24th edition, will offer the simulation and training community a number of firsts. For the first time, the event will not start at the beginning of the week but on a Wednesday. This is due more to the saturation of the venue, the “Fiera di Roma”, one of the most frequented exhibition centres in Italy, than a means to pave the way for overseas visitors to have an extended weekend in “Bella Roma”. Another first: in addition to the usual keynote presentation during the opening session, daily “keynotes” will be held to tune attendees’ minds to the topics of the day. As for the structure of the conference, Alenia Aermacchi’s Cristiano Montrucchio, ITEC 2013’s conference chairman and his committee will continue last year’s policy of cautiously streamlining the event as a whole. “For ITEC 2013 we conceived an innovative programme, featuring daily plenary openings dedicated to senior guests and including the perceived most important themes for the education and training worldwide community,” explains Cristiano Montrucchio.

The ITEC conference will now consist of six streams: • The C4I and Cyber Security theme will 30

MS&T MAGAZINE 1.2013

examine the importance of cross-sector expertise as well as how education and training can be implemented in the defence and military sectors; • The Civil Support, Protection & Disaster Event Management stream will explore the implications of the growing involvement of military assets in the protection against and management of catastrophic events and complex humanitarian emergencies; • Current and Future Military Operational Needs will examine, from various perspectives, what has and has not worked to date on the road to developing, generating, preparing and deploying capable military forces across the spectrum of future threats and missions; • The topic Innovative Learning Technologies – Use & Implementation will look at the ways in which armed forces around the world are answering their training needs; • The Medical Training Challenges theme will explore the advancements in technology that are leading to a healthcare training revolution in all domains; and • Within the Technological Innovations in Modelling & Simulation stream the wide variety of technological innovation enablers for Modelling & Simulation will be considered, focusing on defence and security applications.

“Furthermore, the dual civil-military

use of modelling & simulation technologies and practices will be developed as a special focus,” adds the conference chairman. “For this reason we widened the speakers range including panellists from many distinct sectors, including doctors and astronauts, able to elaborate on how different fields can truly benefit from cross-fertilisation of processes and technologies”.

Overall – that is what the organisers are promising visitors – ITEC will be the most interactive conference in its field. Everything will be designed to involve delegates, to generate discussion and to bring about new ideas on current requirements and future developments for the military training, education and simulation sectors.

A Promising Venue There are many advantages to staging the event in Italy: not only does Italy’s tradition in professional simulation date back to pre-First World War times; today, the country boasts a very active and competitive S&T industry, and important S&T institutions like the Modelling & Simulation Centre of Excellence (M&S COE) in Rome are based in the region.

When it comes to opening up new opportunities – for ITEC and its clients – attracting new exhibition visitors and conference attendees from overseas seems to be the solution. ITEC 2012 was already well on course, with visitors from 29 countries, many of them far away – Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and South Africa. Everything suggests that this trend will continue in 2013. “For the first time in Italy, ITEC 2013 will see the active participation of international personalities and renown experts in the themes of the conference coming from Europe, USA and emerging countries,” explains Cristiano Montrucchio. “Italy, as the hosting nation, will grant a very significant support with high level representatives of its governmental, industrial and academic institutions.

Another enticement for historically minded S&T enthusiasts will be the original “Blériot simulator”, produced in Italy in 1912, the oldest still remaining flight simulator, which will be on show at ITEC 2013. mst

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GameTech is a unique opportunity for experts from around the world to GameTech is a unique opportunity for experts from around the world to discuss the current state of the technologies and the advancements of discuss the current state of the technologies and the advancements of their use within the Department of Defense. their use within the Department of Defense.

World News & Analysis

Seen&Heard A compendium of current news from the military simulation and training industry, compiled and edited by news editor Fiona Greenyer and the MS&T editorial team. For the latest breaking news and in-depth reports go to www.halldale.com.

TRAINING DEVICES & SERVICES CAE has won more than C$170 million in military contracts. They include contracts from Elbit Systems to provide M-346 training devices for the Israeli Air Force, the UK Ministry of Defence to support CAE's Medium Support Helicopter Aircrew Training Facility (MSHATF), and a contract to provide maintenance and support services for the NATO E-3A training devices. Other contracts include one from the US Navy to develop two MH-60R tactical operational flight trainers for the Royal Australian Navy, a contract from the Australian Defence Force to provide King Air 350 simulator services, and a contract from the Royal New Zealand Air Force to provide C-130 training.

Rheinmetall's Simulation and Training business unit has recently been awarded a number of contracts for driving simulators worth over €10 million. The Swiss Army has chosen Rheinmetall to modernize its FASPA tank driving simulator. A driving training simulator for the new Boxer 8x8 multi-role armoured vehicle is expected to enter service with the Dutch Army in the first quarter of 2014, similar to the driving training simulators supplied in 2008/09 for the CV9030 and YPR located at the Dutch Army's base at Oirschot. As with the two existing simulators, an authentic replica of the Boxer driver's cab will be installed on a 6 DOF motion platform. Another customer has ordered two driving simulators for the Fuchs/ Fox 2 6x6 armoured vehicle, which are slated for delivery in late 2013.

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MS&T MAGAZINE 1.2013

IFAD TS has delivered a new version of IFACTS (the IFAD Forward Air Controller Training Solution) to the Danish Armed Forces Artillery Regiment in Varde. It is used in the Army's joint FAC, AO and pilot training facility. This delivery is part of a

follow-on contract that succeeds previous purchases of IFACTS licenses for the Army’s FAC training program.

Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. has selected Rockwell Collins to provide simulation and training products and systems. The first programs under

Boeing’s Training Systems and Services team provided Group Editor Marty Kauchak with an update on the Poseidon’s rapidly evolving training system. The P-8A training system is expanding the edge of the technology envelope for the aircraft’s operators and maintainers. Boeing has delivered three operational flight trainers (OFTs) to the Navy’s P-8A training center at Jacksonville, Florida. Twenty OFTs to support flight deck crew training are in the P-8A program of record. Boeing has also delivered three weapons tactics trainers (WTTs) to the Jacksonville schoolhouse, and seventeen WTTs to support the aircraft mission crew are also in the program of record. The P-8A family of training systems for the operators also includes a part task trainer (PTT). Boeing is supporting its Navy customer’s plan to allocate future Poseidon training devices in other Poseidon training venues, including Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, Marine Corps Base Hawaii Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, and forward deployed bases, as designated.

A December 2012 contract is allowing Boeing to move forward with the delivery of Poseidon maintenance training. ASEC and SSE are the two primary subcontractors to develop courseware for the Navy’s future maintenance training capability.

Jerry Bushue, a business development manager in Boeing’s training sector emphasized the maintenance trainers will feature “a lot of interactivity, high fidelity training modules and a lot of the same software we’re using for the OFTs and WTTs – we’re repurposing the software whenever possible.”

Boeing will conduct P-8A maintenance training for its Navy customer until the end of 2015, when service instructors will take over that responsibility.

the agreement will include Rockwell Collins providing its EP-8000 and EP-80 image generators and SpectraView™ displays for customers in Asia and the Middle East.

Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) will deliver an Egress Trainer for various types of military wheeled and tracked vehicles to the Swedish Armed Forces in 2013. KMW will deliver the training system together with its partner MSE Weibull AB from Sweden. The trainer contains the rollover simulator, the instructor station and the vehicle cabin which can be exchanged within a short time. A digital audio/video surveillance system with record and replay function serves as the tool for training analysis and debriefing but is also the key component to provide maximum safety during all training operations.

ETC has shipped the final main motion system components of the Authentic Tactical Flight Simulator (ATFS 400 Model 31) to the US Air Force, where the flight simulator will be installed at the 711th Human Performance Wing’s new complex at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

Included in the shipment were the final major components of the gimbal system, consisting of the roll ring and gondola assembly.

Simthetiq has finalized the sale of 3D simulation entity models for the Boom Operator Simulation System (BOSS) being produced by FAAC Inc. for the Air National Guard (ANG). Their highly realistic and fully exploitable models will be a central part of the BOSS training program. The BOSS provides a realistic simulation environment that utilizes highly immersive 3D models from Simthetiq with simulation software and an emulation of the actual aircraft boom controls provided by FAAC. The system is intended for squadron level training to be co-located with operational KC-135 air refueling wings.

The National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4310), including an amendment requiring the Department of Defense (DoD) to research a new type of flight simulator that could result in significant savings, has passed the US Senate and House of Representatives, and was signed into law by President Barack Obama. Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania sponsored the amendment that requires the DoD to study and report on a simulator that would combine the physical effects of supersonic flight with a simulated cockpit. Simulators such as these are already in production, like Environmental Tectonics Corporation's ATFS-400 for the F-35.

AIR FORCE L-3 Communications’ Link Simulation & Training division has been awarded a contract from the US Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, to build two F-16 Block 52 full mission trainers (FMTs) for the Iraqi Air Force. The FMTs will incorporate HD World® integrated simulation product line. High-definition databases, image generators, SimuSphere HD-9™ visual displays and physics-based processing technology will produce realistic and relevant fighter training environments within a geo-specific visual system database or Iraq.

JFS&T 2013 The 4th annual SMi Joint Forces Simulation and Training conference took place in London on 4th and 5th February 2013, sponsored by Lockheed Martin and Will Interactive. The programme was both varied and interesting; there has been a tendency in the past to concentrate on simulation to the exclusion of all else, but this programme not only embraced other forms of training, but also addressed the ‘joint’ aspect of the title. Some interesting themes arose from the presentations, and the lively discussion periods which followed. The audience, and the various organisations which they represented, had largely come to terms with budgetary austerity, but – given that synthetic training ought to profit relatively from such an environment – were concerned about a perceived policy vacuum or, where policy existed, about an apparent unwillingness in certain quarters to take the necessary decisions to implement it. A somewhat perturbing stat, even given the current uncertainty surrounding the UK defence budget, is that not a single pound has been earmarked for simulation post-2015. Training, we were reminded, is not a programmeregulator, to be turned up or down because of a shortage of money in any particular year. Many expressed concern that the implications of the end of operations in Afghanistan had not been fully thought through and that, notwithstanding any drawdown in uniformed numbers, three units could in future be seeking training using the resources currently earmarked for one. The ‘plus points’ of synthetic training, in terms of capability, cost, safety and risk, and environment were wellrehearsed, but proper debate on the LVC balance had not yet taken place. Moreover, the modern training audience does not react positively to the traditional ‘sage-on-the-stage’ learning environment, but that is still the norm in many training systems. The younger generation also has difficulty with intense one-on-one situations, but those are what they will increasingly be exposed to in the likely urban conflicts of the future.

Simulators have traditionally been built for aircrew and those who operate complex equipment, but the need for synthetic training aimed at the soldier on the ground is just as pressing.

Simulation was also demonstrated to have utility in training for counselling and decision-making, and as a safety valve for those affected by stress. As regards ‘jointery’, both domestic and international, NATO was widely regarded as leading the pack in international co-operation, and distributed training as an operational necessity rather than an aspiration. Lastly, the cyber threat was acknowledged but, as an alternative to trying to defend against it, we were encouraged to concentrate on ‘watching them watching us’.

These, and many other topical issues made JFS&T 2013 an interesting and thought-provoking meeting; whether the views and concerns of the S&T shop-floor community will permeate as far as those who make the decisions is another matter entirely. – Dim Jones MS&T MAGAZINE 1.2013

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World News & Analysis Dytecna has been awarded a competitive contract from the UK Ministry of Defence through Defence Equipment & Support to provide three part task trainers (PTTs) for rear crew training for the A400M aircraft. The PTTs will enable the Royal Air Force (RAF) to conduct specific to type training on loading, unloading and despatch procedures, restraint techniques, aircraft drill and parachuting techniques for the A400M aircraft.

Cassidian has been awarded a contract by the German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) to deliver a new maintenance system trainer (MST) for training the German Air Force's (Luftwaffe) technical Eurofighter personnel. Cassidian's MST is a PC-based simulator from the 'virtual maintenance trainer' product family. It can be operated as both an independent trainee workstation and as part of a classroom network with 12 trainee stations and one trainer station. At each workstation,

the functionality of a single-seater Eurofighter in the SRP 5.1, PSC 3.71 version is simulated in 3D surroundings. An additional Eurofighter cockpit and real controls support the haptic training. A total of several hundred faults can be simulated in the device, which the trainees can remedy either on their own or under instruction.

BAE Systems has extended its teaming agreement with Elbit Systems to develop next generation Indian Hawk airborne simulation capabilities for the Indian Air Force. The two companies will jointly develop airborne simulation technologies as a response to the Indian Air Force (IAF) Virtual Training System (VTS) requirement. The combined effort will provide enhanced fast jet training on the Hawk Mark 132 allowing additional skills to be taught to pilots transitioning to front line fast jet Squadrons.

CAE Australia has completed a comprehensive visual system upgrade for the Royal Australian Air Force’s

C-130J full flight and mission simulator (FFMS) located at RAAF Base Richmond. "The new visual system offers significantly increased visual fidelity, including better colour, sharper imagery and improved brightness," said Squadron Leader Scott van Ginkel, C-130J Training Flight Commander for the RAAF's No. 285 Squadron. "The visual upgrade has delivered the improved realism required for military flying training, particularly low-level tactical operations and night vision goggles, so the RAAF now has a simulator that delivers enhanced operational mission training."

Cassidian has delivered a new Eurofighter flight simulator to the Spanish Air Force that is part of the Aircrew Synthetic Training Aid (ASTA) advanced training system.

The simulator will be used by the aircrew of the 14th Wing of the Albacete Air Base and is the third delivered to the Spanish Air Force. The first two are installed at the Morón de la Frontera Air Base in Seville.

UAS Conference The 12th annual SMi Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) conference took place in London on 24th and 25th October 2012. This was a select gathering of about 60 delegates, comprising elements of industry, academia and the military.

More than a dozen nations were represented, with many also providing speakers.

The comprehensive programme ranged from the practical – such as progress reports on the deployment of such systems as Scan Eagle, Raven, Meteor, Skylark and Watchkeeper – through requirements and regulation to some esoteric dissertations on guidance, collision avoidance and advanced flight control systems. In his keynote address, Dr Bill Powers, a retired USMC officer with an impressive operational and combat background, and now a research fellow at the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, gave an overview of USMC capabilities and future requirements. He drew a contrast between ‘specification-based acquisition’, which tends to result in outcomes ranging from ‘no widget’ through ‘the wrong widget’ to ‘the right widget, but overbudget and late’, and challenge-based acquisition which, although it does not have universal application, encourages partnership between government and industry, and requires creativity and ingenuity from both. He put forward the view 34

that UAS represented the most significant change to aviation since stealth, remarked on how the new generation of small weapons turned cheap tactical UAVs into effective armed assets, particularly employable in asymmetric warfare, and noted that the entire Reaper force cost less than one JSF. Adrian Leatherland, a director of Resource UAS, a conference sponsor, covered the increasing involvement of industry in UAS training for the military, and observed that whereas, in other areas of aviation, the military are adopting civil standards, for UAS maybe the civil regulator should look to military processes for a mature and proven model.

Commander Vincent Chevalier of the French Navy explored the possible applications of UAS in a maritime environment, including coastal patrol, rescue and anti-piracy. Finally, Peter Lee, a solicitor with Taylor Vinters, covered legal aspects of UAS operations, such as IPR, data protection and privacy, insurance and risk and liability, and among other things raising the spectre of UAVs in the hands of unscrupulous paparazzi.

In sum, although a relatively small gathering, this was an interesting conference, and afforded the participants networking opportunities and a useful exchange of experiences and views. – Dim Jones

MS&T MAGAZINE 1.2013

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ARMY Lockheed Martin has delivered its first Digital Range Training System to the US Army for live fire gunnery qualifications by armored vehicle crews and has begun development on a third range under a $13.8 million contract award. The Digital Range Training System provides a realistic combat environment for Abrams, Bradley and Stryker crews. The initial range is now operational at Fort Bliss, Texas.

Cubic Defense Applications has received a new $12.5 million order for its Instrumentable MILES Tactical Vehicle Systems (I-MILES TVS) from the US Army’s Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI). I-MILES TVS employs Cubic’s wireless vehicle Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES) technology to provide the real-time casualty assessment necessary for MILES tactical engagement training in direct-fire, force-onforce instrumented training scenarios.

SIMETRI, Inc. has been awarded a contract by the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) for the research and development of an Interoperable Common Scenario Repository for medical training. The effort seeks to explore and prototype hardware and a software application that standardizes scenarios for diverse Army medical training. Once accepted, the application will provide a centralized repository for validated medical training scenarios that will be interoperable with all medical training devices such as human patient simulators and desktop games.

NAVY Cubic Simulation Systems has received three contracts, each worth $100 million, as part of the Littoral Combat Ship training program, from the US Navy’s Orlando training agency. Cubic will produce systems for both versions of the ship, one built by Lockheed, and the other by General Dynamics. Cubic will also produce combat-mission specific training for both versions.

COMPANY NEWS Bohemia Interactive Simulations (BISim) has partnered with the private equity firm The Riverside Company, which recently made a significant investment in the company.

BISim expects to grow strongly over the next few years and Riverside, with its experience in working with smaller, high growth companies and its international presence, will assist the company to further expand its multi-national operations and development.

The Halldale Group has announced the appointment of David Lim as a Director for the Asia Pacific region, based in Singapore. David will take on responsibility for regional sales of simulation and training media and events for healthcare, defence and aerospace. He has 16 years’ experience in sales, marketing and project management in defence and aerospace products and services for Reed Exhibitions and Singapore Technologies Engineering.

Acquisition The Virtual Training Commercial Industry Standards & Solutions Working Group has been established to help improve the Pentagon’s acquisition model. Don Ariel, chairman and chief strategic officer at Raydon and a working group founding member, noted the working group has been motivated by the S&T industry’s self-perceived responsibility to help build an acquisition model that is much more agile and responsive to the service member.

When Group Editor Marty Kauchak met with the Port Orange, Florida-based industry leader, Ariel revealed the embryonic group is promoting the concept of “moving to an events-based, rental model.” This model would finally address concurrency and other issues by “anticipating gaps and have capabilities that are available on time,” he said.

Conceptually, one company with a technology available to close an identified military training gap, could marry up its hardware and software solution with the integrated architecture and other enabling capabilities of another group member or members. The end product would be placed in a mobile, rental model capability and delivered to the customer on demand.

Such mobile training solutions are a reality with privately owned, trailer-based simulators and other training devices, delivered on contract by Raydon and other companies to their military customers. The working group’s business model would conceptually evolve into a plug-and-play capability. In one instance, other companies’ products in the military vehicle driver training sector could be evaluated by the end user, as to which product offering best fits its needs. Another of the working group’s deliverables would provide user feedback into the product for continual training improvements.

Ariel provided a number of compelling reasons to migrate to this new model. At the top of his list was the realization that S&T companies are often completing duplicative research and development efforts – and are unable to harvest each other’s innovation.

The working group is especially attentive to the innovation that occurs at smaller companies, which may not have the knowledge and other resources to move the solutions forward to the Pentagon, except in a formal DoD program of record.

“What we believe is with the footprints we have established, we can buy those assets from the smaller companies, integrate them into a larger training environment that addresses the broader capability and bring it to market,” Ariel remarked.

And while Ariel noted his company’s commitment to a robust internal R&D program, he encouraged others in the industry to help reduce the duplication of R&D efforts across the community and join Raydon and other working group members. “In fact we have taken a proprietary model and at this show we have exposed this to everybody, asking them to help us figure this out, develop standards and take other actions.”

Ariel called the working group an “ad hoc” effort, external to any existing association or other formal organizations.

MS&T MAGAZINE 1.2013

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World News & Analysis

NATO CAX Forum The seventh NATO Joint Computer Assisted Exercise Forum (CAX '12) that took place in Rome from 24 to 27 September 2012 was held in close conjunction with the 2012 edition of the Workshop on Applied Modelling & Simulation (WAMS). For the second time in a row, the CAX event was organised by the Modelling and Simulation Centre of Excellence (M&S COE). The University of Genoa managed WAMS, which addresses the applications and theory of Modelling & Simulation. The two institutions have been working closely in their day-to-day work for some time now.

CAX '12 focused on technical issues and operating procedures related to simulation-based exercises and training support. Around 300 CAX personnel and experts from 34 NATO and Partner Nations devoted their time to sharing information and best practices. Some attendees came directly from the sister event I3M, which was held in Vienna the week before. It goes without saying that the Allied Command for Transformation (ACT), Joint Warfare Centre (JWC), Joint Force Training Centre (JFTC) and NATO Communication & Information Agency (NCIA) were present. In addition to the many specialists from NATO and national simulation and exercise centres, however, important representatives from the military and academia also attended, including 27 international simulation industry companies.

The unanimous praise voiced during the closing plenary session confirmed the importance of and need for events like the CAX Forum. It also confirmed the excellent work of the organiser, Colonel Francesco Mastrorosa, and his team from the Modelling and Simulation Centre of Excellence. The next CAX Forum is scheduled for 23-26 September 2013. – Walter F. Ullrich

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Laser Shot, in collaboration with the Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Division, has been awarded a $944,000 contract to deliver and install Tactical Weapons Simulators™ (TWS) for firearms training for the Colombian Marines. The contract will provide the Colombian Marines TWS systems with 40’ and 20’ wide screens for tactical and marksmanship training using virtual imagery walls that provide visual immersion into a combat or marksmanship environment.

CAE has introduced a next-generation capability and solution called CAE Dynamic Synthetic Environment™.

DSE is an integrated solution combining an architecture based on the shared, public CDB specification, content creation software tools from Presagis and CAE, core DSE simulation software, and DSE-enabled products such as image generators and computer-generated forces software. This solution is designed to create a virtual synthetic environment that more accurately and realistically simulates the real world.

Index of Ads Bohemia Interactive www.bisimulations.com 5 CAE www.cae.com OBC DSEI www.dsei.co.uk 35 GameTech www.gametechconference.com 31 I/ITSEC www.iitsec.org 25 ITEC www.itec.co.uk/mst IBC L-3 Link Simulation & Training www.L-3com.com IFC Laser Shot www.lasershot.com 9 MODSIM www.trainingsystems.org 36 MS&T Magazine www.halldale.com/mst 28 RAeS www.aerosociety.com/flightsimhandbook 10 RGB Spectrum www.rgb.com 13 Rosoboronexport www.rusarm.ru 20 & 21

Finmeccanica has merged its defence and security electronics companies, SELEX Elsag and SELEX Galileo and SELEX Sistemi Integrati to create Selex ES. The consolidated technological innovation and domain knowledge of Selex ES provides the military training market with a new single entity of commercial power and proven expertise to deliver training and simulation solutions in live, virtual, and constructive domains across land, air, maritime and space environments. mst

Calendar Simulation & training events organised by Halldale Group 16-18 April 2013 WATS 2013 – World Aviation Training Conference & Tradeshow Rosen Shingle Creek Resort Orlando, Florida, USA www.halldale.com/wats 17-18 September 2013 APATS 2013 – Asia Pacific Airline Training Symposium Centara Grand Convention Centre Bangkok, Thailand www.halldale.com/apats 29-30 October 2013 EATS 2013 – European Airline Training Symposium Estrel Hotel, Berlin, Germany www.halldale.com/eats

Other simulation & training events 12-13 March 2013 Military Fight Training Europe www.militaryflighttraining.com London, UK

13-14 March 2013 DWT-SGW Modelling and Simulation Symposium www.dwt-sgw.de Bonn, Germany 9-12 April 2013 LAAD Defence & Security www.laadexpo.com Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 22-24 May 2013 ITEC 2013 www.itec.co.uk Rome, Italy

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mission ready

Using the world’s most advanced simulation technology, CAE can provide defence and security forces with fully integrated training and mission rehearsal solutions. As a fully capable training systems integrator, our solutions range from a complete suite of simulation products to the ability to deliver a turnkey training service.

Nowhere is CAE’s experience, expertise, and technology leadership more evident than for rotary wing platforms. CAE has designed training systems for the greatest variety of helicopters, such as the MH-60R/MH-60S/S-70B Seahawk, UH-60M Black Hawk, NH90, AW109/139/189, CH-47 Chinook and many others. We can deliver innovative, customized training solutions, such as our revolutionary roll-on/roll-off cockpit design for full-mission simulators and our CAE 3000 Series helicopter mission simulator, to provide an unprecedented level of realism for helicopterspecific mission training.

Our Medium Support Helicopter Aircrew Training Facility (MSHATF) in the United Kingdom is a perfect example of our capabilities. At RAF Benson, we offer an unparalleled training standard to the RAF and other worldwide operators of the Merlin, Puma and Chinook helicopters.

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CAE’s experience, track record for operational excellence, and helicopter simulation technology leadership all add up to helping our customers around the world achieve mission readiness and stay one step ahead.

CAE has an unparalleled breadth of experience in helicopter simulation and training, and is a world-class training systems integrator that offers up-front training needs analysis, expert instructors, high-fidelity maintenance and aircrew training devices, and comprehensive training support services.

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