MS&T Magazine - Issue 5/2010

www.halldale.com The International Defence Training Journal

Training Technology

Developing Cost Effective LVC Training

Training Technology

Armored Vehicle Simulators Technology Application

MSHATF Benson National Focus

Eurofighter: Training the Austrian Way

ISSN 1471-1052 | US $14/ÂŁ8

Issue 5/2010

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

B E T W E E N V I R T U A L A N D R E A L I T Y, T H E R E I S O N E I M P O R TA N T W O R D : H O W.

When knowing what to expect is the key to mission success, warfighters know they can count on Lockheed Martin.

Our innovative approach to training means low-risk solutions — tailored to any environment, vehicle, or mission.

Helping warfighters prepare for their tomorrow is all a question of how. And it is the how that makes all the difference.

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

The first training and simulation event of the Iberian zone C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

Conference with speakers The conference is free to attend and will include a wide range of themes and open discussions Exhibition The exhibition includes displays of latest products and innovations Training & Simulation Consortium The IberSim training and simulation consortium aims to develop collaboration between Iberian training and simulation players, to share experience and to talk about projects and technologies available in the Iberian zone IberSim 2010 will take place inMadrid, Spain on 27-28 October 2010 . For more event information and to register...

please visit www.ibersim.com or email info@ibersim.com

www.ibersim.com

UAS C R E W S R E Q U I R E M I S S I O N R E A DY T R A INING.

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

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

Link Simulation & Training

L-3com.com

Editorial Comment

Editorial Editor-in-Chief: Chris Lehman [e] chris@halldale.com Managing Editor: Jeff Loube [e] jeff@halldale.com Contributors Walter F. Ullrich - Europe Editor Chuck Weirauch - Training Procurement Lori Ponoroff - US News Editor [e] lori@halldale.com Fiona Greenyer - RoW News Editor [e] fiona@halldale.com Advertising Business Manager: Jeremy Humphreys [t] +44 (0)1252 532009 [e] jeremy@halldale.com Business Manager, North America: Mary Bellini Brown [t] +1 703 421 3709 [e] mary@halldale.com Marketing Manager: Lizzie Daniell [t] +44 (0)1252 532008 [e] lizzie@halldale.com Sales & Marketing Co-ordinator: Karen Kettle [t] +44 (0)1252 532002 [e] karen@halldale.com Design & Production David Malley [t] +44 (0)1252 532005 [e] david@halldale.com Internet www.halldale.com/mst Subscriptions & Distribution Subscriptions Hotline [t] +44 (0)1252 532000 [e] mst@halldale.com 6 issues per year at US$168 Distribution Co-ordinator: Sarah de Wet [t] +44 (0)1252 532006 [e] sarah.dewet@halldale.com Publishing House and Editorial Office Military Simulation & Training (ISSN 1471-1052) is published by: Halldale Media Ltd. Pembroke House, 8 St. Christopher’s Place, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 0NH, UK. [t] +44 (0)1252 532000 [f] +44 (0)1252 512714 [e] mst@halldale.com US office Halldale Media Inc. 115 Timberlachen Circle Ste 2009 Lake Mary, FL 32746 USA [t] +1 407 322 5605 [f] +1 407 322 5604 Publisher & CEO: Andrew Smith

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise especially translating into other languages - without prior written permission of the publisher. All rights also reserved for restitution in lectures, broadcasts, televisions, magnetic tape and methods of similar means. Each copy produced by a commercial enterprise serves a commercial purpose and is thus subject to remuneration.

MS&T Magazine (ISSN 1471-1052, USPS # 022067), printed October 2010, is published 6 times per annum by Halldale Media Ltd, Pembroke House, 8 St. Christopher’s Place, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 ONH, UK at a U.S. subscription rate of $168 per year.

Periodical postage rates are paid at Middlesex New Jersey New York U.S.A. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Halldale Media Inc., 115 Timberlachen Circle, Ste 2009, Lake Mary, FL 32746, USA.

Circulation audited by:

Jeff Loube

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jeff Loube, CPT MS&T Managing Editor Read about Quest to Learn at www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/magazine/19video-t.html MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

05

Training Technology

Developing Cost Effective LVC Training

Training Technology

Armored Vehicle Simulators Technology applicaTion

MSHATF Benson naTional Focus

Eurofighter: Training the Austrian Way ISSN 1471-1052 | uS $14/£8

Issue 5/2010

cover credit MetaVR

front cover

contents ms&T 5/2010 www.halldale.com The InTernaTIonal Defence TraInIng Journal

05 Editorial Comment

8

TraINING TECHNOLOGY

08 Training Technology Armored Vehicle Simulators. Modular, reconfigurable and 6 DoF electric motion bases are defining the new class of simulators. Chuck Weirauch reports.

12 Technology Application MSHATF Benson. It is 13 years into the MSHATF PFI contract. Dim Jones visited RAF Benson and reports.

16 Training Technology

12

Technology Application

Robust and Dynamic. Leveraging LVC provides a robust and dynamic training environment. Kristen Barrera and 1Lt Kara Thoreson write.

23 National Focus Common Defence: An EU Army? From cooperation to synchronisation to?

Walter F. Ullrich examines the path to a European Army.

26 National Focus Austrian Eurofighter. As usual, Austria tailors an approach to meet their unique requirements. Walter F. Ullrich writes.

29 Training Technology

16

Training Technology

10 Years of ADL. Speakers at the recent ADL Fest reviewed the past, the present and the future. Chuck Weirauch reports.

26

National Focus

feature Articles

A Quest to Learn. Managing Editor Jeff Loube seeks a lesson in an innovative New York school.

30 Training Technology Medical Simulation Network. The US Department of Veterans Affairs is implementing SimLEARN. Chuck Weirauch explains.

32 NEWS Seen and Heard. A round up of developments in simulation and training.

Compiled and edited by Chuck Weirauch.

MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

07

Training Technology

Modular, Reconfigurable & Realistic 08

MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

SAIC’s Common Driver Trainer (CDT) tank varient.

Image credit: SAIC.

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

I

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

My M1A2 Abrams tank wildly and violently pitched up and then down, snapping my head back and forth like a yo-yo gone mad. Great feedback and my stillsore neck underscores the lesson learned, reminding me to take more care next time I drive through that terrain. Fortunately, not having broken either my neck or the Abrams M1A2 variant of the SAIC Common Driver Trainer (CDT), there will be a next time. I know better now and I will do better traversing the tank driving course in SAIC’s Orlando Integrated Simulation Center, and that’s the whole point – doing better next time.

That all-too-real pitching motion is driven by a Moog electric six-degreeof-freedom (6DOF) motion platform to which the actual driver’s cab of an Abrams is attached. Under a US Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) contract, SAIC will provide 18 Abrams CDT variants to the Army’s Fort Benning in Georgia by this December.

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

armored vehicle, for example, and you have a full-motion driver trainer for that particular vehicle. As SAIC Vice President Dutch Sley explained, the CDT software is “smart enough” to automatically reconfigure the trainer from a tracked vehicle to a wheeled one, for example, programming the motion platform to match the dynamic motion performance of the reconfigured vehicle cab.

The Army has embraced the modular CDT concept, and in fact PEO STRI initiated the CDT approach, starting with a contract with SAIC, which partnered with FAAC to develop a Stryker armored vehicle CDT. Since that time, PEO and SAIC have worked together to additionally provide CDTs for a number of different MRAP armored vehicles, the most recently the MRAP All Terrain vehicle (M-ATV). Work is also underway to employ the CDT Tank Variant for the Abrams for the Joint Assault Bridge (JAB) and Assault Breacher (AB) armored tracked vehicles as well.

At the 2010 Training & Simulation Industry Symposium (TSIS) in Orlando in June, PEO STRI announced a $350 million CDT request for proposal (RFP).

Some of this funding will go to establish a CDT Program of Record, which will assure that the CDT program will be a line item for funding consideration in future Army budgets. This effort will help facilitate the Army’s goal of having one

common driver training system for all of its combat vehicles.

According to Lt. Col. Charlie Stein, PEO STRI Product Manager for Ground Combat Tactical Trainers (GCTT), the requirement for the CDT program is currently being finalized. He expects the CDT competition to take place in the 2nd quarter of FY 2011. The vehicles that the contract action will cover is still being developed, but generically it will cover the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV), Heavy Equipment Transporter (HET) and Armored Security Vehicle (ASV) lines, as well as more Stryker and MRAP vehicle CDTs. However, “once we show the goodness of the CDT tank variant,” more of those trainers will be allocated, Stein feels.

There is also a considerable need for a CDT for the MRAP-based armored route clearance vehicles such as the Buffalo, he added.

Motion and MRAP All Terrain Vehicle The CDT 6DOF motion platform is a particularly valuable asset in training drivers to operate in the steep, mountainous terrain of Afghanistan, where the few roads are narrow with pitched soft shoulders. Recognizing that large, highcenter-of-gravity conventional MRAP vehicles cannot be driven safely in such an environment, the Army awarded MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

09

Training & Simulation

Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG Training & Simulation Mail: info@kmweg.de Wegmann USA, Inc. Orlando Office Training & Simulation Mail: simulation@wegmannusa.com

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

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

As with the Abrams CDT that I drove, the M-ATV 6DOF motion platform can provide the vital real-time feedback of terrain and weather conditions that one needs to experience to learn to drive in the treacherous Afghan environment. While my CDT employed a generic terrain database, the M-ATV CDT features an Afghanistan geo-specific Synthetic Environment (SE) Core database.

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

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

Gunnery The next step in embedded vehicle gunnery training primarily for the Abrams and Bradley Fighting Vehicle platforms is being provided by Oasis Advanced Engineering’s contract with the Army’s Program Management Office Heavy Brigade Combat Team (PM HBCT) to develop the Common Embedded Training System (CETS). The CETS software,

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

The CETS software will also be incorporated into the new, stand-alone Conduct of Fire Trainer Situational Awareness (COFT –SA) trainer. This trainer is being developed by prime contractor Oasis with team member subcontractor Cubic Simulation Systems Division for the Army National Guard under a recently awarded $13 million Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) contract. The reuse of CETS software in the COFT-SA will provide a commonalty of training element between COFT-SA desktop trainers, the stand-alone COFT-SA trainers and the CETS-based embedded gunnery training system onboard the Bradley, Cadiz explained.

The COFT-SA, which will be delivered as fixed units for schoolhouses and in mobile trailers, will resemble the earlier Bradley Advanced Training System (BATS) trainers but will provide improved training capabilities, Cadiz said. Oasis is providing the COFT-SA system software and program management, while Cubic is providing the system hardware and the Commander/Gunner turret crew station, the main feature of the system. The initial delivery will be for 15 mobile and nine fixed-site trainers, with options up to 45 over the four-year contract, as well as 69 individual commander, gunner and crew station tabletop trainers, which also can be linked together for full crew training. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in May 2011.

“In addition to the CETS software, there are substantial improvements in reliability and maintainability with the COFT-SA over legacy trainers, “said Cubic program manager Mike Hoffman.

“Since National Guard personnel have a very limited amount of time to train, maintaining trainer uptime is a critical factor. The COFT-SA is also based on the Bradley model which the National Guard will be getting for the most part, the M2/M3A2 Operation Desert Storm vehicle upgraded to ODS-Situational Awareness.”

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

PROTECTS YOUR MISSION

Gunnery Training System (AGTS) produced by Lockheed Martin Global Training and Logistics. The AGTS is used to provide gunnery training for more than a dozen armored vehicles, including the Abrams, Bradley and Stryker vehicles, the most recent addition being for the Stryker Mobile Gun System that features a 105-millimeter cannon.

According to Andre Elias, Director of Virtual Training Solutions for Lockheed Martin Global Training and Logistics, the company’s most recent effort to support the US Army has been to match the training system to changes on the Abrams tank platform. One of the most recent changes has been the addition of the Tank Urban Survivability Kit (TUSK), which includes such features as a crew remotely operated 50-millimeter machine gun. Nearly 900 Abrams tanks are now equipped with the TUSK. “One example of such upgrading is that urban part of the TUSK requires close-range gunnery, so the training system software has to change since the weapons system is more orientated towards closer combat than traditional long-range tank gunnery,” Elias explained. “The virtual environment also has to be updated to replicate training scenarios that are specifically aimed at an urban environment versus a long-range one. Keeping up with platforms is our number one priority, but fortunately technology advances allow us to do so in a much shorter timeframe than in the past.”

Overall, military budgets are strongly

Above The CAE-built T-90 tank driver trainer.

Image credit: CAE.

influencing the drive towards more simulation for tank training, Elias pointed out.

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

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

CAE has also developed a training system for India’s domestically developed and produced Arjun main battle tank. The Arjun driver trainer also employs a 6DOF motion platform. The training system includes a turret trainer for commander and gunner training. In August, India opened a Simulation Training Centre for the Arjun. ms&t

TRAINING & SIMULATION – as real as it gets – highly realistic vehicle simulations born from real vehicle expertise. | www.kmwsim.com |

Technology Application

MSHATF Benson MS&T’s Dim Jones recently visited the first of its kind PFI training facility.

Thirteen years in, it’s looking good.

S

ince the initial deployment to Saudi Arabia on Operation Granby – aka Gulf War 1 – in the autumn of 1990, no element of the Royal Air Force has been so heavily and continuously committed to Out-of-Area Operations as the Support Helicopter (SH) force. Granby was followed by Operation Provide Comfort in Eastern Turkey, then Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Gulf War 2, Iraq and finally Afghanistan. Throughout the period, the Falkland Islands commitment has endured. The heavy demands on crews, and on airframes in-theatre, have resulted in a need to make the very most of the resources left in UK, both for ab-initio and upgrade training, and for specific pre-deployment training (PDT).

Central to the strategy for coping with these requirements is the Medium Support Helicopter Aircrew Training Facility (MSHATF) at RAF Benson.

MSHATF was the first PFI contract of its type in the RAF, whereby CAE Air12

MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

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

Above The facility’s six Dynamic Mission Simulators are linked through the Tactical Control Centre (TCC).

Image credit: CAE.

ing array of threats, both surface-to-air and air-to-air, can be replicated, with attendant fires, explosions and bleeps and squeaks from the Radar Warning Receivers and Missile Approach Warners. The simulators have kept pace with the plethora of hardware and software changes initiated in the past few years

by Urgent Operational Requirements and other initiatives. They are currently being upgraded to be fully representative of the aircraft, including all role and defensive aids systems, and allow the crews to practise their tactics in a startlingly realistic environment which, in many cases, could not be reproduced for live training.

The TCC can also control hundreds of computer-generated inputs, embracing friendly, enemy and neutral forces.

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

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

Instructors (QHIs), whose instructor categories are ratified by the Central Flying School annually. The simulator facility is collocated with the ground school, whose instructors are also employed

by Serco and, crucially, with the Rotary Wing Operational Evaluation and Training Unit (RWOETU), the centre of excellence for the operational employment of SH. The customer’s team is headed

Above The author (right) at the controls of one of the facility’s three Chinook simulators.

Image credit: Gordon Woolley.

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

MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

13

Technology Application

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

Above Onboard – the instructor operating station.

Image credit: CAE.

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

14

MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

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

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

Thursday Wars can be used for a variety of purposes. PDT is an obvious example, but upgrade training and QHTI training are others. In the latter, the students are not only honing their personal skills, but are rehearsing their future roles as instructors to the exercise participants. There is also the opportunity to allow those who contribute to the mission in non-flying roles to ‘follow the aircraft over the hill’. For instance, legal advisers, specialising in the interpretation and application of Rules of Engagement, have the chance to see how quickly decisions have to be made based on information which is rarely black or white, but usually a murky shade of grey.

The SH force is also acutely aware that, while it fully occupies their attention at the moment, Afghanistan is not the whole story. The capabilities of MSHATF can equally be used to ensure that skill sets which are not required for Afghanistan – for instance, fighter evasion – are not lost.

Quality of Training So, has the PFI and the MSHATF been a success? Without intimate knowledge of the terms of the contract, it is impossible to say whether it has provided the value-for-money envisaged at the outset. However, based on the quality of training demonstrated during my short visit, and the obvious satisfaction of the customer, it has to be classed a success story. CAEATS are contracted to provide a certain number of simulator hours, for which the RAF pay, regardless of whether they are used.

Utilisation is currently running at 11000 hrs per annum, which is equivalent to the output of more than 3 operational

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

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

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

There is little doubt that increased use of synthetic training is the accepted way forward, especially since the ‘real flying’ die-hards of my generation are being replaced by the products of an age where simulation is accepted as an integral part of the package, rather than as an unsatisfactory cost-cutting substitute.

This is reflected in the conversion course for Merlin; new pilots will go ‘solo’ after 3 hours in the aircraft, but 26 in the simulator. The whole course is 67% synthetic, as is 33% of all continuation training and PDT; the Chinook and Puma rates are slightly lower than this, but moving

towards the Merlin rates, within a JHC policy of maximising synthetic capabilities and using the simulators as efficiently as possible. The statutory requirement is for 12 hours per year per crew; the average is actually about 35 hours.

Wg Cdr Roger Flynn and his staff are also giving thought to augmenting the capable but expensive FMSs with more costeffective Part-Task Trainers delivered at the point of need – be that in UK or in theatre.

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

MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

15

Training Technology

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

I

n the past, an Airman needing training would attend a training event or course, either onsite or on temporary duty, without much thought to cost and time. However, with today’s budgetary and resource constraints, the Air Force is investigating new, less expensive yet equally effective ways to augment training programs. One solution is through Modeling and Simulation (M&S) and the use of Live, Virtual, and Constructive (LVC) training environments. The Air Force Research Laboratory, 711th Human Performance Wing, Human Effectiveness Directorate, Warfighter Readiness Research Division (711 HPW/ RHA) is currently investigating the use of LVC components in an effort to increase robustness and decrease the cost of training Warfighters in both the air-to-air and air-to-surface mission arenas. Specifically, the 711 HPW/RHA at Mesa Research Site, Arizona, is investigating efficient ways to link systems together in joint and coali16 MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

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

LVC is the combination of live players, virtual (human-in-the-loop) platforms, and constructive (computer-generated) entities in a common battlespace.

While the “V” and “C” of LVC are M&S based (e.g., Distributed Mission Operations (DMO)), the goal of LVC is to better train live Warfighters in their respective weapon systems while not acting as a training aid to other players. LVC will deliver better performance based training to the live participant by providing a robust and dynamic training environment on live ranges (and eventually range-less operations). The 711HPW/RHA is working with in-house training testbed capabilities, various Major Commands, and coalition partners to research, test, and build this capability.

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

A Warfighter in the JTAC TRS 5m dome calling for CAS and providing talk-on for a virtual pilot to neutralize a constructive threat.

Image credit: AFRL.

through various integrated simulation environments. In response to a tasking from then USAF Secretary Roche to develop an integrated training capability for the Joint Terminal Attack and Control (JTAC) community, the 711 HPW/ RHA created the first JTAC Training and Rehearsal System (TRS). The program produced both a 360 degree and 5 Meter dome (220 degree field of view) to support the Integrated Theater Combat Operations Training Research Testbed at Mesa.

The domes have also been used in a variety of LVC events, including the first-ever connection of live F-16s to virtual JTAC trainers calling in Close Air Support (CAS) strikes, passing real-time data over 2000 miles with minimal latency.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Flight Training Without Physiological Stresses...

is Not Flight Training

...

TM

The Future of Human Performance Training and Research is TODAY! Announcing The Award of:

Future Home of the US Air Force ATFS-400 PHOENIX

FALCON Hypobaric (Altitude) Chamber Suite

ATFS-400 PHOENIX Centrifuge

GL-6000 GRYPHON

Future Home of the US Air Force FALCON Hypobaric Chamber Suite

Navy Research Facility

Future Home of the US Navy GL-6000 GRYPHON

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

ETCMST.com MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010 17

Training Technology

Nellis AFB, Nevada to evaluate LVC as a long term readiness enhancement capability for the USAF. The goal of the ACC LVC PP is to prove out integrated LVC training to its fullest potential. The use of modified test Operational Flight Program software will enable virtual and constructive threats to be displayed on the live aircraft’s defensive systems and prosecuted as real targets. The training is focused on the live asset using a dynamic training environment enhanced by rapidly positioning constructive threats throughout the range complex through the use of virtual and constructive threat generators.

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

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

AFRL’s debrief tools and technologies comprise the Performance Evaluation and Tracking System (PETS), starting as an AFRL and ACC ATD and currently in use at Mesa for the DMO Training Research program. By incorporating a performance measurement and assessment system, such as PETS, in an LVC network, numerous data points can 18 MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

be captured that were previously unobtainable during live-fly events.

Network traffic standards for data distributed on the network enterprise are essential to the success of assessment systems, and conforming to M&S standard data definition creates substantial efficiencies in the development of metrics and algorithms for analysis.

711 HPW/RHA has also demonstrated data, in its native format from operational aircraft and other systems in the form of a proprietary “standard,” can also be harvested, transformed and used in the assessment process.

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

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

LVC in action: all elements of the Integrated Theater Combat Operations Training Research Testbed working together to represent the entire kill chain.

Image credit: AFRL.

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

LVC is being investigated as a potential way forward for training Warfighters within multiple environments. Technology evaluations, multiple use cases, and performance based metrics, to name a few, are being used to look at current training through an LVC lens. In collaboration with ACC, USAFE, and coalition partners, AFRL is investigating the potential utility of LVC at varying levels of integration (from full sensor stimulation on live platforms via virtual and constructive systems to situational awareness displays only). These multiple efforts support future LVC developments and offer potential solutions to future training shortfalls for various weapons systems. It will take time to prove the utility of LVC, but the 711 HPW/RHA is leading the way with collaboration and guidance from end users, the Warfighters. ms&t About the Authors Both Ms Kristen Barrera and 1Lt Kara Thoreson are with the 711th Human Performance Wing, Warfighter Readiness Research Division. AFRL Mesa Research Site, AZ.

Advertisement

Realistic Helicopter Training Rosoboronexport is now emphasising total helicopter systems – including training –and their customers benefit; they save resources and reduce risk.

<< T

he development of advanced computer technologies now enables ground-based simulators to discharge 90 per cent of helicopter pilot training tasks. At the present time, air forces of almost all developed countries have introduced a common practice of simulator training, which is efficient and highly advantageous, saving jet fuel and aircraft service lives. According to experts, ground-based simulators account for 70 per cent of flight crew combat training in European countries. Simulator training provides another advantage â&#x20AC;&#x201C; safety; safety is a crucial advantage, especially as far as young and inexperienced pilots are concerned.

Advertisement Nowadays simulators facilitate basic flight training, advanced training in operating helicopter systems, flight crew teamwork training, and emergency training.

Modern Russian-made simulators simulate aircraft, their flight dynamics, and operation of their onboard systems with a high degree of fidelity. Simulated flight visual effects are amazingly realistic â&#x20AC;&#x201C; modern systems are capable of simulating any time of day, various weather conditions, and any terrain with corresponding features.

Cutting-edge simulators offer efficient trainee monitoring systems, simulated flight recording and playback systems, and flight crew action evaluation systems.

Technologies, inherent in Russian-made products, allow remote simulators of different types and with different functions (flight, naval, and ground simulators) to be integrated into simulator systems, which enable trainees and instructors to conduct simultaneous exercises in a common simulated, information, and visual environment.

Advanced helicopter simulators, developed and manufactured in Russia, strive for the best cost-efficiency ratio and are based on the standard IBM-compatible software and hardware. It ensures high reliability, easy operation and modernisation.

Russia has been considered to be one of the leading combat helicopter manufacturers for a long time. A total of 65,000 rotary-wing aircraft have been manufactured across the world since 1950. About 26,000 of them, including 6,000 exported helicopters, were built in Russia. A considerable number of Russian-made helicopters operate in Southeast Asia, driving a need for training centres to provide basic flight training to young pilots, and advanced combat training to seasoned ones.

The international helicopter simulator market is believed to account for 15 per cent of the overall sales of arms and materiel and amount to approximately US $500 million plus. In addition, this market foresees a rapid development. The current international growth trend boils down to the fact that simulators can be used for both training pilots, tank crews, sailors, and missile system crews, and conducting large-scale military exercises, while accurately determining ammunition expenditures and fuel consumption, and allocating required forces and assets to accomplish tactical and strategic combat missions; at the same time simulators save every car-

tridge, shell, or ounce of fuel. They ensure detailed monitoring and analysis of every stage of an exercise, and playback of any action, if necessary.

The Rosoboronexport Corporation, Russiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only enterprise authorised to export and import the entire range of military and dual-purpose products, technologies and services, intends to significantly improve its position in this growing market by expanding the number of foreign customers and the range of simulators offered.

Previously Rosoboronexport focussed on selling helicopters proper; now, potential customers, including those in Southeast Asia, are offered a helicopter system, comprising both rotary-wing aircraft, and state-of-the-art training aids, including full-mission and flight/navigation simulators of various levels and computer-based classroom training systems. According to experts, Russia may secure about eight per cent of the international helicopter market by 2015. It plans to manufacture more than 200 rotary-wing aircraft this year alone, while, on the whole, Russian helicopter production rates grow by 20-30 per cent on an annual basis. Deliveries of helicopter simulators will increase correspondingly.

Rosoboronexport establishes productive cooperation with both national, and flagship international simulator manufac-

turers. Foreign companies are interested in using certain Russian systems in their simulators. It is a positive example of the world-wide integration in the field of military-technical cooperation.

Efforts, undertaken by the corporation in the past few years, have resulted in boosting exports of all types of simulators more than 20-fold from US $10 million in 2004 up to US $250-300 million as of now. Rosoboronexport is currently considering dozens of requests of foreign customers for procurement of Russian training aids. Such positive dynamics prove the efficiency of the new military hardware sales policy, pursued by the Rosoboronexport Corporation.

At the moment, in the international arms market, Russiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s special exporter actively promotes full-mission and procedure-oriented simulators, designed for basic and advanced flight and combat training of flight crews, manning such helicopters as Mi-8, Mi-17, Mi-24, Mi-35, Mi-26, Mi-28NE, Ka-27, Ka-28, Ka-31, Ka-32, Ka-52A, and Ka-60. These simulators meet international simulator requirements in terms of quality and accuracy of simulated flight data and the level of detail and accuracy of visual scenes. Russian simulators have proved themselves in many countries, operating Russian helicopters. The Mexican Navy airbase in Veracruz houses a Mi-17 pilot training centre, equipped with a Russian-made simulator.

Delivering a speech at the training centre opening ceremony, Mexican Secretary of the Navy Vice Admiral Marco Antonio Peyrot Gonzalez highly appreciated the Russian simulator. Mexico operates about 60 Russian helicopters. In Venezuela, a training facility, fitted with Russian simulators, is being built. Russia also develops simulators for Syria and certain Southeast Asian and African countries.

In order to meet requests of its foreign partners Rosoboronexport offers multilevel logistic and technical support with respect to simulators delivered to customers. It renders various services pertaining to simulator deliveries and upgrades, as well as consultations on simulator maintenance in any form acceptable to the customer.

Regardless of the location, the corporation constantly monitors the state of products delivered and their software.

At the present time Russian helicopter simulator manufacturers have reached such a level of real-life effects that the dif-

Advertisement ference in the pilot’s sensations during a real flight and a simulated one is extremely imperceptible. At the same time priority is assigned to the following aspects in the course of design, production, and exports of training aids.

Safety Russia pays much attention to safe operation of its aircraft. Thus, every helicopter delivery is accompanied by an offer to supply simulators of various levels of sophistication. Our strategic goal is to save military aircraft for combat missions and prevent man-caused failures, let alone air crashes, in the course of training flights. At the same time a simulator will allow pilots to develop automatic skills in beyond-critical modes of operation, in a dogfight, and after sustaining various types of damage, while saving human lives and combat aircraft.

Precision A high precision of simulation is achieved through direct cooperation with helicopter manufacturers. Initial data packages on all versions of Mil- and Kamov-family helicopters have officially been delivered to Russian simulator manufacturers, such as R.E.T. Kronshtadt Co., Ltd, under contracts with the Rosoboronexport Corporation.

Realistic Environment The Russian-made Aurora external visual environment simulation system is designed specially for helicopter simulators. The Aurora system boasts all capabilities, inherent in advanced visual environment display systems, such as a multi-channel capability, a high resolution, independent vision scale correction, stitching, and blending, automated generation and texturing of images of landscapes, populated areas, and airports, realistic simulation of celestial bodies: gradient changes of the illumination depending on the coordinates and the time of day, season, and many other capabilities.

Aurora also simulates a flight crew’s operation in third-generation night vision goggles with the help of organic night vision goggles.

It also extremely accurately simulates operation of optronic systems (FLIR), searchlights, and radars.

and vibration simulation systems, produced by the world’s recognised leading manufacturers in the international simulator market, such as MOOG-FCS.

Armament The issue of flight safety holds especially true for combat aircraft. Risks, resulting from combat piloting techniques, are further aggravated by fire of aircraft weapon systems. Russian simulators simulate fullscale operation of weapon suites mounted on helicopters, including gun armament, missiles, rocket projectiles, air bombs, and air-to-air missiles.

Integration Nowadays it is impossible to overestimate the importance of teamwork training and accomplishment of tactical missions.

Russian helicopter simulators are fully compatible with the IEEE 1516 protocol and the most successful HLA RTI implementations. Training centres, equipped with advanced Russian simulators, are fully compatible with each other and can facilitate joint virtual manoeuvres, involving air, naval, and land forces. In order to ensure integration and scalability of a simulation system, as well as generate a virtual tactical environment for all participants in a simulated battle Rosoboronexport offers tactical simulation systems, which integrate simulators into tactical networks. It goes without saying that such capabilities provide for both unimpeded exchange of the results of an exercise, trainee database support and access, and a boost of the simulation system’s capabilities for follow-up headquarters training (Constructive Training).

Integrated Logistic Support Motion Systems Russian helicopter simulators are fitted with electromechanical motion bases, load

Sound planning and consistent implementation of the integrated logistic support ensure a high availability ratio of simula-

tors, thus, facilitating non-stop and highly efficient training of flight crews.

Given the rapidly changing financial situation, much importance is attached to determining simulator ownership costs in order to further streamline operational costs; this is impossible without ILS measures that envision acquisition, processing, and analysis of data on the simulator operation throughout its life cycle from development until scrapping. The simulator ILS is based on MIL-STD-1369 (EC) and DEF STAN 00-60 Integrated Logistic Support (ILS) standards, as well as the latest Russian achievements in this sphere.

Objective Military service is a risk; the trade of a military pilot has risk and responsibility for human lives and hardware, which becomes more sophisticated and expensive with every passing year.

Our objective is to enable professionals to demonstrate and hone their best skills without jeopardising human lives, but simultaneously husbanding the national budget and helicopter service lives.

The importance of employing cuttingedge simulators has always been obvious to professionals involved in helicopter crew training. Moreover, it is time stateof-the-art simulators, rather than real aircraft, shouldered a greater training burden (Virtual Training). The reasons are obvious – a cost reduction, a husbandry of service lives of helicopters and their armament, etc. However, the main reason consists in ensuring the safety of flight crews, especially when they carry out flights in adverse conditions and practice combat missions and actions in various emergencies. Jointly with Russian simulator manufacturers, Rosoboronexport is ready to meet any request of its customers. The status of the sole state intermediary provides the corporation with a unique opportunity to expand and strengthen long-term mutually beneficial cooperation with foreign partners.

National Focus

Towards a European Army?

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

E

urope’s long journey in search of a common defence started only a few years after World War II. In 1952, France, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg and West Germany signed the Treaty for the European Defence Community (EDC). The pact launched by early advocates of European unity provided for pan-European military forces, a common budget, arms and institutions, and centralised military procurement. However, the ECD never came into effect, because it failed ratification in the French parliament. Reservations about Germany’s remilitarisation were just too strong in these early post-war years. Remarkably enough, none of the later treaties came any closer to a true European military force than the EDC. During the decades of the Cold War, European defence ambitions were clearly overshadowed by NATO. It was

only after the Soviet Union collapsed that European protagonists started reconsidering a European concept of common defence. The decisive impetus for moving Europe’s defence policy from the drawing board to action, however, was provided by the Yugoslav Wars (19911995), which all too clearly revealed Europe’s shameful incapacity to solve a conflict on its own continent without American help.

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

Above EUPOL Afghanistan providing checkpoint training in Kabul.

Image credit: Council of the European Union.

autonomous European Rapid Reaction Force (ERRF). Since then, the ESDP has developed rapidly. Since January 2007, 60,000 soldiers have been available for the EU Battle Groups that replaced the concept of the ERRF. The Lisbon Treaty originally conceived as a Constitution for Europe, entered into force in December 2009.

In it the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) replaces the ESDP, a more than merely symbolic upgrade. The CSDP represents the Member State’s greater willingness to develop the military arm of an EU whose security policy is based on NATO, without, however, prejudicing MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

23

National Focus

some Member States’ neutrality towards NATO. The Lisbon Treaty also formally introduces the European Defence Agency, which will oversee the capability definition and development process, including the aim to “strengthen the industrial base of the defence sector”.

The EDA has thus become a keystone of the CSDP. The CSDP also greatly expands tasks, which are now: “joint disarmament operations, humanitarian and rescue tasks, military advice and assistance tasks, conflict prevention and peace-keeping tasks, tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peace-making and post-conflict stabilisation.” All these tasks may contribute to the global fight against terrorism, including by supporting third countries in combating terrorism in their territories.

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

EUPOL Afghanistan aims to contribute to the establishment of sustainable and effective civilian policing arrangements under Afghan ownership in accordance with international standards. More particularly, the mission aims to bring together individual national efforts under an EU hat, taking due account of relevant Community activities. The mission monitors, mentors, advises and trains at the level of the Afghan Ministry of Interior, regions and provinces. In May 2010, the Council extended the mission for a further three years until 31 May 2013.

EUTM Somalia, a military operation, contributes to the training of Somali security forces. The main objective is to make the Somali Army strong enough to crack down on pirates off and along the Somali coast, thus complementing maritime sur24

MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

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

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

Above EUTM training activities for Somalia.

Image credit: Council of the European Union.

States are making a permanent operational contribution to the operation.

EUPOL-COPPS builds on the work of the EU Coordination Office for Palestinian Police Support established earlier within the office of the EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process. The EU, which has always been at the forefront of peace efforts in the Middle East, supports the Palestinian Authority in taking responsibility for law and order and, in particular, in improving its civil police and law enforcement capacity. The aim of the Mission, which started in January 2006, is to contribute to the establishment of sustainable and effective policing arrangements and to advise Palestinian counterparts on criminal justice and rule-of-law-related aspects in accordance with the best international standards.

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

country to any possible security challenges. EUFOR continues to provide active support to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in pursuit of persons indicted for war crimes. In January 2010, the Council of the EU decided to start providing non-executive capacity-building and training support that would contribute to strengthening local authorities.

EUFOR also supports the implementation of a number of tasks that have been transferred from the operation to local authorities, i.e. countermine activities and the management of weapons and ammunition storage sites.

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

national armed forces, towards ever closer synchronisation.

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

A European Army?

Get Real!

Get Real!

Get Real!

It is anticipated that over the next few years the EU will in fact expand its international commitments under its own flag and identity. But will this also lead to a true European military force?

The Lisbon Treaty provides that military capabilities remain in national hands.

However, it also stipulates that Member States can voluntarily pool civilian and military resources for the implementation of Common Security and Defence operations.

At the Seventh Congress on European Security and Defence held in Berlin in November 2008, Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament, introduced SAFE (Synchronised Armed Forces Europe), a concept for the ever closer synchronisation of European armed forces in the context of the European Security and Defence Policy. In January 2009 the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs endorsed the concept by a wide majority and incorporated it into the European Parliament’s annual report on the European Security and Defence Policy. Discussions concerning the implementation of the concept are currently taking place in the Council of the European Union.

SAFE is based on voluntary participation (opt-in model) and is intended to lead to the synchronisation of European armed forces. It stands for the dynamic further development of the current arrangements, which amount to little more than close cooperation between

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

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

From the makers of AIMTEST, American Apex Corporation Introduces: From the makers of AIMTEST, American Apex Corporation Introduces: From the makers of AIMTEST, American Apex Corporation Introduces: From the makers of AIMTEST, American Apex Corporation Introduces:

The Gunnery Training System A The Live-Fire SolutionTraining - Not Simulation Gunnery System The Gunnery Training System A Live-Fire Solution - Not Simulation The Gunnery Training System A Live-Fire Solution - Not Simulation A Live-Fire Solution - Not Simulation

American Apex Corporation

The Strategic Solution to: Gunnery Training Solutions American Apex Corporation • Training Budget CutsSolution to: The Strategic Gunnery Training Solutions Providing realistic live fire gunnery American Apex Corporation American Apex • Limited Range Availability training solutions to the Corporation US military and The Strategic Solution to: Gunnery Training Solutions • Training Budget Cuts The Strategic Solution to: theGunnery Training Solutions world since 1992. live Providing realistic fire gunnery • Crew Turbulence

TrainingRange Budget Cuts ••Training Limited • BudgetAvailability Cuts • Limited Range Availability • Limited Crew Turbulence • Range Availability • Crew Turbulence • Crew Turbulence Training System

training solutions tolive thefire US military Providing realistic gunneryand 8515Providing Rausch realistic live fire gunnery the worldDrive since 1992. training solutions to the US military and Plain City, OH 43064 USA training solutions to the US military and the world since 1992.

Toll-Free: 1-800-860-APEX the since 1992. (2739) 8515world Rausch Drive Outside & 43064 Canada: Plain the City,US OH USA 8515 Rausch Drive +001 614-652-2000 8515 Rausch Drive Toll-Free: 1-800-860-APEX (2739) Providing a sub-caliber training solution for all auto cannon Plain City, OH 43064 USA Fax:Plain 614-652-2001 City, OH 43064 USA Outside the US & Canada: and chain gun equipped armored and infantry fighting Toll-Free: 1-800-860-APEX (2739) Toll-Free: 1-800-860-APEX (2739) +001 614-652-2000 Providing a sub-caliber training solution for all auto cannon Outside the US & Canada: vehicles from 20-40MM. info@americanapex.com Outside the US & Canada: Fax: 614-652-2001 and chain gun equipped armored and infantry fighting +001 614-652-2000 Providing a sub-caliber training solution for all auto cannon +001 614-652-2000 Providing a sub-caliber training solution for all auto cannon www.americanapex.com Fax: 614-652-2001 vehicles from Fax: 614-652-2001 info@americanapex.com and chain chain gun20-40MM. equipped armored armoredand andinfantry infantryfighting fighting and gun equipped www.americanapex.com vehicles from 20-40MM. info@americanapex.com vehicles from 20-40MM. info@americanapex.com www.americanapex.com www.americanapex.com

The New Gunnery The New Gunnery Training System The New New Gunnery Gunnery Training Training System System The

MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

25

National Focus

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

T

he Hinterstoisser Airbase in Zeltweg, Austria is well known to aviation enthusiasts and planespotters in Europe and abroad. In 2003 and 2005, hundreds of thousands of visitors made their way to the AirPower air show, a favourite of aviation fans and a meeting place for Europe’s most famous display teams.

While one would have expected the success to continue in 2007, the show was not held. However, that was the year the Eurofighter came to Austria, and to Zeltweg, so all was not lost for Austrian fans.

AirPower returned to the Hinterstoisser Airbase in 2009 and was reported to be an unqualified success.

Decisions In July 2002, the Austrian government announced the decision to make the Eurofighter its new fighter aircraft. The decision came as a surprise to many, and was not uncontroversial. Many insiders 26

MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

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

Above Austria became the Eurofighter’s launch export customer after the four core nations.

Image credit: Eurofighter/Geoffrey Lee.

was agreed on 1 July 2003 provided for the delivery of 18 aircraft, plus logistics, maintenance, training and a simulator.

In June 2007, the Austrian Minister of Defence, Norbert Darabos, reduced that number one last time to 15 aircraft. One month later, on 12 July 2007, the first Eurofighter arrived at Zeltweg and formally entered into service in the Austrian Air Force.

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

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

The Training Centre The training centre, dubbed ASZZ, the German abbreviation for ‘Training and Simulation Centre Zeltweg’, commenced operations in 2007, even before the first real aircraft landed in Zeltweg. It was the result of the efforts of a working group that already had a great influence on the design and organisation of the later training institution at the planning stage. Led by Colonel Wolfgang Kralicek, Chief of the Training Equipment & Simulation Section at the Federal Ministry of Defence and Sport, this group prepared the set-up of the Eurofighter Aircrew Synthetic Training Aids (ASTA) and the Ground Training Aids, as well as their integration into the newly built centre. Director Daniel Kraus, now head of the ASZZ, was responsible for organising the construction work on site. “The layout of this centre, in regard to training and education, was managed by us,” says Colonel Wolfgang Kralicek. “Of course, there were architects from the military construction authority, but eventually we had a real say in where equipment would go, and how much space it would take up!” The working group took into account experience gained by the German air force at its training centre in Laage. The final architectural and functional layout, however, was based on Austrian requirements, and tailored to suit the organisational processes of the ASZZ. The result demonstrates what happens when the right experts are given a free hand.

The building is spacious; the modern building concept provides for the modular expansion of the individual functional areas in order to enable the centre to grow in line with operational demands. “Right now we have one full mission simulator,” explains the Colonel. “To train ‘leader/wingman formation’, we need a second simulator,” he explains. The Interim Training Device, the forerunner of the full mission simulator that existed at the time, was not exactly what the Austrians were looking for. “But we could have been rightly blamed if we had planned to build this centre for one simulator and a desktop trainer alone,” Kralicek continues. In fact, the premises were even large enough to accommodate temporarily limited other units, for example the flight squadron and the aircraft maintenance yard, at the start of the renovation phase.

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

Cut Costs with COTS At Antycip Simulation, we believe that our customers can reduce their development costs with the use of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) technologies.

Over the past 15 years, we have built a strong portfolio of Open Standards based COTS toolkits. Our mission is to help our customers successfully design, build and deliver, flexible and reusable systems, with open architectures that are capable of incorporating both current and future technologies.

www.antycipsimulation.com

MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

27

National Focus

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

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

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

Overall, the Austrian Air Force has 16 Eurofighter pilots at its disposal.

Twenty-three were originally planned, but when the fleet was reduced, the number of pilots was downsized as well.

These pilots underwent training based on NATO’s standard six-phase training model. Basic training is done in Austria.

Some Phase IV lead-in fighter training was done at the NATO Flying Training Centre in Canada in the last three years; 28

MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

Above Colonel Wolfgang Kralicek (left) and Director Daniel Kraus contributed substantially to shaping the ASZZ. Left The Eurofighter Full Mission Simulator at the ASZZ. Both image credits: ASZZ.

the last two pilots graduating in March 2010. Due to the lack of two-seaters, the actual conversion training for the Eurofighter has to be done in Germany.

This training includes mission essentials which prepares the pilots for their air policing role in the Austrian sky.

Fast Jet Air Police Safeguarding Austrian airspace is an important political commitment, as no one may enter Austrian airspace without authorisation. However, and this is another Austrian idiosyncrasy, this is considered to be a job for the police.

The Eurofighters’ main role is as fast jet air police, since it is they who are tasked with preventing incursions, penetrations, and other violations of Austrian airspace; the Eurofighter is a defence system that is perfectly suited to air policing. Agile and fast, it can no longer be outmanoeuvred or outrun by the intruder. This task is completed in cooperation with the subsonic Saab 105 trainers stationed at the Hörsching Airbase in Upper Austria, and the radars of the Austrian Air Surveillance System “Goldhaube” (Gold Bonnet).

Interception over Austria’s alpine territory is an extremely complex task.

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

Training Technology

Left US Army MG Stephen Layfield, Director of USJFCOM Joint Training provided a keynote address at the 2010 ADL Fest.

Image credit: Team Orlando.

ADL Continues to Lead After 10 years of growth, ADL remains an exemplar.

Chuck Weirauch reports on the recent ADL Fest.

A

t the 10th Annual Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Implementation Fest in Orlando this August, ADL leaders paused for an introspective look at the last decade’s progress and discussed future plans to embrace the latest technological advances. ADL Fest presenters described the ADL path from an initial rush to pepper the Internet with PowerPoint courseware, through the development and worldwide acceptance of the SCORM standard, to the work that now lies ahead: to broaden the scope of ADL to enhance civilian as well as military math and science education, and to incorporate virtual worlds and social media technologies.

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

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

Paul Jesukiewicz, Senior ADL Advisor for the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense (OUSD) Office of the Director of Readiness and Training Policy and Programs, described how the ADL Initiative is helping the DoD meet its 2010-2012 Performance Objectives of Total Force readiness as well as the mission-readiness of the civilian workforce. He also outlined how Kalil’s OSTP might collaborate with OSD, the OSD Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Office and the DoD Education Activity (DoDEA) to employ intelligent tutors for biotechnical, robotics, modeling and simulation and K through 12 language and culture curricula.

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

ing Registry with the National Science Foundation, the White House OSTP, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Archives and Records Administration as well as the data.gov team. The intent is to eventually make certain Learning Registry content available worldwide, In addition, Jesukiewicz also cited the kickoff of a new OSD study on virtual worlds that is designed to determine how this technology can be advanced to better support DoD training. Joe Camacho, Director of the Joint Knowledge Development and Distribution Capability (JKDDC) for the US Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) told the ADLFest audience how his organization plans to move towards the incorporation of virtual worlds-based curricula for its Joint Knowledge Online (JKO) portal. Douglas Maxwell of the US Army’s Research Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM)’s Simulation and Training Technology Center (STTC) provided an overview of the Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC)’s Virtual Worlds Project.

Kristy Murray, Director of the ADL Initiative, gave an overview of how ADL has grown over the past decade and how distributed immersive learning opportunities have expanded with the proliferation of mobile communications, virtual worlds, social networking platforms and advanced gaming technology.

She emphasized how the ADL Initiative has, can and should capitalize on these technologies to improve and expand the reach of ADL courseware.

Indeed, emphasis was placed on all of these technologies in special sessions devoted to them throughout the ADL Fest. Other conference sessions included those given by panels of US service ADL program managers who highlighted how the number of users and online courses successfully completed has risen dramatically over the past two years. A description of the new ADL 3D content repository was also given. More information on the 2010 ADL Fest proceedings can be accessed at http://www.adlnet.gov under the ADL Announcements section. ms&t MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

29

Image credit: US Navy/Todd Hack

Training Technology

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

R

ecognizing the value of simulation technology for medical training and education, the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is implementing its Simulation Learning, Education and Research Network (SimLEARN) throughout its entire system of more than 170 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical centers: work has begun on the SimLEARN National Center in Orlando.

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

The SimLEARN National Center will be located on the campus of the new Orlando VA Medical Center which is part of the new “Medical City” campus at Lake Nona. The National Center is scheduled to open its doors in June 2012. Once in operation, the Orlando facility will feature inpatient and outpatient settings and 30

MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

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

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

The VA is focusing on medical simulation because it improves the quality of

care to the patient, Van Diepen explained.

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

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

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

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

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

naTional Training and simulaTion associaTion

THe worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largesT modeling & simulaTion evenT

I/ITSEC

InterservIce/Industry traInIng, sImulatIon & educatIon conference

why I/Itsec? u 18,000 Industry experts u 550 exhibiting companies u 160 technical sessions/tutorials

te!

Save the da

er â&#x20AC;&#x201C; b m e v o N 9 2 2 December

w w w . I I t s e c . o r g 29 november-2 december, 2010 u orlando, Florida

world news & analysis

Seen&Heard Edited by Chuck Weirauch.

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

Air Force Training CAE USA Upgrades C-5 Weapons System Trainers - CAE USA won a contract from the United States Air Force (USAF) worth more than $10 million to upgrade two C-5 Galaxy weapon systems trainers (WSTs). The contract includes options to upgrade more C-5 WSTs and C-5 cockpit procedures trainers that could bring the value to more than $50 million.

As the prime contractor, CAE USA will upgrade the C-5 training devices to ensure concurrency with current aircraft upgrades being performed as part of the C-5 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) and the C-5 Reliability Enhancement Re-engining Program (RERP).

Initially, CAE will upgrade a C-5 WST at Stewart Air National Guard Base (ANGB) to the new C-5 AMP configuration.

Another C-5 WST at Dover Air Force Base that was already upgraded by CAE to the AMP configuration several years ago will be upgraded to the RERP configuration, which includes new engine performance simulation software and a new aerodynamics model that simulates the improved engine performance.

MetaVR Software for F-16 FMTs - Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, AZ, recently purchased 53 MetaVR Virtual Reality Scene Generator (VRSG) licenses for use in their F-16 full mission training simulators. MetaVR's software will be fielded on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)-based PC image generators using the latest game-level 3D graphics cards.

These VRSG licenses replace the Presagis Lyra-based solutions in the existing four training dome systems for the US Air Force Education and Training Command (AETC) which were installed at the site in 2007 and 2008.

The MetaVR VRSG licenses will be used to equip four dome-based systems that contain a full cockpit replica of an 32

MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

actual F-16. For each F-16 cockpit trainer, the VRSG multichannel visual system includes 10 out-the-window channels and two sensor channels. The systems also include new COTS PC hardware to replace Concurrent PCs. As part of the sale, MetaVR is building and will deliver high-fidelity geospecific 3D terrain of Luke AFB, to include the airfield and the Barry M. Goldwater Range.

US Air Force Reviewing New Training Campus - The U.S. Air Force awarded an independent-study contract to DP Technology Services Inc., to research the development of an advanced operational-level C2, or command and control, training campus at Hurlbert Field, Florida. The study will address training gaps and standardization for air, space and cyberspace C2 warfighters and the creation of a C2 campus.

The goal is an integrated campus that will consolidate formal training for component-numbered Air Forces, air and space operations centers and Air Force forces staffs. DP’s report will provide recommendations for C-NAF, AOC and AFFOR staff training requirements at all

Above MetaVR’s VRSG rendering of an F-16C approaching Luke AFB. Image credit: MetaVR.

levels – initial and mission qualification, continuation, advanced and functional.

The study also will address senior leader C2 training requirements and should be ready in January, 2011.

SDS Upgrades F-16 MTTs - SDS International (SDS) has been awarded a multiyear contract to provide a full range of specialized operational and technical support and Distributed Mission Operations (DMO) conversions for Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) F-16 multi-task trainers (MTT). Work will be performed at Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Texas; Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida; and Mesa, Arizona.

To support DMO conversions, SDS will implement Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards to ensure F-16 MTT interoperability in the DMO

network. Support will also include integration of Distributed Interactive Simulation and High Level Architecture into the modeling and simulation environment.

CAE USA C-130H Simulator to Egypt - CAE has won a United States Air Force contract to design and manufacture a C-130H full mission simulator for the Egyptian Air Force. The contract was awarded to CAE USA under the United States foreign military sale (FMS) program.

The C-130H full mission simulator for the Egyptian Air Force will be delivered to Cairo, Egypt during 2013. The simulator will feature CAE True electric motion system as well as CAE's latest generation visual solution, including a 210 degree by 50 degree display system and CAE Medallion-6000 image generator Advanced Helmet Mounted Display for Australian Air Force - L-3 Link Simulation & Training (L-3 Link) made its first international sale of its Advanced Helmet Mounted Display to Raytheon Australia in support of the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) Hornet Aircrew Training System (HACTS).

L-3 Link will provide Advanced Helmet Mounted Displays (AHMD) to support pilot training on the RAAF’s three F/A-18 Tactical Readiness Trainers (TRT). The new AHMDs will replace current fixed field-of-view flat panel displays, allowing pilots to view out-the-window imagery and systems symbology over a 360-degree field-of-regard. The AHMDs will be delivered to two RAAF installations during the third quarter of 2011.

tors and services will allow 25 percent more students to take the Initial Entry Rotary Wing course, where officers learn the skills to become an Army aviator.

L-3 Link Full-Motion UH-60M Simulators for FS XXI - L-3 Link Simulation & Training (L-3 Link) has been awarded a contract modification from Computer Sciences Corporation to provide three UH-60M Operational Flight Trainers (OFTs) in support of training services for the U.S. Army’s Flight School XXI program.

These systems will be the first full-motion, high-fidelity simulators to support UH-60M aircrew training.

The first UH-60M OFT, which will be installed at Flight School XXI’s Warrior Hall, will enter accreditation testing and achieve ready-for-training status in the fourth quarter of 2012. This contract modification brings the number of training devices L-3 Link has or is in the process of delivering to Flight School XXI to 35.

“When these simulation services are provided to Flight School XXI, they will be provided with the highest fidelity UH-60M Operational Flight Trainers in the world,” said Bob Birmingham, president of L-3 Link. “UH-60M Operational Flight Trainers will enable aircrews to gain aircraft-equivalent training for all modes of flight, developing the skills they will need to successfully undertake sling load, shipboard and troop movement operations.”

Bluedrop Performance Learning for CH-147F Courseware CAE Inc. has awarded Bluedrop Performance Learning a contract to provide a comprehensive online (computer based training) and classroom (computer aided instruction) based courseware solution for the Boeing CH-147F Chinook helicopter. This training will be developed in support of the Canadian Forces and will help pilots and other aircrew learn essential skills as part of their training to fly and operate the Chinook helicopter. Before the project is completed by early 2013, over 60,000 person hours of labor will be invested to create more than 400 hours of end training.

Training Aircraft BAE Systems Pitches Hawk Trainer to US Air Force - BAE Systems has announced that it will pursue the US Air Force's Advanced Pilot Training Family of Systems with the Hawk Advanced Jet Training System. BAE Systems is well positioned to compete for the USAF Advanced Pilot Training (ATP) Family of Systems (FOS) - commonly called the T-X system - and to provide the training system for the next generation of operational pilots.

Larry Prior, Executive Vice President of Service Sectors for BAE Systems said: "BAE Systems will prime this pursuit from its US business and leverage its extensive experience and highly relevant global capabilities to offer the most advanced family of systems available now to replace the aging T-38 training system.

We will pursue strategic partners in the US to provide best value to the US Air Force while investing in the US industrial base."

The Hawk Advanced Jet Training System does not require development to meet the Air Force's desired 2017 Initial Operational Capability date, and it will substantially lower the total cost of training mission-ready pilots.

The Hawk family is the F-35 lead-in trainer for the US Navy, Royal Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force. More than 900 Hawk aircraft have been delivered across 18 countries and more are on order in support of training current and future pilots.

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

Helicopter Training Flight School XXI Contract - CSC has been awarded a $28 million modification to its Flight School XXI contract for an increase in simulator-based flight and related aviation training support to the US Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Ft. Rucker, Ala. The Flight School XXI contract modification is issued through the Army's Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI). Under the terms of the contract, CSC will provide training services for new Army aircraft configurations to support aviation training activities. This increase in simula-

Wednesday 17 – Thursday 18 November 2010 No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ, UK Has Flight Simulation technology reached a plateau? Are there still challenges to be resolved?

Join us at this Royal Aeronautical Society conference where we will identify and address these challenges.

www.aerosociety.com/conference Sponsored by:

MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010 787 RAeS_flight_sim_qrt_ad_F.ind1 1

33

4/8/10 16:35:40

world news & analysis

Bluedrop will create over 20 new permanent positions for Instructional Designers, and developers to fulfill its obligations to this contract.

MetaVR Systems in Kiowa Warrior Simulators - MetaVR has reported that the Armed Scout Helicopter Project Office has recently updated seven Kiowa Warrior Cockpit Procedures Trainer (CPT) systems with the MetaVR Virtual Reality Scene Generator (VRSG). Six systems are fielded at Kiowa Academics at Ft. Rucker, AL, and one system is fielded at the AMCOM Software Engineering Directorate (SED) in Huntsville, AL. The MetaVR visual systems replaced eight Evans and Sutherland ESIG 4530 image generators (Evans and Sutherland is now part of Rockwell Collins).

The Kiowa Warrior Cockpit CPT provides OH-58D pilots with the procedural training required to accomplish most mission tasks required of the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. The trainer systems use the shell of an actual OH-58 with all its control switches. Each system fielded at Ft. Rucker has three VRSG channels, one outthe-window channel and two cockpit displays. The main development system has additional channels that further expand

the out-the-window display on the left, forward, and right. In addition to delivering 26 VRSG channels, MetaVR developed and delivered high-resolution 3D databases of Ft. Rucker and Ft. Hunter Liggett. Each database is 100 x 100 km built from 1 meter imagery and 30 meter elevation posting.

US Army Training AMSO Support Contract - Alion Science and Technology won a $3.6 million task order to continue its support of the Army Modeling and Simulation Office (AMSO). Alion will provide subject matter expertise and services to support AMSO and the Modeling and Simulation Proponent Office’s mission to train and supply qualified M&S professionals to the Army, recruit and manage the M&S community to best meet the Army's warfighting needs and to create a fully trained Army M&S community. Alion personnel will also analyze technical requirements and conduct staff-level research.

Joint Training CACI Supports STRATCOM Joint Exercise and Training - CACI International, Inc. announced that it has been awarded a $22 million task order

to support research, information analysis, exercise and training development, and technical support to implement the United States Strategic Command's (USSTRATCOM) joint training objectives.

The contract, for one base year and three option years, was awarded under the U.S. Air Force's United States Strategic Command Systems and Missions Support (USAMS) II contract vehicle. The contract supports the growth of CACI's business in its PM SETA (Program Management and Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance) core competency.

CACI is providing support to USSTRATCOM for joint exercise and training execution and a wide range of training services, including support for mission area training. CACI services and solutions are expected to help USSTRATCOM increase command preparedness and proficiency through realistic training scenarios, training objective development and lessons learned collection and analysis.

Follow-on for US Service Predeployment Training - Cubic Corporation’s Mission Support Services segment won a two-year follow-on task order worth more than $5.5 million to prepare active-duty U.S. Navy personnel and Army reservists

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

Exploring Medical Technology to Care for Wounded Soldiers Europe’s leading Mili event will address th tary Medical Technology ese key issues: + The technology solutions employed by int ernational forces and the capability gaps that need to be filled in order to ma ximise soldier survivability

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

+ The evolving use of,

and place for, simulation technologies both for preparing medical profes sionals for operations and for helping to treat wounded soldiers in reh abilitation + Overcoming the integration challenges of medical IT and urgent medical responses

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

Please quote “MST+T_HSS” when registering 34

MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

for deployment at the McCrady Training Center on Fort Jackson, an Army base in South Carolina.

The McCrady Training Center is home to the Task Force Marshall (TFM), whose mission is to provide Army basic-skills refresher training to activeduty Navy personnel being deployed to support Joint/Army units and to screen, process, and mobilize Individual Ready Reserve soldiers about to be deployed.

TFM supports Army Force Generation (ARFORGEN), a program designed to ensure a steady supply of trained and ready combat units. Cubic won an initial task order in June 2008 for support services at Fort Jackson such as Soldier Readiness Preparation and training – which includes individual and crew-serve weapon systems, first aid, communications, IED, VBIED and convoy operations training. Other services include Battalion S1 and S4 augmentation, transportation and motor pool support, ammunition storage and issue, and storage accountability, issue and repair of weapons.

Maintenance Training US Navy's E-2D HITS-M Program Rockwell Collins won a four-year contract

for the U.S. Navy's Hawkeye Integrated Training System - Maintenance (HITSM) program. The company will serve as the prime contractor in designing and developing the first integrated maintenance training systems on the E-2D platform.

The HITS-M solution is comprised of curriculum developed following Instructional Systems Design (ISD) principles.

Prior to this contract, Rockwell Collins was awarded the E-2D HITS-A (Aircrew) contract for which it delivered the E-2C Weapon System Trainer (WST) and Simulated Maintenance Trainer (SMT).

Air Traffic Control Simulation French Defense Picks Egis - Egis has been selected by the French Defence (DGA) to deploy simulation and training systems for Navy air traffic controllers (referred to as SECAM project).

Radar approach, ground controlled approach (GCA) and tower simulators will be provided on three Navy bases in France (Hyères, Lann-Bihouè and Landivisiau). Each system will be comprised of two control positions, two pseudo-pilot/ instructor positions to develop training exercises and a 3D screen displaying the

traffic simulated on each corresponding local airport.

The SECAM project is managed by the French Defence team in charge of the airspace operations management system (SCCOA). Through this contract, DGA is equipping its ATC centres with a specific tool matching with the training needs of its controllers and capable of simulating any potential scenario.

UAS Simulators L-3 Link Delivers PMATS - L-3 Link Simulation & Training (L-3 Link) delivered six additional Predator Mission Aircrew Training Systems (PMATS) and associated support equipment to two U.S. Air Force installations and one Air National Guard site.

Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico got four PMATS units and Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, and the Syracuse Air National Guard at Hancock Field, New York each got one unit. The systems support high-fidelity modeling of the Predator MQ-1 and Reaper MQ-9 unmanned aircraft.

PMATS replicates the mission environment that aircrews experience during real-world operations. Each PMATS unit

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

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

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

Connect with us at jansoncom.com jansoncomm

JANSON_AD_MS&T.indd 1

8/25/105/2010 12:50 PM MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 35

world news & analysis

integrates ground control station hardware with L-3 Link’s simulation software and geo-specific visual system databases to provide a fully immersive training system. The synthetic environment simulates time of day, winds, adverse weather and thermal effects that can impact operations. All Predator MQ-1 and Reaper MQ-9 aircraft platforms, sensors and weapons are modeled.

Live-Fire Training Robotic Smart Targets - The Australian company Marathon Robotics has been awarded a US$50 million contract by the US Marine Corps for the delivery of smart targets for live-fire training. The targets are armored autonomous robots that look, move and behave like real people.

Their paths are unpredictable; and their human-like motion makes them a realistic and challenging target.

A team of robotic smart targets can execute complex pre-planned scenarios, moving in and out of sight of training instructors - behaving much as people do.

For example, the system reacts to live fire: when one robot is hit, it falls and the others immediately scatter and run for cover.

Mobile smart targets - armor-plated robots based on Segway platforms - are able to work as a team, moving freely across the training range. The targets operate in an autonomous mode with a single operator capable of monitoring dozens of robots.

Targets are networked for real-time update

of the command and control stations, and for exchanging tactical information between targets.

Saab Awarded USMC Range Target Systems Contract - Saab Training USA has signed a contract with the US Marine Corps to produce and field a large number of ranges and facilities under their Range Target Systems (RTS) program. The contract has a ceiling price of approximately US$ 39M; Saab will receive orders during the next three years.

The ranges will provide live fire gunnery training for Marines in a trainas-you-fight environment using Saab's well established target and range control product line and Improvised Explosive

Above Mobile smart targets; armor-plated robots based on Segway platforms.

Image credit: Marathon Robotics.

Device (IED) simulators. The scope of work includes constructing urban warfare buildings and shoot houses with realistic after action review capabilities and providing logistic support for a large number of fielded systems.

Afghan National Army Infantry School - The Afghan National Army has opened a new infantry school at Darulaman in Kabul. The move, a first step toward establishing a brand new

KCIS - International Security: Past, Present and Future Some 100 delegates attended the fourth annual Kingston Conference on International Security in, of course, Kingston, Canada, 21-23 June. Sponsored by the Canadian Amy’s Land Force Doctrine and Training System, the US Army War College, and Queen’s University’s Centre for International Relations, Defence Management Studies, the stated aim of the conference was to explore and examine how to provide capabilities for effective national and local security in countries experiencing domestic insecurity and weak governance, how to best deploy international military and civilian forces for such purposes and finally to recognize when the job is well enough done to permit disengagement. The presenters, representing a broad spectrum of experience in the issues: academic and practi36

MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

cal, military and civilian and national and international, provided a broad view of the issues. And, of course, the conference allowed plenty of opportunity for participants to network and learn from each other Presentations and follow on discussions were marked by their frankness, frankness aided and abetted by the adoption of Chatham House Rules by the organizers. These rules note that no attributions or citations are allowed without the express permission of the speaker, ensuring that the naturally comfortable environment provided by participants with shared interests would be maintained. Practitioners sharing recent experiences invariably, with rapier like sharpness and accuracy, cut to the issues, the reality of the environment and

the need for pragmatism and flexibility.

LGen Peter Devlin, newly appointed Chief of the Land Staff, a keynoter, discussed his challenges and goals with the same frankness.

One might ask why MS&T and by extension, military trainers and educators, should be interested in a conference such as this. We know we must train not only for the present, but also for the future.

Simply put, these conferences paint a picture of future operational environments and related new military competencies -- such as “courageous restraint”, cultural awareness, and collaboration skills in international “whole of government” operations. Find more information about the conference and the presentations at http://www.queensu.ca/cir/?q=KCIS/ Presentations. - Jeff Loube

infantry facility in Kandahar, will temporarily provide the ANA a larger, improved training area for students, as well as hold larger classes. The new school will teach infantry tactics and different weapons systems such as the RPG-7, SPG-9 recoilless rifle, mortar, reconnaissance and infantry intelligence.

Afghan Col. Abdul Sabor, the new infantry school commander, said the school will help the army by focusing more time and attention on infantryspecific skills for entry-level soldiers, non-commissioned officers and officers.

It will also allow trainees to have time for classroom lessons and hands-on application. If courses are run at full capacity, the new school will be able to accommodate up to 2,000 students at one time, and each year they will be able to produce 14,000 infantrymen.

Ballistic Missile Defense NGC, MDA Complete End-to-End BMDS Simulation - The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and Northrop Grumman Corporation finalized the verification and validation of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) Performance Assessment 2009 (PA09).

PA09 is an end-to-end system-level simulation conducted to analyze how the BMDS integrated radars, communication networks and interceptors perform during scenarios. Northrop Grumman, the prime contractor at the Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center (MDIOC) under the Joint National Integration Center Research and Development Contract, led the team that carried out the simulation.

The simulation represented a complete BMDS engagement from enemy missile launch to intercept by a BMDS kill vehicle.

aircraft EW systems can precisely locate, identify and defend against radio frequency (RF) threats including groundbased and surface-to-air missiles. A2PATS uses AAI’s direct port architecture — a modular, plug-and-play technology using identical phase-coherent, direct digital synthetic stimulus instruments as the RF source for all signals. This common RF source allows customers to reconfigure the A2PATS system easily for the desired signal density and number of ports based on their specific requirements, supporting system availability.

Electronic Warfare Simulation Medical Training

AAI Advanced EW Simulator- AAI Corporation, an operating unit of Textron Systems, delivered its new Advanced Architecture Phase, Amplitude and Time Simulator (A2PATS) to the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division at China Lake, Calif. The A2PATS electronic warfare (EW) simulator was delivered and installed at the Navy’s F/A-18 Advanced Weapons Laboratory under a subcontract from Applied Geo Technologies, Inc. (AGT). As subcontractor to AGT, AAI is responsible for all A2PATS design, delivery and support activities.

AAI’s A2PATS system verifies that

Mobile Medic Learning App - Engineering & Computer Simulations (ECS) has launched TraumaCon, its mobile medic application, available through US Army Research Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM). The application was developed as a platformindependent web application and targets mobile platforms such as the iPod Touch, iPad, iPhone, and Android smart phones.

"While TraumaCon allows students to continue learning during downtime, it also easily lends itself as a sustainment training capability available outside the

Is your subscription to

MS&T about to lapse?

25% * OFF!

Dont miss out. Take advantage of our special offer:

25% off all three-year subscriptions

www.hall

rnaTIon al The InTe

C Training

logy

g Techno

UK £120 NOW £90

International B165 NOW B120 $290 NOW $215

To sign up for this offer email: subscriptions@halldale.com quoting ‘MS&T 25% Offer’

The InTe rnaTIon al

fective LV

Trainin

g Cost Ef

Developin

Defe nce

Tra InIn

g Jou rna

l

www.hall

dale .com

Military Flight Si mulator Census simulA Tor cen

sus

Techno

logy Appl

logy

g Techno

Trainin

Armored

ulators

Vehicle Sim

MSHATF

licaTion

Benson

Focus

ISSN 1471

-1052 |

y

strian Wa

g the Au

er: Trainin

Eurofight

Training icATion for Succe humAn ss perf Fatigue ormAnce : A Tech nician’s rmA Breaking Revolut Tion Point ionary Aircraft – Revolut ion in Tra ISSN 1471 -1052 uS $14/£ ining TrAnsfo

logy app

Techno

naTional

*Offer valid until 19 November 2010

dale .com

Jou rna l Tra InIn g Def enc e

|

8

10 Issue 5/20

Issue 4/20 10

8 uS $14/£

www.halldale.com/mst MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

37

world news & analysis

classroom, making training accessible anywhere, anytime," said ECS president Waymon Armstrong.

TraumaCon is a mobile training application that promotes student retention of the Combat Lifesaver (CLS) course material. Used in conjunction with programs of instruction to compliment classroom instruction, skills labs, and lane training, students become more familiar with fundamental skills during the time they are not directly involved with instructors.

The 'app', designed for use during 5-10 minute intervals of time between existing formal instruction courses, allows students to independently learn and sustain skills.

visionary perspective,” stated Leslie Dubow, PEO STRI’s project director for Army Games for Training. “Many of the same players are already involved in both conferences, and we feel that our attendees will benefit from the exposure to a wider gaming vision.”

GameTech’s focus in 2011 is to continue to develop a world class event that assists the gaming community in improving human performance through the use of games and virtual world technologies, according to Conference Chair, Kent Gritton. Information on the 2011 conference as well as presentations and video highlights from the 2010 Defense GameTech Users' Conference can be found at www.teamorlando.org/gametech. ms&t

Small Arms Trainers VirTra Systems Software for 390 Firearm Simulator - VirTra Systems received a multi-year contract with L-3’s MPRI division to install and license a customized version of VirTra’s proprietary video branching simulation software on its 390 Advanced Training System. L-3 MPRI will also offer VirTra’s self-authoring software so customers can create their own scenarios to tailor training more specifically to their exact requirements.

L-3 MPRI’s 390v6 judgmental shoot/no-shoot firearm training simulator now delivers portable, deployable, untethered firearm training in a risk-free environment. The interactive system features a new branching capability that immediately responds to trainee input or instructor commands for a wholly realistic experience. The simulator allows instructors to work closely with trainees in quickly identifying and improving upon weaknesses using a variety of scenarios with dry fire.

Games for Training GameTech 2011, Army Games for Training Conference - Team Orlando’s GameTech 2011 will run concurrently with the Army Games for Training Conference March 22-25, 2011 at the Orlando Caribe Royale. Both conferences will reflect the record growth expansion of serious gaming to serve training and education. Collocating the events allows conference followers to leverage their training and travel funds and expands the scope of Gametech 2011.

“The decision for Army Games for Training to join GameTech 2011 just makes sense, both from a fiscal and 38

MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 5/2010

Index of Ads American Apex 25 www.americanapex.com Antycip www.antycipsimulation.com 27 BAE Systems www.baesystems.com 6 CAE www.cae.com OBC Defense IQ www.militaryhealthsupport.com 34 Environmental Techtonics Corporation

www.etcmst.com 17 HTP Ostravia Cz a.s. www.htpostrava.cz 15 Ibersim www.ibersim.com 3 I/ITSEC 2010 www.iitsec.org 31 Janson Communications www.jansoncom.com 35 KMW – Krauss-Maffei Wegmann www.kmwsim.com 10 & 11 L-3 Link Simulation & Training www.L-3com.com 4 Lockheed Martin www.lockheedmartin.com/how IFC MetaVR www.metavr.com 19 MS&T Magazine www.halldale.com/mst 37 RAeS Conference www.aerosociety.com/conference 33 RGB Spectrum www.rgb.com 13 Rosoboronexport 20, 21 & 22 www.rusarm.ru SAIC www.saic.com IBC

Calendar 9-10 November 2010 EATS 2010 - European Airline Training Symposium WOW Hotel Istanbul, Turkey www.halldale.com/eats 8-10 March 2011 APATS@AA2011 - Ab initio & Evidence Based Training AsiaWorld Expo Hong Kong, SAR China www.halldale.com/apats

19-21 April 2011 WATS 2011 - World Aviation Training Conference & Tradeshow Rosen Shingle Creek Resort Orlando, Florida, USA www.halldale.com/wats 28-29 October 2010 Health Support Systems and Medical Logistics London, UK www.militaryhealthsupport.com/event 17-18 November 2010 Unmanned Aircraft Systems Crowne Plaza St James, London, UK www.smi-online.co.uk/uas.asp 29 November - 2 December 2010 IITSEC 2010 Orlando, Florida, USA www.iitsec.org

6-7 December 2010 Military Airlift Vienna, Austria www.smi-online.co.uk/events/ overview.asp?is=1&ref=3504

Advertising contacts Business Manager: Jeremy Humphreys [t] +44 (0)1252 532009 [e] jeremy@halldale.com Business Manager, North America: Mary Bellini Brown [t] +1 703 421 3709 [e] mary@halldale.com

He helps to keep soldiers safe around the world.

Developing solutions for maneuvering various vehicles in unpredictable environments is just one of our many jobs. We’re SAIC – 45,000 smart, dedicated people who have the deepest understanding of their fields and a passion to find the right solution. People like Common Driver Trainer manager Mike Kerrigan.

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

Energy | Environment | National Security | Health | Critical Infrastructure

© Science Applications International Corporation. All rights reserved.

NYSE: SAI

prepare

As complexity increases, the need to exploit simulation to support decision making becomes even more critical. Simulation must be embedded in an organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strategy and based on an enterprise architecture that gives the simulation environment direct traceability to the organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strategic goals. Simulation-based solutions must give decision makers the flexibility to plan and prepare for the unknown and unforeseen.

AM097

AM100a

At CAE, we recognize these requirements and are designing, developing and delivering simulation environments that have the rigor, reusability, and affordability necessary to support complete program lifecycles, from early concept and experimentation through to operational deployment and support. Combined with the expertise of CAEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Professional Services team located around the world, CAE is delivering integrated simulation-based solutions that provide the foundation for supporting better decision-making, enhanced situational awareness, and better training.

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

one step ahead

cae.com