MS&T Magazine - Issue 2/2009

THE INTERNATIONAL DEFENCE TRAINING JOURNAL

Issue 2/2009ISSN 1471-1052 | US $14/£8

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TRAINING TECHNOLOGY

Real Training in Virtual Worlds

TECHNOLOGY APPLICATION

Unique Aircraft, Unique TrainingPERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGY

Rethinking Air Force Technical TrainingTRAINING TRANSFORMATION

Soft Power, Non-Kinetic Ops Supported byMS&T Magazine

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WHEN THE Royal Netherlands Army (RNLA) was looking to improve its mobile training capabilities back in 2000, Saab was awarded the task of developing a fully instrumented mobile combat training centre (MCTC). Seven years later, when the RNLA decided to further improve its MCTC capa-bilities, Saab was once again entrusted with the assignment. � is time the mission was two folded – to empower the RNLA with battalion level exercise capabilities, and to incorporate the Royal Netherland Marines in the solution.

Recently, on time and within 24 months, the upgraded MCTC was delivered to the RNLA and tested in a joint exercise with the German Army where 800 soldiers and vehicles were logged in to the Excon.

� e logistics included 3,300 individually serial numbered units of equipment. By facilitating the issue and receipt of equipment from several stations and di� erent locations simultaneously, the system kept the time taken for equipment management to a minimum.

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Boeing’s groundbreaking integration of Live,

Virtual and Constructive training domains (I-LVC)

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with simulators and computer-generated threats.

It’s the latest addition to Boeing’s full spectrum of

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EDITORIAL

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

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

ContributorsRick Adams - Technology EditorWalter F. Ullrich - Europe Editor

Tom Slear - US Military AffairsChuck Weirauch - Training Procurement

Fiona Greenyer - News Editor [t] +44 (0)1252 532004

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EDITORIAL COMMENT

MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 2/2009 05

Chris Lehman

The Asymmetric Weapon of ChoiceDecades ago when US military resources were centered on helping protect Western Europe from the Soviet threat, the issue of Operations Security was straightforward. Similar to previous centuries of confl ict, maintaining operational secu-rity mostly just entailed briefi ng troops before training exercises and exhorting them not to discuss times, dates or specifi cs, under threat of military prosecution. “Loose Lips” really could - and can - sink ships.

Today the enemy is adept at exploiting an all-encompassing digital world, making information an asymmetric weapon of choice. This reality certainly complicates today’s operational environment, but we must add that non-combatants, with their immediate access to the real time media, can also complicate the operational environment. Add to this the “digital native” generation of soldiers who expect to communicate freely to the world at the click of a mouse or handheld device. The situation raises new challenges for maintaining operational security, and demands the attention of the senior leadership to mitigate risk while not stifl ing the ability to fi ght effectively and win the war of ideas.

Given the ability of virtually anyone to immediately access, collect and transmit information, controlling and verifying operational security is much more diffi cult than in the past. A camera phone and internet access can infl uence a worldwide audience and do so immediately. Social networking sites have caused some to blur the distinc-tion between public and private domains, as participants often post information to media sites that result in personal and professional dilemmas. Well-publicized exam-ples include blogs from active military personnel and unsecured private email traffi c between serving military members, with the resultant security breaches.

Access to immediate information in the hands of the many, together with a cultural attitude regarding its use, makes it virtually impossible for today’s commanders to exer-cise absolute knowledge and control of operational security. The task therefore is to effectively plan to manage and reduce the risks.

Risk assessment is a critical part of joint planning. The possibility of mission com-promise as a result of the ubiquitous new media must be considered at every stage of the planning process, with an increasing amount of attention paid to reducing such risks. Given that the chance of real time release of friendly actions and vulnerabilities is so high, commanders must be particularly savvy in their mitigation plan.

But too heavy a hand may be entirely counterproductive. Within the overall risk mitigation plan, commanders should see that the new media can be leveraged to their advantage. While social networking sites, blogs and email are rightly seen as potential security issues if they are not considered within operational security planning, they can also be a powerful forum to tell the military’s story from the most credible sources of all - soldiers, sailors and airmen. First hand stories can become very important in the infor-mation age as a means of countering the agenda-driven and negative reporting in the mainstream media. Soldiers telling the good news stories can still be facilitated while maintaining the security of military operations, capabilities and vulnerabilities.

Finally, I would like to make a brief comment on this important year for the ITEC event. We proudly recognise MS&T magazine’s 20 year association with Europe’s pre-mier military training and simulation event in an article inside this issue. ITEC’s histori-cal connection with its big-sister I/ITSEC event in the US underscores the importance of Europe’s continued defence co-operation with North America. Contrary to the views of some, these links are no less important today than they were 60 years ago.

Chris LehmanMS&T Editor-in-Chief • [email protected]

Circulation audited by:

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05 EDITORIAL COMMENTInformation as Weapon. Editor-in-Chief Chris Lehman refl ects on the challenges

and trade-offs of information security in our digital age.

08 TRAINING TECHNOLOGYReal Training in Virtual Worlds. The power of virtual environments is coming to

a schoolhouse near you. Rick Adams provides a peek into the future.

16 TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONUnique Aircraft, Unique Training. The V22 Osprey is marked by both its unique

confi guration and its heavy reliance on simulation for training. Chuck Weirauch

explains.

22 PERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGYRethinking Air Force Technical Training. Caught in a situation where new

technology investment was not allowed, improvements in training were found in

redesign. Lt Robert Lo tells the story of 406 (M) Operational Training Squadron.

26 INTERVIEWEnhancing SIMULATION. US Congress House Bill 855 aims to promote and

enhance medical simulation and modeling. MS&T’s Chuck Weirauch spoke with one

of the sponsors of that bill – Representative Randy Forbes (R-VA.)

28 TRAINING TRANSFORMATIONSoft Power, Non-Kinetic Ops. Military employment of soft power encompasses a

broad range of non-kinetic operations and techniques. Rick Adams checks it out.

31 TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONNot Just Playing Around. The US Army is getting serious about gaming. Col Mark

McManigal and Maj Tom Biedermann describe the latest initiatives.

34 TRAINING TECHNOLOGYOptimizing the Training Experience. Research is underway at NAWCTSD

investigating the use of neuro-physiological data to provide feedback to instructors

and trainees. Chuck Weirauch explains.

38 PROCUREMENTEuropean Defence Agency. A child of the EU, the EDA focuses on improving

European defence capabilities through R&T. Walter F. Ullrich gives an overview of

the Agency.

42 SHOW PREVIEW20 Years of ITEC. ITEC 2009 will be the 20th year for this European showcase.

Walter F Ullrich looks back.

44 NEWSSeen and Heard. A round up of developments in simulation and training.

Edited by Fiona Greenyer.

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08 MS&T MAGAZINE • ISSUE 2/2009

What’s Your avatar

Look Like?


Forterra’s olive (on-line Interactive

Virtual environment) platform.Image credit: Forterra.

You’ve probably heard of Second Life, the online ‘alter-nate worlds’ fantasy game that

allows you to create an alter-ego com-puter-graphic avatar character of who you might like to be (young, handsome and buffed?) and enables you to ‘fl y’ your avatar around various 3D environments where you interact with other players’ virtual representations – you know, that time-wasting domain of teenagers and never-grew-up geeks with little else to do in their real lives.

If that’s your initial reaction, as it was mine, take a second look at Second life … or at least the underlying technology and potential training and communica-tion capabilities of ‘metaverse’ environ-ments (as in metadata-based universe).

The technologies behind virtual envi-ronments (Ve) will be “seriously power-ful,” predicts Roger Smith, chief Scientist and chief Technology offi cer for the US Army’s Program executive offi ce for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PeoSTRI). “like the radio and semicon-ductor before them, these technologies are not limited to entertainment, busi-ness, or national defense, but can be applied equally to all of them.”

consider, fi rst, that future genera-tions of soldiers, sailors, and airmen are growing up with daily doses of video games, text messaging, and online social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Virtual reality will be second nature to them.

consider, next, that many of the ele-ments and tools already exist in the mili-tary training community to create virtual environments with realistic worlds, accu-rately depicted models, and avatars that replicate real people.

The Army’s Smith envisions that, over time, Ve will stretch the boundaries of traditional ‘virtual’ simulators (small area, few objects, high detail) and ‘con-structive’ simulations (large area, many objects, low detail) to the extent that “there is little difference between the two.”

What’s in a World?If you haven’t yet visited a virtual world, here’s a bit of what you would fi nd. After registering, you would select a user name, a body shape for your avatar, and clothing. your avatar will be placed into a computer-generated 3D setting, but you can ‘teleport’ to a different world setting anytime. Some worlds resemble actual places, such as Mayfair in london; oth-ers encourage role-playing, like the 1860s Texas outpost where you can strap on a pair of pistols.

In some worlds, you’ll fi nd other peo-ple’s avatars milling around, even ‘fl ying’ above or through the scenery objects. you use arrow keys or buttons to maneu-ver your character, and the ‘chat’ func-tion to talk virtually with nearby avatars. have your avatar jump, dance, whistle, or use gestures – a belly laugh, a throat-clearing “excuse me,” or even a “get lost”. 3D audio, or spatial audio, enables you to determine the location of another speaker and identify them.

There’s a commerce component, as one would expect of something requiring so much effort to create. In Second life (Sl to its faithful followers), launched six years ago by linden lab, the ‘in-world’ currency is known as linden dollars (l$). linden bucks can be purchased with, you guessed it, real US dollars. you can buy your own virtual island (and rent it

computer-generated fantasy fi gures are captivating the next generation of service candidates. It’s time to get real, and blend some features of virtual worlds with simulation discipline to meet no-nonsense training requirements. Rick Adams reports on some emerging online virtual environments.

out for a profi t), buildings, vehicles, ani-mations, clothing, hair for your character, even exotic avatars if you prefer not to expend the time and learning curve to create them. (can’t get away from those make-buy decisions, even in an unreal world.)

Similar to traditional simulation, objects in the database are used to build 3D shapes and textures applied to give them identity. The Second life viewer renders objects using opengl. Data is streamed from server farms to users over the Internet with some frequently used data cached locally.

Unlike entertainment or serious games, some virtual worlds such as Sl do not use game mechanics and rules. There are no objectives, no winning nor losing.

Social-oriented virtual environments “are driven by the compelling story, by how people interact,” notes chris Pogue, president of cAe Professional Services. What needs to be added to the “interac-tion layer” of avatars and voice-over-IP audio is what Pogue calls the “process choreography” to enable collaborative decision-making. This includes the type of rigorous, physics-based modeling of advanced simulation environments as well as basic business processes such as document sharing.

cAe is using Forterra’s olive (on-line Interactive Virtual environment) platform to develop a “Fourth Federation” virtual world for the canadian Air Force. It will use avatar-based entities and collabora-tive spaces in small-scale experiments to evaluate potential Ve uses for training, acquisition, and eventually operational management.

Pogue says cAe is also looking at

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embedding virtual environments “in our own way of operating” on the basis of travel savings alone for its globally dis-tributed teams.

The USaF’s Virtual MyBaseone of the more ambitious visions for military use of virtual worlds is the US Air Force’s ‘MyBase’ concept. USAF began hosting two regions in Second life in December – MyBase and MyBaseZeta – “for public outreach, exploration, and some basic leadership training,” accord-ing to col glenn hover, deputy, Future learning Division, Air education and Training command (AeTc).

When you teleport to the Sl MyBase site, you’ll find several modern buildings, including ‘club high Flight,’ a classroom, a dorm, a museum, and displays of legen-dary aircraft like the B-24 liberator and F-86 Sabre, as well as current F-22 Rap-tor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter models. Visitors can interact with Air Force staff, click on links for enlistment, get a free t-shirt for their avatar, or take a virtual flight in a World War II-era P-51 Mustang.

The Zeta site actually represents a sister service, the virtual naval Undersea Warfare center, complete with a sonar lab and tank, a sandbox, an innovation center, and (my personal favorite) Fort Adams.

MyBase is just one of several “future learning environments” outlined in an AeTc white paper, “on learning: The Future of Air Force education and Train-ing,” the building blocks of ‘Air Force 2.0.’

Another is the af.edu domain, which hover says, “allows the education and training communities more aca-demic freedom to explore, collaborate, and conduct research with the civilian higher education community.” (Air Force operational systems, by nature, are not designed to collaborate outside military community security.)

The white paper was released a year ago December, and since then AeTc has been evangelizing the concepts. “We have worked across the Air Force, top down and bottom up, to share the future learning vision. We are securing the resources and have drafted a strategic plan and started the concept. We have begun to explore and demonstrate exist-ing capabilities,” adds hover.

The Air University has launched an Sl site known as huffman Prairie, named for the historic area at Wright-Patterson AFB in ohio where the Wright Broth-

A modern Fast Patrol Boat equipped with radar, electrooptical sensor and light navalgun somewhere on patrol in an archipelago looking for drug smugglers or pirates. Allover sudden, a target is detected–friend or foe? Reconnaissance, detection, identi-fication, navigation and manoeuvring as well as communication procedures, attackstrategies and light naval gun operation everything in high speed and short reactiontimes–a real challenge for the crew! Worldwide, training and simulation solutions fromRheinmetall Defence have helped prepare crews of nearly all conventional navy plat-forms and are tailor-made for today’s and tomorrow’s challenges. More information at: www.rheinmetall-defence.com

As real as it gets

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ers flew their experimental planes and where they trained the first US military flyers. (nice lighthouse and cobblestone courtyard.)

Behind Air Force firewalls are a couple of technical training courses converted to “blended virtual training courses.” hover says, “This effort is to look at the feasi-bility of conducting our technical train-ing within a virtual world environment.” AeTc has retained Abacus to provide software and developmental training.

Training gap-Filler“The military is just beginning to realize the power of virtual environments,” sug-gests curtiss Murphy, project engineer for Alion Science and Technology.

Murphy sees virtual environments filling a gap between instructor-driven training in the classroom and physical pre-deployment exercises such as the Marine corps’ 29 Palms or the Army’s national Training center at Fort Irwin. he calls it “pre-engagement” training, the “walk” stage in the crawl-walk-run model. “They’ve already been introduced to the topics and have basic knowledge. But they haven’t been able to apply that knowledge in a practical way other than taking a test. In a virtual world, they can practice techniques alone or with others. They can feel free to learn, to make mis-takes. There’s no danger, and no inherent risk of failing.”

Virtual environments,” he states, “have a powerful capability to impact

learning and memory retention, visually and spatially.”

like simulation, virtual environments can be used to “drive home salient points about catastrophic errors in situations that are too dangerous or destructive” to experience in real life. Alion developed a game for the US navy to study reactions to flooding aboard ship, such as the USS cole sustained in the october 2000 ter-rorist attack. Fires, damage control, casu-alties, confusion – “very relevant, critical activities, difficult to reproduce in a train-ing environment,” Murphy notes.

Brian Bauer of etape Partners, believes the best available games allow users to “achieve status, receive rewards, and otherwise distinguish themselves from others” by requiring “some level of proficiency to acquire.” The same funda-mental concept as early arcade games that invited high scorers to enter their initials for all challengers to admire.

Mini-games can achieve organiza-tional objectives, Bauer suggests, “while adhering to the ’80 percent fun’ princi-pal.” he sees value in simulation-based assessments, collective intelligence and distributed innovation, virtual team build-ing, and “cultural indoctrination” of beliefs across a physically separated group.

Homeland, Healthcare & MorePurpose-driven virtual environments are popping up on computer screens across the military, in healthcare, and even in business.

ecS’ “US nexus” platform for the national guard is directed toward first responders from many different govern-ment agencies. “It’s about how to utilize our resources” in disaster situations such as hurricane Katrina, explains Waymon

The US national guard’s virtual world

training uses ecS’s US nexus platform.

Image credit: engineering and computer

Simulations, Inc.

A modern Fast Patrol Boat equipped with radar, electrooptical sensor and light navalgun somewhere on patrol in an archipelago looking for drug smugglers or pirates. Allover sudden, a target is detected–friend or foe? Reconnaissance, detection, identi-fication, navigation and manoeuvring as well as communication procedures, attackstrategies and light naval gun operation everything in high speed and short reactiontimes–a real challenge for the crew! Worldwide, training and simulation solutions fromRheinmetall Defence have helped prepare crews of nearly all conventional navy plat-forms and are tailor-made for today’s and tomorrow’s challenges. More information at: www.rheinmetall-defence.com

As real as it gets

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Armstrong, president of ecS, a small business specializing in virtual worlds. “Instead of everyone going to a holiday Inn for a week, you can train beforehand in a virtual world, then do a weekend-only capstone exercise.”

After the group assesses the situa-tion, “you can say ‘let’s go experience what it’s like’” – a virtual field trip, yet with a simulated rubble pile and avail-able to a large, distributed group.

Instead of a “courtyard of random people,” as you often find in Second life, virtual environment training applications can “capture top instructors” and com-bine their expertise into a “best-in-breed” virtual instructor, Armstrong suggests.

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Maybe even avatars of historic figures such as Billy Mitchell or george Patton.

The Defense Acquisition University will integrate nexus into courses begin-ning in october. The Department of homeland Security is using the platform as part of a blended curriculum with live classrooms. The US Army is developing a “medical community of practice.” And multiple agencies are integrating nexus virtual world technologies into the Joint Knowledge online learning Manage-ment System.

Virtual heroes, the progenitor of the “America’s Army” game that spawned the serious games movement, is now creating a wide variety of projects, from games for

the canadian Space Agency and nASA targeted at exciting young people about learning science and math to hIV aware-ness in Africa, written in Swahili and using popular regional musicians.

Jerry heneghan says the north caro-lina firm “is getting a lot more phone calls than ever before,” including from multi-national corporations looking to train ‘soft skills’ such as leadership and new employee onboarding.

one niche Virtual heroes has devel-oped is medical training. They collabo-rated with the george Washington Uni-versity Medical center to produce “Zero hour: America’s Medic” for the Depart-ment of homeland Security on behalf of first responders. “human Sim” is a virtual mannikin with embedded physiology “to fill the gap between lecture and man-nikin,” funded by the Duke University School of nursing and expected to be ready early next year.

RTI International, also in north caro-lina, has announced a simulated patient software called the Tactical Trauma Triage Trainer, funded by the US Army Asymmetric Warfare office.

Forterra Systems has a contract from PeoSTRI to integrate its olive with the Army’s oneSAF semi-automated forces. The combined capability is expected to be used for cultural awareness and first responder training, as well as traditional mission rehearsal.

avatar Buyer BewareThe challenges of applying virtual envi-ronments to serious training are not tech-nical, according to most subject experts, but rather how to best apply the capabili-ties at the most effective cost.

The Delta3D game engine, for exam-ple, was developed as an ‘open source’ tool by the US naval Postgraduate School in conjunction with Marine corps, Army, and vendors such as Alion. “The basic 3D visual engine is a commodity technology,” says Alion’s Murphy. But licensing fees for commercial game engines such as Unreal, Dagor, and heroengine can add up to mil-lions across thousands of users.

heneghan thinks there will be some market consolidation. “The mar-ket is maturing as solutions are gaining acceptance. clients are becoming more sophisticated.” he sees some success-ful vendors as “prime targets” for merger and acquisition.

Murphy also cautions procurement

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leaders not to expect hard data for a while on the return on investment from multi-player online worlds. “We’re just starting to figure out” the training value of games involving a squad, or maybe as many as 30 players, “but virtual worlds are a whole ‘nother leap. With a thousand guys participating, who completed the task? Who failed?”

Jeffrey Mccrindle of education Management Solutions advises against the perception of virtual worlds as the end-all of training. “Serious games still lack the fidelity to accomplish some learning tasks and do not provide the ‘muscle memory’ benefits of a live exercise.” Industry, he concludes, “should work to inte-grate serious games and simulation centers into a full suite of integrated, standards-based learning applications.”

ai and BeyondcAe’s Pogue thinks that in the future avatars may require less programming and keyboard manipulation, instead incorporating an artificial intelligence that triggers gestures and body language based on voice tone and language context. In effect, your avatar will “learn your personality.”

“The application should be smart enough to know who you are and your skill level. It needs to be a dynamic virtual human, not a stupid plastic avatar,” opines heneghan. “We certainly think the way people interact with software is changing … beyond the keyboard and mouse,” he added, citing the nintendo Wii, Playsta-tion six-axis controller, and iPhone touch-screen accelerometer as examples.

Roger Smith muses that “there may be other alternatives to loading information into the human mind,” such as direct neural stimulation (the type of technology that enables a blind person’s mind to ‘see’) or even chemical stimulation of the brain “in a way that creates useful communication or understanding of data.”

Whether or not we reach the electroshock or drug injection stage, the Army scientist forecasts a massive shift in the way we view and share data: “We remain on the top of an iceberg of unexplored potential in this field. Beneath the waterline lie hundreds of valuable applications that go beyond training and that can apply Ve technologies to real military operations from logistics, to command and control, to situation understanding, to information fusion.” ms&t

WE MAKE IT BETTERFor over 12 years the world’s simulation industry has come to depend on ISM to provide exceptional simulation component design, analysis and production. From supplying complete solutions to single components, ISM stands ready to make it better today.

- Andrew Garvis, President - Industrial Smoke & Mirrors

407-299-9400www.industrialsmokeandmirrors.comUpper Motion Platforms G-Cueing Systems Cockpits

Industrial Smoke & Mirrors

The Delta3D game engine was developed as an ‘open source’ tool by

the US naval Postgraduate School in conjunction with Marine corps,

Army, and vendors such as Alion.

Image credit: Alion.

WE MAKE IT BETTERFor over 12 years the world’s simulation industry has come to depend on ISM to provide exceptional simulation component design, analysis and production. From supplying complete solutions to single components, ISM stands ready to make it better today.

- Andrew Garvis, President - Industrial Smoke & Mirrors

407-299-9400www.industrialsmokeandmirrors.comUpper Motion Platforms G-Cueing Systems Cockpits

Industrial Smoke & Mirrors

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Unique aircraft,Unique TrainingUnique aircraft,Unique Training

Unique aircraft, Unique Training


currently, the US Marine corps has

fi ve operational squadrons of MV-22.

Image credit: US Marine corps/grant Walker.

Evolving in a long (since 1982) and controversial develop-ment process, the V-22 osprey

tiltrotor, has risen Phoenix-like from four crashes and other serious incidents to full production and successful combat deployment with the US Marine corps in Iraq. The Marine corps has fi ve opera-tional squadrons. An operational squad-ron of the Air Force variant was deployed stateside in early 2009, with a second squadron deployment scheduled for later this year.

The aircraft The V-22 was developed to meet the pro-visions of the US Department of Defense (DoD) Joint Multi-Mission Vertical lift Aircraft (JMVX) operational Require-ments Document for an advanced verti-cal lift aircraft. The intent was to provide the Marine corps and Air Force Special operations Forces with an aircraft to sup-port assault and long-range, high-speed missions that require vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. larger and much faster in fl ight than the conventional troop transport helicopters, the tilt wing aircraft carries more personnel, up to 24, with a crew of three. The Marine corps plans to replace ch-46e medium lift tan-dem rotor helicopters with the V-22. And the osprey is ideally suited for Air Force special operations.

The V-22 osprey is manufactured by the Bell-Boeing Joint Project offi ce in Amarillo, TX. Bell provides the wings and nacelles; Boeing provides the fuse-lage. Bell-Boeing is the industry member of the V-22 Training Integrated Product Team (IPT) and the prime contractor for the V-22 simulators. Boeing provides the maintenance trainers. The Bell Boeing

Joint Project offi ce currently has a $10.8 billion fi xed-price-incentive-fee multi-year contract to buy 143 Marine MV-22 and 31 Air Force Special operations cV-22 osprey aircraft. Bell Boeing had deliv-ered its 100th aircraft by May 2008, and by 2012 production rates will be ramped up to 39 aircraft per year.

Osprey Training iPT The naval Air Systems command (nAV-AIR) V-22 Joint Project offi ce (PMA-275) at the Patuxent River naval Air Station in Maryland is the acquisition agency for the overall V-22 weapons system, which includes the training for both for the Marine corps and the Air Force variants

The V22 osprey Training Integrated Product Team (IPT) has put together a successful, cost effective training program that leverages simulation. Chuck Weirauch explains how they’re doing it.

US Marine and Air Force pilots use the

full-motion simulators to master the

complexities of the osprey.

Image credit: FlightSafety International.

Unique Training

Unique aircraft, Unique Training

of the osprey. The Pax River Air Station is where initial V-22 development and test-ing took place.

The V-22 Training IPT is an element of PMA-275. Both Marine corps and Air Force personnel share leadership roles. According to Air Force Major Brian edmunds, Deputy V-22 Training IPT lead, that organization is responsible for both Marine MV-22 and Air Force cV-22 training systems, including all full-motion full fl ight simulators (FFSs), fi xed-based fl ight training devices (FTDs), mainte-nance training devices and computer-based courseware, including keeping the training system current. Bell-Boeing and PMA-275 are full members of the Train-ing IPT. The training leads at the V-22 pilot training installations and osprey squadrons represent the warfi ghter com-munity.

The structure of the Training IPT, and the teamwork that that allows, are the keys to the osprey training program’s

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success. A big benefit is that training personnel have direct input concerning any proposed engineering changes to the aircraft and the effect those changes would have on the training pro-gram. Another is that warfighters, as members of the IPT, have direct input as to the direction of the program.

“The Training IPT is a level one IPT, right along with the MV-22 and cV-22 aircraft program,” Dave Sullivan, Bell-Boeing Assistant Program Manager for V-22 Training Systems, explained. “It brings together the three elements – contractor, warfighter and government acquisition – into a triad-type organization. everybody participates together, concentrating on being warf-ighter focused, curriculum driven and staying current with the aircraft. It’s a very unique way of doing business, and it has paid off really well.”

Pilot TrainingAll primary Marine and Air Force V-22 pilot training takes place at the Marine corps new River Air Station in Jacksonville, nc. Both services require prior fixed-wing and rotary aircraft training and flight time before entering the approximately 100-hour initial osprey flight training curriculum. once they earn their MV-22 wings, Marine pilots go directly to their operational squadrons for advanced training. Air Force pilots then go to Kirtland Air Force Base, nM. Pilots are fully mission qualified once they complete the nearly year-long osprey training at Kirtland. The service’s Air education and Training command (AeTc) provide training at Kirtland.

There are currently three V-22 FFSs and two FTDs at new River, the newest a containerized version that can be shipped to any location. Kirtland has two FFSs and one FTD. Another FTD is located at hurlburt Field in Florida, the home of the Air Force Special operations command and the first cV-22 operational squadron, with two more destined for that facility. Bell Boeing is also contracted to deliver another FTD to can-non AFB in new Mexico, home of the 27th Special operations Wing and where a second cV-22 operational squadron is to be based.

Simulators The MV-22 and cV-22 FFSs and FTDs are the key elements in the osprey flight training syllabus. According to Sullivan, Flight-Safety International was the original subcontractor to Bell-Boe-ing for the flight training devices. The goal was to employ com-mercial off-the-shelf components wherever possible, he said, pointing out a prime example of this approach; the container employed for the FFS is the same as used for Boeing 777 FFSs.

“The Training IPT leadership decided to base the V-22 flight syllabus on the best practices of successful flight train-ing programs, such as those for the c-17, the F-16 and com-mercial airlines,” Sullivan said. “That meant we were targeting on faster, better, cheaper, and building a high level of fidelity into the simulator that allowed pilots to get a great deal of their training in the simulators without having to utilize train-ing aircraft.”

Both the FFSs and the FTDs are rated at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) level D equivalent of fidelity. There is no difference in fidelity between the FFSs and the FTDs except for the former’s motion platform, according to Sullivan. The software that drives the simulators is the same that is used in the opera-tional aircraft, to the point where Training IPT personnel typically

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yAccording to Sullivan, the lower number of training aircraft

in the FRS adds up to approximately $1.2 billion in savings for the program. In addition, because so much of the training syl-labus calls for training in the simulator, it takes six weeks less time to train a V-22 pilot than to train a ch-46 helicopter pilot. According to Sullivan, this equates to a savings per pilot of about $450,000. If 2,000 pilots are trained through the life of the V-22 program, this adds up to another $900 million in savings by his estimation. And in spite of the shorter training time, the simulator-based V-22 training program reportedly is producing better pilots.

networking At the advanced squadron level of training, the V-22 simulators can be networked together for distributed training exercises within the squadrons and for joint exercises with other services. According to Joe cruz, Training IPT lead at Kirtland, most of the advanced training focus is on electronic warfare, air refueling and mission deployment and rehearsal. The cV-22 simulators at Kirt-land and hurlburt have also been able to participate in joint dis-tributed mission training exercises with other services through the Distributed Mission operations center (DMoc) at Kirtland, he said.

According to Brad Smith, former MV-22 Simulator Team lead at Pax River, and Jerry Brown, MV-22 Simulator IPT lead at new River, the MV-22 simulators were originally built with interop-erability capabilities. The new River sims are networked locally and soon will have the capability to link up with other Marine simulators via the service’s Tactical environment network for combined force training.

Keeping CurrentThe Training IPT includes a Training continuum Integration lead, responsible for the processes and tools that have been established to maintain the concurrency of the training system with the aircraft. It’s a major emphasis for the program, since that’s one of the biggest problems for aircraft training, particu-larly because the osprey is still an evolving aircraft.

“The configuration of the osprey is not the major challenge, since the aircraft is easy to fly,” edmunds said.” our biggest chal-lenge is maintaining concurrency with the aircraft across our entire training organization. That’s why we have such a large emphasis on that process, especially since the osprey is chang-ing and evolving at such a rapid pace.” ms&t


upload software updates on the flight simulators for verification and testing before it is uploaded in the aircraft. Sullivan noted that in at least one instance, this approach revealed a problem in the software, with engineers correcting it before the update was loaded into the aircraft systems.

More Simulator Time As a result of the high level of simulator fidelity, approximately 65 percent of the current V-22 primary flight training syllabus can be conducted in the simulators, edmunds said. When the computer-based courseware is added in, it amounts to close to 80 percent of osprey training that is conducted outside of the aircraft, he pointed out. A considerable amount of advanced mis-sion rehearsal training is also conducted in the simulators at Kirt-land and at the squadron level for both services, he added.

“More focus on simulation was directed by the Blue Rib-bon Panel that reviewed the V-22 program and Marine corps headquarters after the accidents in 2000,” edmunds said. “The direction was to put more training in the simulated environment instead of the aircraft, and this provided a big advantage for the program.”

Typically ten percent of the size of a Marine corps fleet of a particular aircraft is reserved for the Fleet Replacement Squad-ron (FRS), which normally would mean 40 aircraft for the MV-22, edmunds explained. With more emphasis on simulation, the Marine corps was able to draw down that number of aircraft in the FRS to about 21, he said. This is a significant cost-savings in the number of aircraft, meaning that instead of being in the training fleet, these aircraft are instead operational out in the squadrons.

getting Their Feet Wet

Sailors and Marines aboard the multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (lhD 5) will have their chance to make history later this spring as the first ship to deploy with the MV-22B osprey. Bataan will embark Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 263 with a complement of 10 ospreys, pro-viding increased flexibility over the ch-46e Sea Knight and ch-46D Sea Stallion in their ability to transfer equipment and troops from ship to shore. In early 2005, Bataan started train-ing and testing the MV-22. During the past four years, a full team came together to prepare the ship and her crew for this historical deployment.

Serving All Branches

of the U.S. Military

Operations at 29

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More Than 160 Aircraft

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FlightSafety International is a world-leading supplier

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Systems Trainers, DeskTop trainers, interactive

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learning. We provide instructionally sound, integrated

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Experience. FlightSafety has nearly six decades of

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Our new and innovative products and services make us

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FLIGHTSAFETY MILITARY ADVANTAGE AD - Military Simulation & Training (MS&T) Bleed: 212 x 283 mm Trim: 206 x 277 mm COLOR VERIS PROOF PDFX1A

For more information on our military training programs and equipment, please contact John Marino, Vice President

FlightSafety Defense Training Systems, at 703.414.5500 flightsafety.com A Berkshire Hathaway company

Enhancing Safety by Delivering Support in the Areas That Matter Most

Quality Value Service Technology

Serving All Branches

of the U.S. Military

Operations at 29

U.S. Military Bases

More Than 160 Aircraft

Models Simulated

24/7 Worldwide

Customer Support

Advanced Distance

Learning

Outstanding

Customer

Service

Exceptional Overall Value

Nearly Six Decades

of Experience

99.6% Simulator

In-Service Availability

Programs Tailored to

Customer Needs

Full Mission Simulators

to Part Task and

DeskTop Trainers

More Than 750

VITAL Visual Systems

Deployed Worldwide

Transportable/

Deployable

PC-Based

Training Systems

60 Aircraft Types

Simulated in the

Past Five Years

Electric Motion

and Control

Loading-Equipped

Training Devices

125 Military Fixed and

Rotor-Wing Aircraft

Simulators in Service

C H E C K O U T T H E F L I G H T S A F E T Y

FlightSafety International is a world-leading supplier

of mission-critical training programs and proven

advanced technology devices designed to ensure the

safety and proficiency of military aircraft crewmembers.

Resources. Military aircrews that operate a wide

variety of fixed-wing and rotor-wing aircraft benefit

from FlightSafety’s comprehensive, highly cost-effective

training media and courseware, full mission Weapons

Systems Trainers, DeskTop trainers, interactive

computer-based training and advanced distance

learning. We provide instructionally sound, integrated

training solutions using the principles of structured

system engineering and instruction system development.

Experience. FlightSafety has nearly six decades of

safety training experience, including more than 40

years training members of all branches of the military.

We operate, maintain and support the C-5, KC-135 and

KC-10 aircrew training systems, and provide contractor

logistics support for the Joint Primary Aircraft Training

System and T-38 training systems.

Our new and innovative products and services make us

a prominent member of successful training teams such

as the U.S. Army’s Flight School XXI, which includes the

world’s largest simulator training facility. FlightSafety has

manufactured and delivered a wide variety of Weapons

Systems Trainers, including those for the C-17, C-27J, CH-47,

CV-22, HC-130P, TH-1H, TH-67, MC-130W, MV-22, UH-1Y,

UH-1Z, UH-60/BLACK HAWK and AFSOC Guns & Rescue.

Advantages. FlightSafety is the top choice for military

professionals looking for the best possible training, using

efficient and effective advanced technology training

systems. We have the resources and experience to meet

your mission requirements and provide you and your

team with the security of being fully prepared for duty.

FLIGHTSAFETY MILITARY ADVANTAGE AD - Military Simulation & Training (MS&T) Bleed: 212 x 283 mm Trim: 206 x 277 mm COLOR VERIS PROOF PDFX1A

For more information on our military training programs and equipment, please contact John Marino, Vice President

FlightSafety Defense Training Systems, at 703.414.5500 flightsafety.com A Berkshire Hathaway company

Enhancing Safety by Delivering Support in the Areas That Matter Most

Quality Value Service Technology

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In 2005, technician training and levels of authorization held by senior maintainers were in a

critical state at 12 Wing Shearwa-ter, the home of Canadian naval aviation. Aircraft availability and fl ying hours had plummeted. Something had to be done, and rapidly, if 12 Wing was to survive and meet its operational mission - deploying HElAIRDETs aboard Cana-dian naval forces in worldwide missions. Caught between an aged and aging CH124 (Sea King) and a new maritime helicopter replacement (Cyclone) pro-gramme, technology based modifi cations to training were deemed neither fi nan-cially nor timely achievable. 406 Mari-time Operational Training Squadron (406 (M) OTS) had to go back to the drawing table for solutions. The solution, based on detailed discussion and focused plan-ning, was a redesign of new technician type courses that concentrated available training resources, extended existing

type courses, and transferred all On-The-Job Experience (OJE) requirements from home units to 406 (M) OTS. By taking on training workload from other units and incorporating 100% Perform-ance of Maintenance (POM) into the new technician type courses, 406 (M) OTS has effectively reduced total CH124 Sea King journeyman technician train-ing by approximately six months. This new course delivery has signifi cantly increased technician force generation by helping to clear a backlog of unqualifi ed technicians. Additionally, the efforts and changes have improved aircraft availabil-ity and maximized resource utilization. What technology could not solve, team-work and resource management did. The confl ict that existed between technician training and maintenance operations on the fl ight line is no more.

The ProblemPrior to 2005, Sea King Aviation (AVN)

and Avionics (AVS) type courses at 406 (M) OTS were predominantly theory based, focused on applicable Qualifi ca-tion Standards (QS). Following gradu-ation, newly trained personnel were required to complete a Journeyman logbook during an On Job Experience (OJE) phase at their home units in order to become qualifi ed to conduct POM. OJE required extensive supervision and training and was dependant on fre-quently scarce resources. Additionally, POM training confl icted with aircraft availability as practical hands-on train-ing was required to be conducted during aircraft production sessions. Further-more, OJE lacked standardization. The

“Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully - Samuel Johnson”. Lt Robert Lo explains the effect of a concentrated mind on CH124 Sea King technical training outcomes.

out of the Box


AVN type course students conducting

corrosion control .

Image credit: Author/Canadian Department

of National Defence.


Fleet was unable to produce individuals who could demonstrate the same level of competency in each POM activity. To make the situation even worse, a combination of other deficiencies such as courses not being maximized, dif-ficulty in determining training comple-tion time, a journeyman backlog of 150 technicians, and shortages of resources, aircraft, and qualified instructors at all units resulted in the lowest yearly fly-ing rate in the history of CH124 flying. Combined, these struggles underpinned the requirement for the Fleet to change the way it operated and trained its tech-nicians, or CH124 operations would not survive.

The Plan and GoalsThe Maritime Helicopter Transition Team (MHTT) determined that the best way to solve AVN and AVS train-ing shortfalls and journeyman backlog was to centralize resources and have 406 (M) OTS stand up new 100% POM type courses. The significance of this plan was that it would ensure long-term sustainable production of qualified jour-neymen while minimizing the existing conflict between aircraft production

and technician training. Teamwork and resource management, not technology, were the answer to the plan and the key to success. Specific goals within the plan included the implementation of

100% POM training as part of the new AVN/AVS type courses by February 2006 and supporting an annual throughput of seven to eight type courses. This would have to be achieved without impacting CH124 production targets for AVN and AVS type training during the 2004-2006 timeframe.

ImplementationImplementation strategy was to be accomplished in four phases: analy-sis and design; development; conduct of trial courses; and the revision and implementation of the new type courses. There were three delivery options for the 100% POM type courses: conduct OJE as a stand-alone module following type training, which was similar to the past; integrate OJE partially with type courses (marginal practical training is taught alongside theory, the balance of train-ing to be packaged as separate modules at the end of course); and integrate fully with type courses, allowing each sys-tem’s theory and practical portions to be taught in sequence. In the end, the deci-sion was taken to fully integrate 100% POM training with both type courses. The sequence was set up to be lectures,

Facility at 406 (M) OTS with several CH124

Sea King aircraft for student training.

Image credit: Canadian Department of

National Defence.

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theory tests, and instructor led demon-strations (IlDs) with student practical exercises, followed by a major assess-ment/confirmation phase.

challengesBefore the new type courses were established, three significant challenges had to be overcome. First, there were issues with scheduling and course over-lapping. This would prove to be a sig-nificant test, given the training length had been increased by a month to a total length of 81 to 87 days, and total annual throughput was set at seven to eight type courses. Secondly, additional train-ing aids, personnel, and resources had to be identified and obtained in order to concentrate training resources at 406 (M) OTS. Training aids such as aircraft and test benches can help significantly in ensuring students conduct meaning-ful practical training. Additional person-nel, on the other hand, prevent instruc-tors from becoming overworked and avoid a burn-out effect. Other resources required included adequate facilities, equipment, tools, lockers, classrooms, maintenance consumables, and fund-ing for the incremental cost of extend-ing the courses. Finally, as 100% POM type courses were ordered to be set up in a very aggressive timeframe with no prior experience from any other wing, the solution had to be well thought out. This was accomplished through open communication, idea sharing, and coordination of efforts working together as a team. In the end, working groups

were set up to ensure the overlapping of courses and competition of resources were minimized, careful scheduling and coordination of courses was achieved, additional resources were obtained, and chain of command were convinced on the requirement to provide approval for additional funding.

The results406 (M) OTS currently conducts a total of four AVN and three AVS 100% POM type courses a year. Trial courses were conducted in August 2005 for AVN tech-nicians and September 2005 for AVS technicians. Initial serials were up and running by February 2006. Today, 406 (M) OTS graduates only 100% POM jour-neymen. The additional training required by the operational units is minimal. Sea King type courses now have not only the theory portion, but incorporate practical hands-on training as well. By means of scenario based exercises, students are challenged to recall and apply their knowledge and skills. The concentra-tion of training resources has resulted in increased training aid and instructor availability. 406 (M) OTS instructors profit from the ability to make advantageous use of training aids to both reinforce student learning through the practical phase and assess student competency against OJE training standards. Student to instructor ratio has been established at 3:1 during the practical phase to maximize training efforts and ensure the highest quality of standardized instruction and graduating student competency.

The benefits of the course changes were felt immediately. In 2007, the rede-signed type courses contributed to an increase of 20% in the yearly flying rate and a reduction of 42% in mean down-time per aircraft. More dramatically, there was a 13% increase in techni-cian training from 2006 to 2008, and the technicians produced were much bet-ter qualified to do the job immediately upon arrival at their operational squad-rons. 406 (M) OTS 100% POM techni-cian training is becoming the training model in the Canadian Air Force. Oth-ers units, such as the CF18 maintenance unit in Cold lake, Alberta, are adopting and introducing this training method in order to maximize their efficiency and reduce technician shortage. Technol-ogy is not always the answer to eve-rything. In some situations, commit-ted professionalism, creative thinking, teamwork, resource management, and going back to the drawing table achieve the greatest results. In this case, amaz-ing results were realized with minimal associated financial costs and minor changes to personnel establishment numbers. Faced with a daunting future and the prospects of a potentially sig-nificant decrease in operational capabil-ity, 12 Wing and 406 (M) OTS rose to the challenge and delivered a low-cost, low technology solution that works! ms&t

About the Authorlt Robert lo is the 406 (M) OTS Technical Training Flight Commander. He may be contacted at [email protected]

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electronic warfare (EW) simulation products are as vivid as the real thing. Specializing in RF and IR

threat simulators, we enable pilots and shipboard operators to locate, identify, and counter

enemy missiles, employing the tactics they’ll need to survive in actual combat. We also help

the military test and evaluate new EW systems, as well as train EW systems operators. With

over 30 years of leadership in this field, Northrop Grumman is able to offer full EW solutions at

affordable prices. So, when the battle starts and the threats are real, there won’t be any surprises.

INT

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Military and civilian medi-cal simulation and mod-eling, in all its variations,

is a rapidly growing fi eld that is attracting attention. In February, Rep-resentative Randy Forbes (R-VA) and Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) introduced House Bill 855, the Enhancing SIMULATION (Safety In Medicine Utiliz-ing Leading Advanced Simulation Tech-nologies to Improve Outcomes Now) Act of 2009. HB 855 aims to increase the use of simulation and modeling technology in all aspects of medicine, creating nation-wide centers for training, education and research. Goals include improving the quality of care, reducing medical errors, and increasing health care savings

MS&T’s Chuck Weirauch recently spoke with Representative Forbes about the Bill. Forbes is a member of the Con-gressional Modeling and Simulation Cau-cus, and a sponsor of the annual Capitol Hill Modeling and Simulation Exhibition.

MS&T: What do you feel are some of the major US health care issues that we need to address?If I had to take the top three, I would list them as fi rst of all, cost. We have to get the cost of health care down so that we can make sure that it is affordable for a wide section of Americans as we move forward in the future. Second is the record-keeping that we do in health care. It just makes absolutely no sense to have to recreate the wheel every time that you go to a different health care provider, and they always ask the same thing, “give me your health care history.” I think that this is a major problem for us, because it cre-ates a lot of errors and mistreatment and misdiagnosis of illnesses.

On record keeping, modeling and simulation is the real key to offer us the capability of knowing, making sure that we have accuracy in our medical records. But it is also to make sure that we have created a mechanism so that we can

walk into the health care provider that we have never seen before and have all of our medical records available for them to look at so that they can establish our illness directly.

The third thing is setting our priori-ties. We are locked way too much into simply diagnosing and treating illnesses as opposed to looking at prevention of those illnesses. If you look at what we have to do in the health care industry, it’s going to begin to decide what our priorities are and how we address these priorities.

MS&T: Why do you feel that medical sim-ulation can become part of the solution to our health care issues?Simulation is a major key. If you look at something as simple as cost, we know that there is no way that you can get training so that you can do effective dis-persal of medications, or that you can look at where we need to have health care centers, without using modeling and simulation, all of which can help us to get the most bang for our buck.

One perfect example of that which we are trying to have modeled now would be a health care industry that took the cost of what we are paying for litigation, and instead of litigation we put that same money into prevention. I believe that would dramatically change the course of health care in America. Modeling and simulation could at least show the country what this would look like, and then we could step back and decide if we want to go down that road or not.

MS&T: Why did you and Representative Kennedy decide to introduce HB 855,and why do we need it?We every year have helped to facilitate a large policy summit, where we bring some of the best minds from across the country together and say “what are the things we can agree on to help lift this industry and move it forward into the next level?” This modeling and simula-tion bill was really the product of the best minds coming together and saying

House Bill 855 aims to promote and enhance medical simulation and modeling. MS&T’s Chuck Weirauch spoke with one of the sponsors of that bill – Representative Randy Forbes (R-VA.)

Medical Simulation and Modeling


Representative Randy Forbes – a mem-ber of the Congressional Modeling and Simulation Caucus.Image credit: United States Congress.


that this is what we need. And then our Modeling and Simulation Caucus tries to implement the discoveries they make and the ideas that they come up with. This was the major one that they had. Representative Kennedy has long been interested in health care. His area has been very much instrumental in looking at modeling and simulation as a natural fi t for the two of us to come together and introduce this bill.

MS&T: What is the intent of the legisla-tion and how would it be implemented? First of all, it would create Centers of Excellence across the country to help with the leadership in advancing medi-cal modeling and simulation. It would also encourage academic and profes-sional organizations to do medical mod-eling and simulation. We would promote the use of medical modeling and simu-lation within the Department of Health and Human Services, which is obviously a leader around the country, and have a major role in that. And we would estab-lish a coordinating council for Federal government to make sure that we see this utilized.

Here’s just one example of what this

kind of approach means. When we had some hospitals that were funded by the Department of Defense Medical Simu-lation Trial Program, they saw clinical errors decrease from 30 percent to almost four percent. If you applied that across the country, we could reduce medical errors by as much as $17 billion, which is an enormous savings.

MS&T: What overall impact do you feel that medical simulation can have on tra-ditional medical education?I don’t know how we would be able to provide the excellence in medical educa-tion that we need in the future, given the cost parameters that we will be working within, without medical modeling and simulation. I simply think that we will see the excellence in training that we cur-rently have reduced signifi cantly without modeling and simulation. So if you think medical training through, modeling and simulation is the most cost-effective way to do it.

MS&T: What has been the Congressional reaction to H.B. 855 so far? We have had a positive reaction so far. We need individuals contacting their legisla-

tors to make sure that this bill becomes a top priority for them. With so many other huge crises looming around the country, it’s very easy for something like this to get swept under the rug, and we have to make sure that doesn’t happen.

MS&T: What can the modeling and sim-ulation industry do to stimulate more interest to help move this legislation forward? They need to pick up the phone and go meet with legislators. And they need to visit those legislators and say “how about signing on to this bill and helping to make it a reality.”

MS&T: What future do you see for medi-cal simulation?I think that the great thing about medi-cal simulation is that it has come a long way, but it’s still like you are beginning to write on the chalkboard, as we did back years ago in traditional class-rooms. So the future is unlimited. It’s just a matter of how long we want to stand up at the chalkboard and write. I think that the future is very bright, if we are willing to make that future become reality. ms&t

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Almost since taking offi ce, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has been talking about

the need for so-called ‘soft power’ capa-bilities to fi ght the new style of ‘hybrid’ wars against conventional foes and insurgents. In his recently announced budget plans, Gates for the fi rst time incorporated institutionalized support for ‘irregular warfare.’

Military employment of soft power, according to US Air Force Lt Gen Nor-man Seip, commander of operations in Latin America, encompasses a broad range of ‘non-kinetic’ operations – including training partnerships with for-eign military forces, military exchange programs, the protection of other coun-tries’ sovereignty, and humanitarian relief operations.

Gen Seip does not believe, as some

advocates do, that soft power can change hearts and minds in the short term. “American policy and media cov-erage of these effects is far too per-vasive to be forgotten. A soft power campaign itself will not stop an insur-gency or change a nation’s sentiment towards America.” But he does contend that a “sustained soft power campaign may do more to avert the next confl ict than an arsenal of missiles or massing of troops.”

The military must make irregular warfare a core competency, Marine Corps Gen James Mattis, US Joint Forces Command chief, told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Our forces must be fl exible and adaptable enough to operate across the spectrum of confl ict.”

Non-kinetic actions, according to current USAF doctrine, are logical,

electromagnetic, or behavioral – such as a computer network attack or a psy-chological operation. The concept of impairing a nation’s will to fi ght has been around at least since 6th century BC Chinese strategist Sun Tzu, and today takes on forms such as cyber warfare, psyops and old-fashioned propaganda, non-lethal chemicals and electroshock tasers, plus civil affairs and cultural sensitivity.

The types of training available or proposed for non-traditional ‘warfare’ encompass a wide range of technologies and human interactions. Following are a few current examples.

Cyber WarriorsOn any given day, it seems, the Inter-net, cable TV, and newspaper headlines are warning of sophisticated attacks on computer networks. “Pentagon Spends $100 Million to Fix Cyber Attacks.” “Spies Compromised US Electric Grid.”

The information infrastructure has become the front line of the global bat-tlefi eld. China, Russia, their agents, ‘e-qaeda’ hackers, and even high school pranksters are seeking to disrupt both military and commercial networks. In his budget announcement, Gates cited Russia’s use of special forces and cyber warfare before invading Georgia last year. “They used all these aspects before their ground troops began mov-ing into Georgia.”

Two years ago the US Air Force created a new Cyber Command, and recently announced a 100-day under-graduate cyber warfare training pro-gram that will be housed at one of Goodfellow, Sheppard, or Keesler air force bases. Part of the program involves building a virtual network within a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF). There will also be a “Cyber 100” professional con-tinuing education 10-day course. The ultimate goal of Cyber Command is as many as 40,000 cyber warriors.

The Chinese are also reportedly targeting satellite-based communica-tions and guidance systems as a key to

Irregular or non-kinetic techniques have moved to the forefront of defense priorities as the nature of modern warfare continues to morph. Rick Adams looks at some of the non-lethal battle arenas and related training.

Soft Skills for Hard Situations


The purpose of JNEM is to improve leader

training on dealing with local populations

for units deploying to combat theaters.

Image credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Tech.

Sgt. Cohen A. Young


Western warfi ghting capabilities. “Many of our networks go through space, so it is clear that [space and cyberspace] are intertwined,” notes Navy Vice Adm Carl Mauney, US Strategic Command deputy commander. Space studies in the Air War College core curriculum have increased from six to 22 hours for all students, as well as an additional 30 hours in electives for space majors.

Satisfaction ReactionsThe US Army has been enhancing the Joint Non-Kinetic Effects Model (JNEM), which simulates regular and irregular military, paramilitary, police, and criminal elements, as well as the relationships of these groups to civil-ians, governmental organizations, and nongovernmental. The purpose is to improve leader training on dealing with local populations for units deploying to combat theaters.

The original JNEM, three years ago, only broadly defi ned Iraqi ethnic groups – Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. But now the National Simulation Center (NSC) has refi ned the model to the “neighborhood level” and can refl ect population needs and satisfaction levels (which determine willingness to cooperate with coalition forces or insurgents), plus trigger com-puter-generated crowd reactions to events such as kidnappings and suicide bombings.

And since economic distress contrib-utes to civilian angst, the NSC is building some economic effects modeling into the next iteration.

The Warfi ghter Simulation (WarSim) non-combatant screening model now uses JNEM data. So does a live/virtual/construction federation at Joint Forces Command for mission rehearsal exer-cises for commands before they deploy in theater.

Digital ForensicsSome retired US Special Operations forces members have started an intel-ligence-training oriented small business called Silverback7 in Woodbridge, Vir-ginia. Chief executive Steve Lahr says the military is acquiring new technology more quickly now than it has in the past. “It’s very diffi cult for our intelligence agencies and our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines on the ground to keep up with the latest technology.”

Silverback7 provides computer-

based and web-based training, and recently launched a ‘computer forensics’ division to exploit information from dig-ital devices such as laptops, desktops, or handheld devices. The company can also build exercises in urban areas, including storefronts, specialized vehicles, and role players.

Among their contract mechanisms is the U.S. Army Warfi ghter FOCUS (Field Operations Customer Support) through the Program Executive Offi ce for Simu-lation, Training and Instrumentation (PEOSTRI).

Sting and ZingUS Marines from the III Marine Expe-

ditionary Force recently completed a non-lethal weapons training course in Okinawa, Japan, for situations where they fi nd themselves dealing with unarmed rioters or hostile protestors. The course included instruction in use of general riot control procedures, hand-to-hand techniques, batons, the X-26 Taser, and Oleoresin Capsicum (otherwise known as ‘pepper spray’).

“The main point of this training is to give the command another step in the force escalation,” said Staff Sgt. Scott Hill, an Anti-Terrorism Force Protection instructor. “We teach them how to make an aggressive individual compliant with-out deadly force.”

SELEX Systems Integration is a Prime Contracting and Systems Integration business that now incorporates the long-established training capability of VEGA, VEGA Deutschland and VEGA France. We have evolved a dedicated Training Solutions team that has nearly two decades’ experience of enabling organisations to transform their training and enhance their capability.

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“We spray the students and have them do fi ght-through drills so they real-ize the subject can still fi ght after being sprayed,” explains Hill. “They know that if they fi ght with someone who’s been sprayed it can get on them and they have to continue fi ghting.”

Caution: Culture AheadA major hearts-and-minds lesson learned in the Iraq theater, albeit the hard way, is the need for sensitivity to other cultures. When US forces were castigated for building a helipad and parking lot on an ancient Babylonian archaeological site, the public affairs fallout was as devastating as the dam-age to the Ishtar Gate.

One notable response has been the In-Theater Heritage Training for Deploying Personnel, which educates troops about the importance of herit-age assets and methods of protecting them. Created by an Army team led by Dr. Laurie Rush, cultural resource manager at Fort Drum, New York, the initiative recently won the Chairman’s Award from the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

for training scenarios – including faux cemeteries and a replica stone cone mosaic tower from the ancient City of Uruk as an ‘avoidance target’ on Adi-rondack Aerial Gunnery Range 48.

“We plan to include a virtual real-ity tour of at least one site in our infor-mational CD,” Dr. Rush adds. “We also hope to use a fi rst-person account by a Marine Corps offi cer whose unit occu-pied an archeological site with mini-mum damage.”

Other services cultural sensitivity training includes a replica mosque at Fort Dix, New Jersey, an historic well site at Quantico MCB, Virginia, and civil affairs lectures at the JFK Special War-fare School (Fort Bragg, North Carolina) and the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. ms&t

“We felt that training opportuni-ties should be user friendly and should reach all levels of personnel,” says Dr. Rush. The solution includes playing cards that highlight archeological sites, scripted cultural preservation train-ing modules, and mock cultural sites

Left

Special ‘playing cards’ help to increase

in-theater awareness of cultural differences

and sensitivities.

Image credit: US DoD.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper kicks-off

OTSP program in Canada

NEWSMILITARY SIMULATION & TRAINING

Issue no. 20 Spring / Summer 2009

ALSO IN THIS ISSUEExecutive Corner 2

R&D investment critical to CAE’s technology leadership

Technology Developments 4 CAE’s GESI system continues to expand capabilities A trusted Wedgetail capability modeling environment

Program Spotlight 6RAF C-130J training systems near 10 years of service

Capabilities Focus 7 Building an integrated learning environment

News & Notes 8one step ahead

NM0920_MS&T_News.indd 1 4/15/09 1:18:54 PM

Major R&D investment central to CAE’s continued innovation and technology leadership by Martin Gagné, Group President, Military Products and Training & Services

CAE recently announced that we plan to invest more than C$714 million over the next five years as part of a research and development (R&D) program we call Project Falcon. The goal is to expand CAE’s current modeling and simulation technologies, develop new simulation-based technologies, and increase the application of simulation into areas beyond training, including analysis and operations. Our Project Falcon initiative follows a major R&D program we initiated in 2005 called Project Phoenix.

CAE has always prided itself on being a world leader in simulation technology. Innovation

has been and will continue to be essential in the company maintaining this leadership position. Even in these challenging economic times, we recognize how important continued investment is to our future, as well as the future of our customers. Other defence and aerospace companies may invest more in pure R&D dollars, but it is highly unlikely you could find another company who invested as much specifically in the simulation niche.

We recognize, however, that R&D and technology development is more than just a team of bright, skilled scientists and engineers working in a lab and tinkering with the latest and greatest technologies. There needs to be a purpose for technology development, and that purpose must take into account the needs and requirements of those who will use that technology.

We continue to work closely with our military and government customers to ensure they have a prominent voice in our technology developments. We are engaging our customers and prospective customers in discussions that

have and will shape our R&D investments over the coming years. Through Project Falcon, we will focus on applying R&D investments into six main technology thrusts. Among these will be the development of an augmented visionics system to address the challenge of landing helicopters in brownout conditions, modeling and simulation of new aircraft types,

and networking technologies to promote more joint training and mission rehearsal capabilities for allied defence forces.

The military has been at the forefront of some of the world’s greatest technology advancements, which has resulted from a continued focus and investment on R&D. CAE shares this belief in continuous innovation and through Project Falcon, we will grow and expand the use of simulation. The investments we make over the coming years are an investment in a better future for CAE and most importantly, for the men and women in uniform who ultimately benefit from technology developments.

22 Executive Corner

Meet Martin GagnéMartin Gagné was recently named CAE’s Group President, Military Products and Training & Services. He has the global responsibility for CAE’s two military business segments, which in fiscal year 2009 accounted for more than C$600 million in annual revenues. Previously, Gagné was Executive Vice President for CAE with responsibility for civil simulation products and military sales, core technologies, operations, and quality assurance. Gagné is a graduate of the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario with both a bachelor’s

and master’s degree in engineering. He spent more than 23 years in the Canadian Armed Forces

serving in a variety of roles.


Government of Canada contracts CAE as Operational Training Systems ProviderFebruary 13, 2009 will go down as a unique and special day in CAE’s more than 60-year history. After all, it is not often that the leader of one of the world’s largest countries visits to make a major announcement.

But that is what happened at CAE’s headquarters in Montreal as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was on-hand to announce that the Government of Canada had signed a C$329.5 million contract with CAE to establish a world-class aircrew training capability for Canada’s new fleet of C-130J Hercules tactical airlift aircraft.

“CAE is a Canadian success story and its leadership in simulation and training is widely recognized around the world,” said Prime Minister Harper. “This project is the first step to establishing a world-class training organization, which will contribute significantly to the safety and operational effectiveness of our troops.”

Through the Canada First Defence Strategy, the Government of Canada is committed to measures that ensure that the Canadian Forces will be a first-class, modern, multi-role force capable of defending Canada and Canadian interests at home and abroad. As part of the strategy to strengthen Canada’s defence forces, the Government of Canada is under contract to acquire a new fleet of 17 C-130J aircraft, and in the future expects to acquire CH-47 Chinook medium-to-heavy lift helicopters. As these new aircraft enter service for Canada, highly-trained and mission-ready personnel will be required to operate and maintain them. This more than 20-year partnership with CAE, initially for the C-130J aircrew training capability, is a clear example of delivering on Canada’s commitment to its military while bringing mutual benefit to the Canadian Forces and Canadian industry.

Known as the Operational Training Systems Provider (OTSP), this program offers an efficient and cost-effective method of delivering critical operational training for the new C-130J fleet. The training will consist of basic flying qualifications for pilots and loadmasters, who will also receive mission qualifications to learn how to use the various aircraft systems in an operational environment.

CAE will lead the design and development of the C-130J training media, which will include two full-mission simulators, one flight training device (FTD), three CAE Simfinity™ integrated procedures trainers (IPTs), one fuselage trainer (FuT), and laptop-based CAE Simfinity virtual simulators. In addition, the overall training media includes courseware, a tactical control center, training management information system (TMIS) and related information technology equipment.

CAE enlisted the support of a range of Canadian-based specialist companies as part of its pan-Canadian team for the OTSP program. Specifically for the C-130J aircrew training capability, CAE will subcontract work to xwave for development of the TMIS, to Bombardier for courseware development, to Atlantis for design and manufacturing of the FTD and to Cascade for the design and manufacturing of the FuT.

Following delivery of the C-130J training media in early 2012, CAE will then lead the in-service support for the C-130J aircrew training program over the next 20 years.

CAE will have staff on-site at Canadian Forces Base Trenton to provide training support services such as courseware updates, scheduling, database modeling and generation of common databases (CDBs), hardware and software engineering support, and maintenance.

“This approach to training consolidates resources, alleviates duplication of effort, and provides an advanced training suite of products resulting in a more efficient use of funding and a more effective capability development program for our Air Force,” said Major Lawrence O’Keeffe of the OTSP project office. “We are confident that this training will enhance Canada’s current reputation of having some of the most outstanding Hercules aircrews in the world.”

“We are proud to be Canada’s Operational Training Systems Provider and lead the overall design and development of the C-130J aircrew training capability,” said Martin Gagné, CAE’s Group President, Military Products and Training & Services. “We intend to use the OTSP program in Canada as a model for the training systems integrator capabilities we can bring to defence forces around the world.”

3Feature Story

Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the announcement that CAE had been awarded the OTSP contract to provide a comprehensive C-130J aircrew training capability to the Canadian Forces.

Parts of this article adapted from a feature article published by Canada’s Department of National Defence (www.forces.gc.ca).


4 Executive Corner4 Technology Developments

CAE’s GESI system is a proven constructive simulation system that is currently being used by seven European nations for comprehensive command and staff training. In its long and successful history, CAE GESI has undergone numerous advancements and evolved into a constructive simulation system that addresses the entire mission spectrum of most modern armies, from high-intensity conflicts to operations other than war (OOTW).

As the real world is constantly changing, however, simulation software such as CAE’s GESI system must adapt to these changes. The German Army, the largest GESI user, has been working closely with CAE to suggest advancements and new features required in the GESI software to produce an even more sophisticated training and decision-support system. Based on the recently-delivered version of the CAE GESI system for simulation models with adaptive resolution of troops and terrain (CAE GESI™ smartt), the future requirements of the German Armed Forces as well as other GESI users will be achieved through two major upgrades to be made available in 2009 and 2011 respectively.

CAE GESI smartt offers its users greater flexibility and a much wider range of operations and missions to be trained. The system now addresses training requirements for urban up to division-level operations. GESI smartt now offers three different resolutions instead of just one fixed resolution, new and improved models, and an increase in the number of parties and entities. The most obvious change when compared to previous versions is the multi-simulation/multi-maps feature. Instead of the one resolution that was available in the previous version – a hexagonal grid and 50-meter diameter of the perimeter – GESI smartt now offers two additional resolutions to reflect the need for operational tasks, including

a 500-meter diameter and operations in an urban environment with a 10-meter diameter. All maps seamlessly integrate with each other so that movements and interactions between the three different maps are executed as if only one database exists.

Some of the other key features of the GESI smartt system include:

• Upto32,000entities;

• Upto12differentparties;

• Enhancedmodelstosupportjointoperations;

• Highly-detailedlogisticsmodel;

• Airspacecontrolordersmodel;

• Newnavalentities(aircraftcarrier,helicoptercarrier,submarines,landingcraft);

• Newairentities(attackhelicopters,transportaircraft,automaticcloseairsupport);

• Activeradarsystems(reconnaissanceandjamming) for aircraft/helicopters.

In the near future, the German Armed Forces and other GESI users want to train their commanders and staffs with the help of computer-aided simulation exercises (CAX) up to the divisional level in all kinds of missions. The staffs of NATO response forces as well as European battle groups and quick reaction and stabilization forces can also be trained with the enhanced GESI smartt system. With the latest product improvements, for the first time GESI will cover the whole spectrum of joint and combined land-based operations in both a national and a multinational environment.

In addition to enhancing the administrative workflow and equipping all of the GESI editors with a modern, Windows-based user interface, there is a range of other product enhancements planned, including:

• Interoperabilitycapabilitiesthatwillsupportintegration with command and control

systems as well as other live/virtual/constructive simulation

systems on the basis of the high-level architecture(HLA);

• Enhanced urban operations such asarresting and questioning people, demolition of buildings, protection through debris and more;

• Introductionofamilitarypolicemodel toreflecttrafficcontroltasks;

• Enhancedspecialoperationscapabilitiessuch as parachute jumping, fast roping, andlasertargetdesignators;

• Enhanced intelligence,surveillanceandreconnaissance including unmanned combataerial vehicles (UCAV),groundsensor equipment and more.

As part of CAE’s product strategy, the GESI simulation system for teaching tactics at academies (CAE GESI™ SiTA) is a classroom trainer application that will always be based on the same core GESI software used for GESI smartt. This ensures maximum synergy between these two applications of GESI software. The GESI SiTA classroom trainer is used by the Norwegian Military Academy in Oslo and by the German Officer School in Dresden to teach junior staff the required tactics and doctrine.

An entirely new field of application for the GESI system is in the public safety and security sector. The GESI system has already proven its worth for the training of emergency response centers in several major disaster management exercises in Austria and Germany over the last two years. Within theses exercises, the simulation has also been used to validate existing emergency response plans. Meanwhile, there are also first-model enhancements of the simulation with respect to this area available. For example, CAE GESI was enhanced by specific models for wildfire propagation and wildfire fighting. CAE is also researching software enhancements aimed at networking with other simulation models and within civil command, control and information systems.

CAE’s GESI™ system continues to expand capabilities with new features and applications


5Spring/Summer 2009 5Technology Developments

When contracting for the procurement of the Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft, the Australian Defence Organisation (ADO) also contracted CAE Professional Services Australia for the development of a simulation environment to support operational analysis and training. The Wedgetail Capability Modeling Environment (WCME) is a constructive simulat ion environment that models communication channels for air and surface surveillance tracks over a data link and command and control (C2) environment, thus providing a virtual representation of the operational effects that a capability delivers in the battle space. One of the initial uses of the WCME, though unexpected, was to support the development of Wedgetail tactical procedures prior to the delivery of the aircraft. With the increased use of constructive simulation to support operations, new applications for the WCME are being found, demonstrating that the WCME is an excellent example of how capability modeling environments can support a range of training, experimentation, in-service support, and operational research activities.

Preparing in simulation before the capability is off the production lineThe ADO has a strong history of using operations research methodologies and tools to support major capital acquisitions, both during tender evaluation and acquisition. The goals of the WCME are that it will support experimentation, operational research, operational concept and tactics development, and system upgrades over the life of the Wedgetail platform. Development of the WCME began in 2002 under a five-year contract. In 2003, the ADO began using the environment to conduct capability experiments, which sought to address the risks of introducing the Wedgetail into service through a series of Armchair Warrior exercises. These exercises also allowed for the early development of tactical procedures by the operators and commanders.

The Armchair Warrior exercises involved a full crew of Wedgetail operators exercising with the agencies they will be interacting with once the Wedgetail becomes operational. The team included elements from the Air Combat Group, Naval Aviation, Navy and Coast Watch. Through the WCME, Wedgetail operators had the functions of the mission system, including identification friend or foe (IFF), radar modes, electronic support measures (ESM), and air-to-air refueling available to them. This enabled operators and organizations to familiarize themselves with advanced capabilities prior to the capability becoming operational.

While the WCME is an effective environment for human-in-the-loop exercises, it can also be used as a virtual environment where operator behaviors are modeled and automated, using the system control and C2 behaviors captured from the human-in-the-loop exercises. By replacing individual operators with behavioral models, decision makers can use the system to run capability experiments to assess issues such as the effectiveness of the future system within the overall air defence capability, what additional AEW&C sensors are necessary to improve the capability, and what the necessary personnel requirements are to effectively support the Wedgetail capability.

WCME supporting LVC exercises Since beginning the development of the WCME, the use of constructive simulation to support live-virtual-constructive (LVC) exercises has grown exponentially, supporting an ever-expansive battle space that engages thousands of participants. Capability modeling environments, such as the WCME, can be used within the constructive simulation to provide a trusted representation of a capability within the battle space.

The benefits of using a capability modeling environment in LVC exercises include:

• No limitations on its availability andaccessibility, reducing risk for integration intoexerciseenvironments;

• Involving full, partial, or nooperators,thus allowing other force element groups, services, or coalition partners to exercise with the capability, but not increase the operationalsquadrons’workload;

• Thefunctionalrepresentationencapsulatedby a capability modeling environment allows operator tactical training.

Future applications of capability modeling environments Beyond LVC exercises, the WCME and other capability modeling environments support analysis and experimentation to evaluate how best to address the evolution of threat and friendly forces activities in the battlespace. Operations research teams can use the capability modeling environment to provide quantitative measures of the effectiveness of the capability and the overall force.

A future application of the WCME is to support the evaluation of proposed enhancements to a capability. The benefit of using a capability modeling environment is that improvements in performance of the capability can be captured in data with minimal development effort. Improvements in the performance of the capability can then be evaluated through exploration and analysis within the battle space to validate the increase in effectiveness measures either against baseline performance or other options for capability improvement. This allows a cost/benefit assessment to be made in support of a proposed enhancement.

The development of the WCME was completed in late 2008 and provides an enduring capability for the ADO to undertake operational research, experimentation, and training over the life of the Wedgetail program. The development of the WCME as part of the acquisition has demonstrated how capability modeling environments can support the full lifecycle of a capability, including assessment of operational capability, familiarizing operators and organizations, tactical procedures development, and assessment of capability enhancements.

A trusted Wedgetail Capability Modeling Environment


6 Executive Corner6 Program Spotlight

RAF C-130J training systems near 10 years of service The C-130J Super Hercules is the latest variant of the most successful and widely used airlifter in the world. This Lockheed Martin-built aircraft has been used for a wide range of military and civil missions, and late last year the worldwide fleet of C-130J Super Hercules collectively surpassed over a half-million flight hours. One military that contributed significantly to this total was also the launch customer for the “J” – the Royal Air Force (RAF).

Back in the mid-1990s, as Lockheed Martin wasdeveloping theC-130Jand theUKMinistry of Defence was agreeing to be the first military operator with an order for 25 aircraft, Lockheed Martin also sought a training systems partner. This search led them to Tampa, Florida andCAEUSA,acompanyatthetimeknownas Reflectone. Lockheed Martin’s contract withtheUKMinistryofDefencedictatedthatbefore the C-130J aircraft could be accepted, a full suite of C-130J training equipment for both aircrews and maintenance personnel needed to achieve an initial “ready for strategic training” acceptance. This was achieved in late 1999 and marked the beginning of what is now almost 10 years of C-130J training at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire, England.

The suite of CAE-built C-130J training equipment used at RAF Lyneham includes two C-130J dynamic mission simulators (DMSs), a flight training device, a rear-crew fuselage trainer, an engine propeller trainer, and an auxiliary power unit trainer. Throughout the in-service life of the C-130J training system, availability has averaged 99 percent thanks to the high-quality CAE-built devices along with on-site maintenance and support providedbyCAEUKpersonnel.

As you might expect, the RAF C-130J aircraft have undergone a number of upgrades and enhancements over the past decade, and the RAF C-130J training systems need to maintain concurrency. There have been a series of major “block updates” to the C-130J training systems to reflect equivalent changes to the aircraft. All of these updates have been designed by CAE engineers and integrated with the training systems before the aircraft modifications were released for use by C-130J aircrews. These block updates have progressively added functionality to the C130J training systems to help RAF aircrews achieve a high state of mission readiness. For example, no longer do RAF C-130J aircrews pound the local area around Lyneham with instrument patterns because almost 90 percent of the C-130J training is conducted in the synthetic training equipment. In addition, because the fidelity of the C-130J training devices is so high, the RAF is able to conduct basic tactical training as well as network the two C-130J DMSs for advanced training, such as mission rehearsal using night vision goggles.

RAF Lyneham has been hometotheUK’smilitaryair transport operations since the middle of World War I I . Since 1967, RAF Lyneham has also been home to the RAF’s C-130 fleet, beginning with the C-130K and now comprising both C-130K and C-130J aircraft. As

the RAF nears the retirement of the older model C-130K aircraft early in the next decade, theUKplans tocloseRAFLynehamandrelocate the entire airlift/tanker fleet to RAF Brize Norton, the largest airbase of the RAF. The C-130J fleet will join the C-17 and future platforms such as the A400M and A330 tankers. CAE is currently working closely withtheUKMinistryofDefenceaswellasLockheed Martin to develop a comprehensive plan for moving the C-130J training systems to RAF Brize Norton at some point in the future with minimal disruption to the RAF’s critical training requirements for C-130J aircrews and maintainers.

This CAE-built C-130J dynamic mission simulator is used to prepare RAF C-130J aircrews for a range of missions.

“Much has been asked of the RAF’s C-130J fleet over the past few years with crews and aircraft constantly deployed on operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Wing Commander Andy Bacon, the Officer Commanding 24 Squadron at RAF Lyneham. “We would not have been able to meet our operational output and training needs without maximizing the use of our C-130J dynamic mission simulators. Military and industry partnerships are key as we seek to manage our resources, and the relationship between CAE and the Royal Air Force’s C-130J Force is a prime example of a successful joint endeavor.”


7Capabilities Focus

Reduce, reuse, recycle – a familiar phrase reminding everyone to make more efficient use of the resources around them. These three words resonate for training as well. How often do organizations spend their training dollars to develop courseware to train for the same process? Without a coordinated training capability, training budgets can be easily wasted.

CAE Professional Services has teamed with industry partners xwave Defence, Security & Aerospace, Saba, Outstart Evolution and Britannica Knowledge Systems Fox to develop an integrated learning environment to support the development of a coordinated training capability that leverages resource management, content management, learning management, courseware development and blended learning tools across the organization.

Integrating best-of-breed toolsCAE Professional Services has assembled a world-class team of service and technology partners to complement CAE’s depth of expertise and experience in military training and simulation solutions. xwave DSA, which CAE is in the process of acquiring, is the systems

integrator creating the integrated learning environment. Saba is providing the

common user interface and learning management

system (LMS) capability.

Outstart Evolution is delivering the learning content management system (LCMS) as well as providing content creation and publishing capabilities. Britannica Knowledge Systems Fox (BKS Fox) is providing critical resource management and scheduling functionality.

Canada’s AFIILECAE Professional Services Canada has been contracted by the Canadian Air Force to provide an integrated learning environment under the Air Force Integrated Information and Learning Environment (AFIILE) program. The integrated information and learning environment developed by CAE will become the Air Force’s common operating platform for training. It will enable the development of current and future force generation requirements to address rapidly evolving technology and provide the ability to share training resources and content across the entire Air Force community. CAE’s integrated learning environment will evolve current training approaches and improve the capability to meet training demands and prepare for the anticipated loss of expertise due to future personnel retirements. The solution is a best-of-breed, performance-oriented information and learning environment aimed at reducing the training time required to achieve proficiency and increasing overall training capacity.

CAE’s carefully-selected team has focused expertise in military training solutions and offers a suite of configurable, scalable, and modular technology solutions. The team

has been exploring how next-generation training technologies such as virtual worlds and gaming technology can be integrated within the environment.

Reduce, reuse, recycleBlended learning coupled with information and learning object management will enable organizations to break down silos and manage their training programs across training establishments in a strategic, systematic manner. The resulting benefits will include:

• Reducingtimetoproficiencythroughtheadoptionofablendedlearningapproach;

• Reducing costs by sharing trainingresources and content (shareable content objects are reusable) and taking advantage ofdistributedtrainingexperiences;

• Increasing the time tocapacity throughthe development of business processes to support effective training information management.

For more information on CAE’s integrated information and learning environment capabilities, contact CAE Professional Services ([email protected]).

Building an integrated learning environmentCAE Professional Services extends its offering to support training capability development


8 Executive Corner

Chris Stellwag, EditorChris Tidball, Frank Bertling, Kurt Bieri, Lisa Prentiss, Contributors Martin Petit, Graphic Design

Reader feedback and contributions welcomeCAE,St-Laurent,Quebec,CanadaH4T1G6•[email protected]•cae.comMilitary Simulation and Training News is a publication of CAE. © 2009 CAE All rights reserved.NM0920_0632-P01

News & Notes

CAE delivers INFRONT 3D system to Netherlands Marine Commandos

Following completion of a midlife upgrade recently, CAE UKformally handed back the CAE INFRONT 3D forward observer training system to the Netherlands Marine Commandos. CAE’s forward observer t ra iners prov ide procedural training for dismounted artillery

observer teams in a simulated environment. The system delivers artillery call for fire and fire correction training, coordinated communications training, and tactical training.

The original CAE INFRONT 3D forward observer trainer at Doorn was supplied to the Netherlands Marine Commando Training Facility by CAE in 1994 to allow “in-field” training. Recent updates by CAE to the forward observer trainer at the Netherlands Army facility in Oldebroek provided the Marine Commando instructors with a proven upgrade path for their facility. This upgrade achieves commonality between the Army and Marine facilities, thus allowing joint development of exercises and a potential for future joint upgrades.

CAE to invest C$714 million in research and developmentCAE recently announced that it will invest up to C$714 million in Project Falcon, a research and development program that will span five years. The goal of Project Falcon is to expand CAE’s current modeling and simulation technologies and increase the use of simulation beyond traditional training applications to other areas of aerospace and defence, such as analysis and operations. The Government of Canada is investing in Project Falcon through Canada’s Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative. Included in the Project Falcon research and development program is CAE’s continued development of an augmented visionics system (AVS) to help helicopter pilots take off and land safely in blinding conditions, such as brownouts. CAE will also invest in developing modeling and simulation solutions for unmanned vehicles, and develop networking technologies to support joint, distributed training and mission rehearsal exercises.

“Innovation is essential for CAE in order to sustain its leadership position in modeling, simulation, and training,” said Robert E. Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer, CAE. “We will therefore continue to invest in research and development, even in these challenging times. This new Project Falcon will allow us to continue diversifying by leveraging our core technologies into adjacent segments.”

How “Green” is Simulation?The answer is “very green”, at least according to some analysis done by CAE’s Professional Services organization. The question arose during a meeting in Australia where CAE’s Professional Services team was discussing the benefits of simulation as a “green credit”. Intuitively, most will agree that simulation is green, but CAE Professional Services wanted some hard data so they conducted an analysis to understand the real impact of using simulation for flight training.

The results were quite astonishing in terms of the reduction of CO2 emissions. Training in a full-mission simulator reduced CO2 emissions by a factor of 17 to 33, depending on the fuel usage and aircraft type in a live training exercise. In other words, for the same carbon yield you can “fly” a simulator for 17 to 33 hours for every hour flown in a live aircraft. Some key benefits for customers in the increased use of simulation include the economic value in obtaining green credits and supporting climate change by reducing CO2 emissions for training. For more information on this analysis, contact CAE Professional Services at [email protected].

CAE and Neptec successfully demonstrate AVS technology

CAE and Neptec Design Group recently demonstrated Neptec’s Obscurant Penetrating Au tosynch ronous LIDAR (OPAL) sensor that is integrated into CAE’s Augmented Visionics System (AVS). CAE’s AVS solution is

being developed to enable helicopter pilots to operate safely in the most extreme conditions, including landing in brownouts.

During testing at the Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona, Neptec’s OPAL wasusedtosuccessfullypenetratedustcloudsgeneratedbytheUH-1test helicopter. Most importantly, OPAL could “see through” brownout conditions opaque to the human eye to easily differentiate between rocks, bushes, sloping terrain, hydro posts, ground vehicles, and wires at distances greater than 200 meters. The high-resolution detail returned by OPAL provides situational awareness critical to helicopter pilots when attempting to land in near-zero visibility conditions.

CAE’s AVS solution combines Neptec’s OPAL with the CAE-developed common database (CDB). The fundamental concept for CAE’s AVS solution is to take OPAL’s 3D sensor data and update the CDB for real-time processing of a synthetic image showing the area surrounding the helicopter. A change detection algorithm ensures that the CDB remains up-to-date in real-time. The synthetic image is presented to the pilot on a head-down display or helmet-mounted display, and the pilot retains full control of the aircraft at all times by flying intuitively in relation to synthetic cues produced by the CDB when visual cues are obscured.


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It is a common military thought that in warfare, the side that learns faster and whose leader-

ship at all levels is more agile than its enemy, generally wins. The US Army wants to learn fast, be agile and win, and hence is developing solutions to help leaders and soldiers learn and adapt in current and future confl ict. There are many training challenges and gaming applications for military purposes, and addressing these challenges is becoming more important as part of the learning solution. Gaming technology, tradition-ally viewed for entertainment only, can make a signifi cant contribution to the creation of a more agile force. The Army recently embarked on an ambitious gam-ing program for use in training and edu-cating leaders, soldiers, and their organi-zations.

The Army is presently faced with a signifi cant demographic shift: an ever increasing number of Generation Y or

‘Millennial’ soldiers. Traditional class-room methods do not always achieve optimal learning effects with this gen-eration, which gravitates more toward experiential, collaborative learning in a digital space. The Army is simultane-ously confronting resource and other training challenges. Units, often short on time and other resources for the much sought after live training, have had to become extremely creative in their efforts to achieve Army standards prior to deployment. Additionally the Army is shifting its training focus from counter insurgency operations to full spectrum operations.

Confronted with the above chal-lenges, the Army turned to gaming tech-nology for effi cient, effective, and versatile training applications. It stood up a Gam-ing Program of Record in April 2008 and moved rapidly to select its fi rst offi cial game in December of that year: “Virtual BattleSpace2” (VBS2), contracting with

Laser Shot, Inc. and partners Bohemia Interactive and Calytrix Technologies.

Gaming is not completely new to the Army. In fact, the Army owes some of its knowledge of games to its Aus-tralian allies, who were among the fi rst to develop VBS 1 and use it for training applications as a fi rst person shooter (FPS) genre game. The Army initially created its own online game, “America’s Army” for recruiting purposes. Also, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a U.S. Department of Defense organization, developed a FPS game called DARWARS AMBUSH!, which has been used in most Army organizations to train small unit tactics,

In the face of changing demographics and the overwhelming need for innovative training in full spectrum operations, the US Army is venturing into gaming technology in a big way. Col Mark McManigal, TCM Gaming and Major Tom Biedermann, Australian Army, describe the initiative

GAME ON!

Commanders make decisions and see

the execution of the plan by their

subordinates.

Image credit: Author.

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SMi’s 10th annual conference on

Fighter Training3rd & 4th June 2009, Copthorne Tara Hotel, London, UK

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• Lieutenant Colonel Musa Mbhokota, Second in Charge 2Squadron, Air Force Base Makhado, South African Air Force

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troop leading procedures (TLP), and leader development.

All of these efforts were precursors to the establishment of Training and Doc-trine Command (TRADOC) Capability Manager (TCM) Gaming. GEN William S. Wallace, the former TRADOC Com-mander and a big advocate of the use of game technology, signed the TCM Gaming charter on 2 April 2008 with the intent that the program use readily avail-able commercial and government off the shelf products (COTS and GOTS), thereby enabling the Army to get games into the hands of Soldiers quickly. TCM Gaming moved rapidly to oversee the creation of the Program of Record and the selection by Program Executive Offi ce for Simu-lations, Training, and Instrumentation (PEO-STRI) of the FPS game, VBS2.

While PEO-STRI is responsible for acquiring and fi elding the game, to include the conduct of New Equipment Training (NET), the TCM is the Army’ s centralized planner, manager, and inte-grator for all capability developments and user activities. This includes the prioritization of requirements for games coming from the operating and generat-ing forces. TCM Gaming established a

system for gathering the requirements throughout the Army, developing them further and getting them into the hands of the material developer, PEO-STRI, as quickly as possible.

VBS2 has signifi cant advantages over many other games in terms of its ability

to establish a semi-immersive training environment. The geographical terrain can be constructed specifi cally to repli-cate most places in the world. The menu of entities, to include weapon systems, insurgents, host nation police, other mili-tary forces, and civilians, is comprehen-sive, allowing an increasingly realistic depiction of the contemporary operating environment faced by U.S. Army units. Game graphics are greatly enhanced, and there is a three-dimensional mission editor that allows the trainers to make rapid changes while the game is being played.

To aid the incorporation of gaming into learning, VBS2 has an excellent After Action Review (AAR) system, which per-mits the trainers to facilitate discussions on what the training audience needs to improve or sustain. VBS2 is enabled to interoperate with Army command and control (C2) and virtual and constructive systems. VBS2 includes a Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) High Level Architecture (HLA) that enables inter-operability with other virtual and con-structive models and simulations as well as battle command and control systems such as Blue Force Tracker, FBCB-2 and

VBS2 is realistic – an Iraqi Army soldier talks

to civilians during a mission.

Image credit: Bohemia Interactive.

the Command Post of the Future (CPOF). These features enable the training of organized teams and stimulate the men-tal processes necessary in developing agile and adaptable leaders.

Apart from developing agile leaders, VBS2 has a sophisticated terrain edi-tor that includes the potential for the selection of actual terrain, as well as the modeling of real buildings and other structures upon that terrain. This ability allows the creation of terrain in an actual area of responsibility (AOR) such as Iraq or Afghanistan. Consequently, units can use VBS2 to conduct real world mission planning, rehearsals and leader’s virtual reconnaissance on the terrain in their area of responsibility. Many in the Army anticipate that VBS2 can replace, in cer-tain situations, the terrain boards, sand tables and other ad hoc tools to assist leaders and soldiers in battlefi eld visuali-zation. All in all, VBS2 is an outstanding, versatile tool.

As a proto-type, a commercial ver-sion of VBS2 has already been in use at many locations in the U.S. Army. Fort Lewis organizations in particular have used VBS2 many times not only at the main installation but also at its

training center in Yakima, Washing-ton. At Yakima, personnel from the Fort Lewis Battle Command Training Center (BCTC) work with the units to identify training objectives, build Yakima terrain and buildings into the game’s data base, design scenarios and connect the game to a Army constructive simulation called Joint Confl ict and Terrain Simulation (JCATS).

Fort Lewis company command-ers, platoon leaders, and squad leaders can conduct operations in the semi-immersive environment of the game and report to the higher level battalion commander and his staff operating in their actual vehicles and tactical opera-tions centers (TOCs). Leaders and sol-diers have been able to practice their Standard Operating Procedures, train Core and Directed Mission Essential Tasks, and train Warrior Tasks and Bat-tle Drills. Fort Lewis users of VBS2, from brigade level through squad, have become ardent believers in this train-ing tool and constantly seek more time to use it.

The Army began to fi eld VBS2 to operational units and its schools and institutions in February 2009. The total


package consists not only of VBS2 but also incorporates two additional games: Tactical Iraqi and ELECT BiLAT. These latter features permit units to conduct language and cultural awareness and negotiation education programs. The overall package will be a strong tool as the Army trains for full spectrum opera-tions. By September 2009, the multi-mil-lion dollar total package will be fi elded to the Army’s Battle Command Train-ing Centers (BCTCs), including ones in Hawaii, Alaska, Korea, and Germany.

The U.S. Army has been adapt-ing operational and institutional train-ing to develop agile leaders and teams to meet the demands of full spectrum operations. To meet the substantial challenges posed by demographic and resource shifts, the Army is using gam-ing technology as an important tool. The VBS2 game currently being fi elded is a versatile tool with robust features to meet the demands of full spectrum operations. Initial reports suggest that the VBS2 game and other gaming tech-nology adapted for military purposes are an effi cient and effective way to train and educate agile leaders and develop small teams for operations. ms&t

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The Orion Projector Series by Display Solutions offers the simulation industry solid-state projectors capable of displaying fast moving objects and uniform black levels typically associated with CRT projectors.

The Orion Projector Series features include: custom optical apertures, internal LAN-controlled optical filters, an adjustable lens iris, DC lamp technology and Partial Field Video Blanking.

Performance tests with the Orion Red Projector generated images with little to no visual smearing or “image doubling” at helicopter rotation speeds of more than 60 degrees per second.

The Orion Green Projector, when combined with Black Level Enhancement by 3d Perceptions, simulates ANVIS3 NVG compatible images with no visible “overlap stripes” on all edge blended areas.

Display Solutions provides the simulation and training industry with affordable COTS-based solutions for applications previously dominated by higher-cost products.

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system integration capabilities.Contact Display Solutions

about your visual system needs – because the view matters.

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Are trainees really learning to the best of their ability? Instructors (and researchers)

want to know! Research being con-ducted at the naval Air Warfare center Training Systems Division (nAWcTSD) in orlando is aimed at answering just that question. In two nAWcTSD projects, researchers are examining if, and how, a student’s physiological and performance data can be used to improve training effectiveness.

QTEaone of the more intriguing exhib-its at I/ITSec 2008 was found in the nAWcTSD display area, where a pilot in a jet FTD wore a skull cap of white elec-troencephalogram (eeg) sensors. These sensors were monitoring the pilot’s brainwave activity as he performed various fl ight maneuvers in a mission rehearsal scenario, and sending neuro-logical data to recorders at the instruc-tor’s station. not so visible to conference attendees were other sensors, which also sent electrocardiogram (ecg), heart rate,

galvanic skin response, eye-tracking and thermal camera data, along with meas-urements of oxygen levels in the pilot’s hemoglobin, to the recorders.

It was conference attendees’ fi rst look at a Phase I prototype called the Quality of Training effectiveness Assess-ment (QTeA) system, funded through the offi ce of naval Research’s Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program and managed by nAWcTSD. The QTeA sys-tem is one of the division’s latest research efforts to improve and enhance training through the measurement and analysis of human performance.

The STTR was awarded to Advanced Infoneering, Inc, a small business in Iowa city, Iowa in partnership with the opera-tor Performance laboratory (oPl) at the University of Iowa. The oPl has con-ducted extensive human performance research on pilot state characterization for the Integrated Intelligent Flight Deck (IIFD) program at nASA langley, avion-ics manufacturers and other governmen-tal agencies.

Two of the three QTeA primary tech-

nology components are the Alion-BMh Advanced Tactical Aircraft Simulator (ATAS) and common Distributed Mis-sion Training Station (cDMTS). The third is the cognitive Avionics Tool Set (cATS), which was developed by the oPl. The fi rst phase of the QTeA project has been completed, with contract negotiations for the second phase being fi nalized at the time of this writing

The QTeA system measures a pilot’s technical and physiological performance during high-task demand situations experienced in a fl ight simulator mission scenario or on an actual aircraft mission. In addition to the physiological meas-urements recorded in the fl ight simula-tor, at later phases of the QTeA project the same measuring equipment will be employed to record pilot performance in

nAWcTSD is exploring physiological monitoring to provide data that will optimize training effectiveness. Chuck Weirauch explains.

Hard Wired for Learning


Above

I/ITSec 2008 attendees view QTeA

physiological data monitoring displays.

Image credit: nAWcTSD.


Hard Wired for Learning

an actual fighter jet training aircraft that is available at OPL. The goal of this phys-iological-based assessment of trainee performance is to enable improvements in training and to enhance training effec-tiveness, based on the real-time perform-ance feedback provided by analysis of the recorded physiological data.

“The purpose of QTEA is to under-stand tasks and skills attached to training device fidelity,” Melissa Walwanis-Nel-son explained. She is a senior research psychologist in the Training & Usabil-ity in Simulation-based Tools Labora-tory, a division of the NAWCTSD Train-ing & Human Performance Research and Development Branch. “We want to understand whether or not an individual responds similarly to a specific task or stimulus that they are experiencing in a simulator as they are in an airplane. We have a jet instrumented up as well that we can make comparisons with across a range of tasks that one would perform. That way, we can make better decisions as to what we train in the simulator ver-sus what gets trained in the jet.”

Ultimately, the QTEA work will help researchers better understand how a per-son’s brain works in response to learning, Walwanis-Nelson said, Then training could be adapted real-time to what a person really needs to learn at any given point in time. The pace of training ses-sions could also be more geared to the individual’s needs as well, she added. Much analysis and validation work of the data recorded by the QTEA system will need to be accomplished before this

point in the project can be achieved, though, she cautioned.

The first practical application of QTEA research will be when simulators at Pen-sacola Naval Air Station in Florida are outfitted with QTEA sensors and record-ers towards the end of 2009 and early 2010. This facility is the primary center for Navy flight crew training. Here, the QTEA equipment will first be employed with the Navy Aviation Survival Training Program and its Reduced Oxygen Breath-ing Device (ROBD), which trains aviators to recognize the signs of hypoxia.

The physiological data provided by QTEA equipment will help crews under-stand when they are becoming hypoxic, Walwanis-Nelson said. The data recorded will be used in after-action reviews for the aircrew trainees, she explained. Another early use of the QTEA equipment will also be used for training to recognize spatial disorientation while pilots are conducting simulator-based training.

According to Tom Schnell, QTEA principal investigator for the OPL and research pilot, the basic idea of QTEA is to give the trainer a real-time picture of the performance of a trainee based on human physiological and cognitive data recorded via the system’s sensors. This additional information provides the instructor with another tool to objec-tively assess student performance. Typi-cally, instructors don’t have the tech-nology available to measure students’ performance physiologically, instead using observable measurements such as on speed or on time, he said.

“Now we can go beyond that by hav-ing additional metrics that are derived from the level of engagement at the cog-nitive level,” Schnell pointed out. “QTEA can indicate how close to perfect a pilot’s eye movement scan of the aircraft’s instruments are – looking at the right thing at the right time – for example.”

Schnell described the OPL-developed CATS as the engine inside the QTEA sys-tem that connects with all of the physio-logical sensors, pulling in all of their data and generating a pilot workload estimate in real-time.

“So as the pilot is getting more and more cognitively loaded, CATS provides a real number estimate of how hard the person is engaged in the sense of the cog-nitive workload, and this number is then available over HLA for use by the instruc-tor or the instructor operating station soft-ware,” Schnell said. “What we want to do in Phase II is to use that workload number to adjust the training scenario in real time in such a way that the pilot is optimally stimulated throughout the mission exer-cise, with the hypothesis that learning is not as effective when you are being bored. When your workload estimate points out that you are 100 percent loaded, learning is probably not taking place as well. Some-where in the upper higher range will be the optimum level for learning that occurs in maximum performance. And that is the point at which we want to drive the sce-nario to keep the pilot at that level.”

The QTEA researchers also want to use the physiological data to estab-lish benchmarks, or “gold standards,” to

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which new students can be trained, with data recorded from expert pilots, Schnell said. Then students’ performance would be measured against these standards. once fielded as an operational system, the QTeA system would allow trainers to determine if students needed further training, he added.

neural States in Training and Education Another research program underway at nAWcTSD that focuses on the cap-ture and analysis of neurological meas-urements as a means to improve train-ing is “Incorporating neural States into Training and education,” a project also funded by the office of naval Research. According to nAWcTSD principal inves-tigator gwen campbell, this study analy-ses student eeg data recorded during a simulation-based training exercise. This study is being conducted to determine if recording and analyzing such measure-ments can improve training effectiveness or the efficiency of the training, and to what extent, campbell said.

campbell and Phan luu of electri-cal geodesics, Inc., want to find out if the eeg data can distinguish between

those behaviors that a trainee performs deliberately and believes to be correct from all other behaviors. This would allow instructors to distinguish between well-learned responses, lucky guesses, true misconceptions and accidental responses, or slips, made because the students are under stress. They hope that by doing so, the instructor can then give the appropriate corrective feedback to the student.

So far, some preliminary study results show promise. After subjecting trainees to a training exercise to recognize mili-tary vehicles, the researchers found that a single feedback message to the trainees was approximately twice as helpful in improving their performance if that mes-sage was based on a combination of per-formance data and eeg data, rather than one that was only based on performance data. So in this particular instance, incor-porating eeg information led to more efficient training, campbell said.

She points out that because of the difficulty in determining the differences in the eeg data recorded between deliberate but wrong choices made by trainees and those that were accidental slips and misses and the time it takes to

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make these analyses, considerable work needs to be done before this performance measurement technique could be imple-mented in real-time into a complex train-ing system. While the eeg measurement techniques are still under development, the current techniques seem to provide accurate information for single trial use.

The eeg measurement techniques, although initially successful, might not prove to be worthwhile for all types of training, campbell cautioned. In particu-lar, it would not add value to training for slowly evolving missions where trainees did not need to make quick decisions. however, she does see a number of appli-cations where the technique would pay off for the instructor.

“This work is a first step in pushing an emerging technology towards the state of maturity in which it could be a viable tool in a military trainer’s toolbox,” campbell said.

“one thing that we think sets it apart from other efforts is our attempt to meas-ure the actual size of the impact on the trainee’s learning and progress, and it is very exciting to be able to report that our results to date show the promise of this technology.” ms&t

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When the EDA was founded it was not entering unknown territory. Sev-

eral organisations already existed that promoted the development of a more or less unifi ed European armaments market

- perhaps too many, because initiatives sometimes overlapped. The OCCAR and the LoI/Framework Agreement managed collaborative European Armament Pro-grammes, and so did the Western Euro-pean Armaments Organization (WEAO)

and the Western European Armaments Group (WEAG). In the strict sense the EDA is a continuation of the work of the WEAO and WEAG, transferring their functions from the to some extent dor-mant Western European Union (WEU) to the wider post-Cold War European Union framework.

The EDA, as an agency of the Euro-pean Union, is under the direction and authority of the European Council. The Head of the Agency is Javier Solana, the former NATO Secretary General, now High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy - a kind of EU Foreign Minister. The defence min-isters of the Agency’s 26 Member States (all EU members except Denmark) and one member of the European Commis-sion control the Agency. In addition, the national armaments directors, national research directors, national capability planners and policy directors meet regu-larly for detailed control and guidance.

Despite its high-ranking personnel, the budget appears rather moderate. Average annual funding of the EDA is in the range of $40 million. The EDA has achieved much more during its fi ve years of existence than both opponents and protagonists would have thought. The fi rst major achievement was the approval of a voluntary Code of Conduct on

Established) on 12 July 2004, the European Defence Agency (EDA) is designed “to support the Council and the Member States in their effort to improve European defence capabilities in the fi eld of crisis management and to sustain the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP)...”. Walter F. Ullrich explains.

European Defence Agency


Head of the EDA, Javier Solana (left) with

Alexander Weis, EDA’s Chief Executive.

Image credit: The Council of the European

Union.

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defence procurement in 2005. This deci-sion marked a turning point: it changed the established practice of exempting defence procurement from cross-bor-der competition. The subscribing Mem-ber States now publish their contract opportunities on the Agency’s web-site, the Electronic Bulletin Board. The Agency manages a portfolio of over 40 Research & Technology collaborations. The defence ministers have acknowl-edged that they need to “spend more” and “spend more together” on R&T. As a practical first step, in November 2006 a groundbreaking Joint R&T Investment Programme was approved, the aim of which is to develop new technologies that help to provide better protection for the European armed forces. Twenty gov-ernments pledged a budget of more than €55 million. In October 2006 ministers endorsed the Long-Term Vision (LTV), which defines capability and capacity needs for the period 2020-2030. Thus, the LTV assists in steering defence R&T and armament collaborations to provide the right capabilities in the longer term.

Developing capabilitiesThe Agency has put in place a strate-gic framework to set its destination and to navigate towards it. “But strategies and policies themselves do not produce capabilities. These can only result from concrete projects,” says Alexander Weis, EDA’s Chief Executive. Guided by the Capability Development Plan, 12 initial priorities have been selected for improv-ing European military capabilities. Some

of these projects were already underway; the Ministerial Steering Board has acti-vated others more recently – in particular on 10 November 2008.

Not all projects or programmes are related to equipment. The Agency’s work on helicopter training is an excellent example of how capabilities can also be improved by other means and in a rela-tively short timeframe. Over the coming years helicopter crews will be trained at a European level through the Helicopter Tactics Programme to be prepared to fly in more challenging operational envi-ronments, such as mountainous terrain or deserts. Another possibility is to pool assets, as in the intended European Air Transport Fleet (EATF). The EATF aims at reducing European air transport short-falls by pooling aircraft such as the A400M and C130. Different forms of pooling will be considered: additional procurement; making existing or ordered aircraft avail-able; using flight hours; training, logistics and maintenance. EATF operational sta-tus is planned for 2014-2017.

The Agency’s R&T Directorate is cat-alysing European R&T collaborations. To ensure that R&T efforts are aligned with agreed capability needs, the Agency has developed a series of Capability Technol-ogies (CapTech) networks. A CapTech is both a Technology Area focused on a par-ticular military domain and the technolo-gies associated with it and a Network of Experts. In practice, the main task of a CapTech group is to propose R&T activi-ties, to generate collaborative projects accordingly and oversee their manage-

ment. If a project proposal interests two or more participating Member States, a separate group is usually formed to pre-pare the project and this preparation leads to a Programme Arrangement by Mem-ber States participating in the project. The CapTech Network was re-organ-ised in April 2008. The new scope of the CapTechs reflects three major capability domains, namely Information Acquisition and Processing (IAP), Guidance, Energy & Materials (GEM) and Environment, Sys-tems and Modelling (ESM).

Simulation capabilitiesOne CapTech within the ESM domain focuses on Modelling and Simulation, including the use of simulators, synthetic environments and virtual technologies for all defence applications, as well as training. Research efforts are invested in these subcategories:• Skills Training Systems investigates skills training and the use of synthetic environments in skills training systems for all service environments.• Tactical/Crew Training Systems seeks to understand synthetic theatre of war (STOW) and the application of synthetic environments, including Virtual Reality (VR) techniques in simulators to reflect the critical cues provided by the real platform.• Command & Staff Training Systems carries out research in order to under-stand command-level training systems, STOW and the use of speech for interac-tive training. It also encompasses work to understand the application of synthetic

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At L-3 Link and AAI, we have the core capabilities and experience to make sure the transition that combines two C-17 training systems into one integrated program is absolutely seamless. Our focus on identifying opportunities to reduce overall training costs and improve C-17 training effectiveness is designed to create solutions that maximize aircrew and maintainer mission readiness. To find out more, visit www.link.com today.

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environments within command-level training systems and com-puter-assisted staff training systems. • Virtual Reality evaluates and analyses virtual crew stations as a tool for procurement and training. It includes work to understand integration of 3-D imaging and display technology in the fields of remote telepresence, and cognitive aspects of operator per-formance. It also covers work to assess the physiological impact imposed by man, the task and the environment as well as work to understand techniques for measuring performance in VR envi-ronments, and work to understand the nature of physiological and psychological interactions between humans and VR, and the value of VR in design and training systems.• Synthetic Environments - Synthetic Force Generation conducts research to understand synthetic environments for training, oper-ational analysis (OA), procurement, requirements capture proc-ess, platform and weapons systems, sensor systems and relevant countermeasure systems. It also includes work to understand the use of stimulators and simulators, system performance, design, testing, validation, acceptance and use, and environments. It fur-ther includes work to understand the nature of physiological and psychological interactions between humans and synthetic envi-ronments (SEs), and their value for design, selection and training activities.• Synthetic Environments - Natural Environment Generation investigates the use of SEs for natural environment generation. That includes work to facilitate the rapid generation of geotypi-cal terrain and feature/cultural data. It comprises work to under-stand Variable Representation in support of simulation systems, and research on the application of models to generate internal wave wake for the prediction of surface wave modulations.• Synthetic Environments - Management Systems examines database management of terrain, environment, dynamic models and other relevant databases. It also deals with developments arising from the SEDRIS programme. This subcategory also works on configuration management and maintenance of mod-els and software for SEs, and also explores HLA, languages and artificial intelligence for SEs.

A new way of collaboratingIn 2005, then Agency chief Nick Witney noted that Europe should not be concerned so much about budgetary comparisons. It is Europe’s weak spending on research in defence technology that should cause worry! A lot has been done since then. In May 2008, European governments agreed to establish a second Joint Invest-ment Programme (JIP) for research into emerging technologies that might have a disruptive effect on the battlefield. Eleven Euro-pean countries will contribute to the new R&T initiative developed by the EDA and support it with a joint budget of €15.5 million. That might be peanuts in some eyes. Yet Javier Solana, the Head of the Agency, was satisfied about the R&T programme: “I am delighted to see that this new way of collaborating in a more integrated and efficient way has proved its worth and is being repeated. Invest-ing more in Defence R&T and spending more together will be achieved only through this kind of pragmatic approach.” ms&t

Useful contacts:Contract Opportunities Electronic Bulletin Boardwww.eda.europa.eu/ebbweb/EDA Procurement Ruleswww.eda.europa.eu/WebUtils/downloadfile.aspx?fileid=168


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At L-3 Link and AAI, we have the core capabilities and experience to make sure the transition that combines two C-17 training systems into one integrated program is absolutely seamless. Our focus on identifying opportunities to reduce overall training costs and improve C-17 training effectiveness is designed to create solutions that maximize aircrew and maintainer mission readiness. To find out more, visit www.link.com today.

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The above is taken from an editorial in MS&T, written by Richard Curtis, the then General

Manager of Andrich International Lim-ited. Curtis had been Marketing Manager and then Divisional Manager with Wes-ton Simfi re/Solartron, then a leading UK training and simulation company.

At I/ITSC 1987 (it became I/ITSEC in 1992) he discussed the idea of a training equipment conference and exhibition in Europe with Nelson Jackson of the American Defense Preparedness Asso-ciation and Jo Tanner of JMK Associ-ates. Just over a year later, on 31 March 1989, International Training Equipment Conference Limited (ITEC Ltd) was fi nally formed, with Richard Curtis and Jo Tanner as the majority shareholders and Peter Le Marchand and Hazel Ellis the minority shareholders. After support-ing the very fi rst ITEC, MS&T cemented its support of the event when Manfred Sadlowski, the owner of Mönch Publish-ing, then publishers of MS&T, became a minority shareholder, as did the Ameri-can Defense Preparedness Association (ADPA) a forerunner of NDIA to which NTSA, the National Training and Simula-tion Association, is an affi liate.

The fi rst ITEC was held at the NEC in Birmingham in April 1990 and remained independent, until March 2003, when Reed Exhibitions acquired 90% (NTSA remaining as a shareholder). They decided to brand ITEC for defence train-ing and simulation and ETSA was con-tracted to manage the conference and the Senior Offi cers’ Day.

In 2008 Clarion Events Limited acquired ITEC and this year’s ITEC is organised in conjunction with NTSA, still a shareholder in ITEC Ltd. The ITEC Con-ference and Senior Offi cers’ Day is man-aged by ETSA, the European Training & Simulation Association; ETSA’s Execu-tive Director is Richard Curtis – and so the circle is complete.

Although originally based upon the I/ITSEC concept, from the very beginning the ITEC organisers chose a much more holistic approach. The vision for ITEC was to be a training, education and simulation event for both civil and military users. At ITEC 2000 fi ve conferences covered civil aviation training, medical simulation and education, rail transport training confer-ence, space simulation and road vehicle driver training. These provided diversity however the dominance of the defence

sector won out and ITEC has strength-ened its focus on the needs of European defence trainers.

Today, “ITEC provides a unique inter-national venue for showcasing training and simulation products and services that support our defence forces, as well as having commercial applications. Grow-ing well beyond traditional simulation, training, terrain database generation and modelling, ITEC now addresses oppor-tunities relative to medical advances, education/academic applications, gam-ing technologies, interoperability, surviv-ability, the science of learning and much more,” says ITEC’s 2009 Chair, Debbie L. Berry of Lockheed Martin Simulation, Training & Support.

While most European S&T manufac-turers recognise ITEC as their showcase, it is the non-Europeans who are more likely to shower compliments on ITEC. “ITEC is not about visitor numbers. It’s about contact quality,” noted one booth captain from a US exhibitor. “At I/ITSEC, for every hundred people, there are fi ve valuable visitors. At ITEC there are fi ve for every twenty,” said another. In fact, this com-ment from a US businessman summarises what many exhibitors from abroad think: “At ITEC we fi nd the audience we are looking for, namely qualifi ed visitors.”

However, ITEC organisers and Euro-pean defence training authorities would be ill advised to believe that the event will continue to thrive as a matter of course. ITEC’s success will never be ‘a matter of course”. In the long term, ITEC can only move forward if European defence training community sticks up for it and the organisers respond to the commu-nities needs. “We will continue to listen to our customers and grow and develop the show as the market demands,” said Gordon Payne, Managing Director, Clar-ion Defence and Security Ltd, to MS&T – a promising formula, provided indus-try and defence training leaders actually enter the dialogue.

Once thing is sure; Simulation and Training is more than ever a core part of Defence operations and as such, if ITEC did not exist as the forum for European training providers and users it would have to be invented! ms&t

“An understanding of the opportunities and problems associated with land weapon training and simulation systems will benefi t all concerned in this exciting market. Perhaps a European version of I/ITSC will help spread this understanding.” – MS&T, October 1987

20 Years of ITEC


The speakers at ITEC 1999, The Hague,

The Netherlands.

Image credit: Freek Zieck.

By anticipating changing needs and new challenges, Raydon quickly and effi ciently evolves to meet customer needs by providing practical, affordable training solutions to improve performance and achieve success. We specialize in developing new simulation and training technology for gunnery training, maneuver training, critical task training, and rehabilitation/assessment for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

From development to delivery, Raydon Corporation is always evolving.

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By anticipating changing needs and new challenges, Raydon quickly and effi ciently evolves to meet customer needs by providing practical, affordable training solutions to improve performance and achieve success. We specialize in developing new simulation and training technology for gunnery training, maneuver training, critical task training, and rehabilitation/assessment for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

From development to delivery, Raydon Corporation is always evolving.

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G-CUEING SEATAfter over two years and $1 million in research and development, Industrial Smoke & Mirrors (ISM) has delivered its fi rst new 6-axis motion G-Cueing seat to the US Navy for use in its T-45 RAMP and UMFO training systems.

This high fi delity seat is designed as a COTS system and has been developed as a low cost solution for positive train-ing. It eliminates the negative training and the debilitating effects of sim sick-ness that result from visual cues which lack associated motion cues. ISM has leveraged their AH64 Apache program design of the early ‘90’s in this develop-ment effort.

The seat back pan provides inde-pendent motions in the surge and lateral directions, the seat bottom pan pro-vides roll and heave motion and the seat bucket provides additional heave. The motions are provided by high response, low inertia servo motors and low noise planetary gearboxes. The lap belts and shoulder harnesses are servo driven to loosen or tighten in concert with posi-tive and negative g’s. The seat assembly height adjustment is equivalent to that of the actual aircraft, with the seat pan producing somatic and kinesthetic cues to the pilot.

“This product is capable of achieving sustained frequencies of up to 20 hertz and is fully programmable and control-lable via an Ethernet interface,” said ISM president Andrew Garvis. “We’ve incor-porated a 6-axis solid state gyro for safety and monitoring movement.”

MIddLE EAST TRAINING OPPORTUNITIESRaytheon Company has teamed with C4 Advanced Solutions to pursue govern-ment and commercial training opportu-nities in the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East.

“We are working with C4 Advanced Solutions (C4AS) because of its expertise as a systems integrator, information and communication technology solution pro-vider, and knowledge solutions expert,” said Stephen Teel, Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC vice president

of Global Training Solutions. “Since the major focus of C4AS is on service provi-sion to military, educational, and govern-mental institutions in the Middle East, this will provide both parties access to a large customer base.”

Raytheon has a strategic focus on offering integrated training services to government and commercial customers in the Middle East. There is a demand in the region for creative and tailored train-ing approaches to meet organizational goals.

CAE INVESTS IN R&dCAE is to invest up to C$714 million in Project Falcon, a research and develop-ment (R&D) program that will span fi ve years. The goal of Project Falcon is to expand CAE’s current modelling and simulation technologies, develop new ones and increase its capabilities beyond training into other areas of the aerospace and defence market, such as analysis and operations.

Project Falcon will focus on apply-ing investments into six main technol-ogy thrusts. Among these will be the development of an augmented visionics system – a technology enabling a pilot to take off and land safely even when vis-ibility outside the cockpit is restricted. CAE will expand its research and devel-opment initiatives in its traditional train-

Edited by Fiona Greenyer.

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

Seen&Heard

Industrial Smoke & Mirrors’ new 6-axis

motion G-Cueing seat.

Image credit: ISM.


ing markets, including simulation and modelling for new types of aircraft, unmanned vehicles and replacement models for current aircraft. CAE will also develop networking technologies to allow defense forces of many nations to participate simultaneously in real time training and mission rehearsal exercises.

Through the course of the program, approximately 1,000 jobs will be created or maintained. CAE will carry out Project Falcon utilizing its R&D laboratories and test and integration facilities in Montreal. CAE’s highly skilled workforce will continue to partner with universities and key research organizations in Canada, as well as innovative small and medium-sized suppliers across the country.

CHINOOK TRAINING CONTRACTSELEX Systems Integration Ltd., a Finmeccanica company, has won a contract to upgrade its classroom-based training for the UK’s Chinook Mk3 helicopters. The contract has been awarded by CAE and will help deliver pilot conversion training at the UK’s Medium Support Helicopter Aircrew Training Facility (MSHATF) at RAF Benson. The upgrade will reflect the UK’s operational requirement to supplement its frontline support helicopter capa-bility by increasing its Chinook fleet by 20 per cent.

The upgrade began in November 2008 and is due to be fully integrated to support pilot training at the MSHATF by Septem-ber 2009.

C-17 TRAINING SYSTEM SUSTAINMENT PROGRAML-3 Link Simulation & Training (L-3 Link) has announced the formation of a team with AAI Corporation, to pursue the US Air Force’s C-17 Training System Sustainment Program. This multi-year program will be the Air Force’s largest airlift transport train-ing system.

“Our team offers the unique ability to provide a low-risk tran-sition of two separate C-17 aircrew and maintenance training contracts into a single integrated contract,” said Bob Birmingham, president of Link Simulation and Training. “The relevant and recent experience L-3 Link and AAI bring to this program will greatly contribute to reducing overall contract costs and government management oversight, in addition to ensuring that synergies are maximized between all areas of C-17 training operations.”

L-3 Link will turn to its decades of experience in program management and military training operations to proactively identify improvement opportunities and innovative training solu-tions across the integrated program.

OPTIMIZING AVIONICS SOLUTIONSPresagis has announced a solution stack based on Wind Riv-er’s family of VxWorks DO-178B platforms which should allow the avionics industry to take a leap forward. This development platform helps developers mitigate risk and streamline the devel-opment of modern avionics systems. The cockpit avionics stack combines the avionics’ industry-leading graphics development software from Presagis with Wind River’s robust DO-178B cer-tification real-time operating system, providing a clear, low-risk path for technology investment when developing cutting-edge embedded displays. The combined platform is expected to reduce development costs, reduce project complexity and improve pro-ductivity for avionics designers.

Presagis works closely with Wind River to ensure integration

with its products, VAPS and VAPS XT, and the latest versions of Wind River’s VxWorks 5, VxWorks 6, and VxWorks 653 operating systems platforms.

To simplify the development of graphics applications to the embedded system, Presagis HMI tools leverage a unique technol-ogy called the Porting Layer. This initialises timers, callbacks and the display; it also includes graphic rendering commands. Once created for a specific target platform, the Porting Layer enables developers to create multiple display scenarios to increase test-ing capabilities. Among many benefits, the Porting Layer allows VAPS- and VAPS XT-built HMIs to be ported to virtually any embedded target and to be optimized for VxWorks. This signifi-cantly reduces development and testing times while improving performance.

HELICOPTER VISUAL SYSTEMDisplay Solutions, Inc. has been selected by Aegis Technolo-gies Group Inc. to design and build a visual system for the RSAF 412 full motion simulator helicopter trainer. The visual system requirements are for day, dusk and night vision (NVG) compatible images as well as motion induced shock and vibration. Display Solutions provides design, scheduling, installation and training support to Aegis.

The visual system for the RSAF 412 incorporates the Orion SXGA+ 3-chip DLP projectors, a reinforced moulded screen and post-video processors. Display Solutions used commercial off the shelf display technology whose features have been modified to RSAF requirements. These value-added features are black level enhancement for compatibility with NVG and mechanical modi-fications for motion platform shock and vibration.

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SFST-J 09-2Commander, US Second Fleet, and the USS Dwight D. Eisen-hower Carrier Strike Group has successfully completed the first certification process under a new training model that employs synthetic training as the graduation event for all deploying Navy strike groups.

“We’ve done a 56-hour continuous event before, but this is the first time we’ve exercised the Fleet Response Training Plan model where the FST is the culminating event to certify a battle group,” said Cmdr. Ruben “Diego” Garcia, FST director at Tacti-cal Training Group Atlantic in Virginia Beach, VA. “It’s a better way of training this level of staff.”

The Ike strike group earned its certification as ready to con-duct major combat operations in February upon completion of a Joint Fleet Synthetic Training Exercise, or FST-J, that involved two other carrier strike groups. While the Eisenhower strike group participated from piers in Norfolk, VA, the event also pro-vided training to the USS Enterprise and FS Charles de Gaulle strike group command staffs.

Enterprise’s staff, though the carrier was in the shipyards, participated from training modules at TTGL. The French staff participated from a simulation centre in Toulon, France. Coalition participants were France, Germany and the UK.

The event concluded an ongoing scenario that started with a synthetic exercise in December and ran through the Ike strike group’s at-sea Composite Training Unit Exercise, or COMPTUEX. Certification previously would have been performed during a live, culminating Joint Task Force Exercise, or JTFEX. Instead, training that needed to be performed at sea was shifted into a


combined COMPTUEX and JTFEX. The rest was completed syn-thetically, helping the Navy maximize its valuable live training opportunities.

“Coming out of COMPTUEX, strike groups are certified for Major Combat Operations (MCO) Surge,” said Rear Adm. Garry White, Commander, and Strike Force Training Atlantic, in Nor-folk, VA. “That certification is the Navy’s validation of the strike group’s ability to fight in an MCO scenario. The follow-on FST-J assesses the strike group staff’s ability to direct and lead those operations, resulting in the MCO Ready certification.”

VIdEOwALL PROCESSORRGB Spectrum has announced the new MediaWall® 4500 display processor, offering real time performance with up to 30 windows and 12 displays. In keeping with RGB Spectrum’s standards of performance and value, the MW4500 delivers real-time perform-ance regardless of the number of inputs and outputs, at any res-olution. Unique among display wall processors, the MediaWall 4500 is based on custom, high performance architecture rather than a PC, with faster updates, more display flexibility, robustness and security. Real time display of inputs is guaranteed under all conditions, without any dropped frames.

The MediaWall 4500 processor can display up to thirty graph-ics and video signals on up to twelve screens in a 3 x 4 array. Images can be displayed anywhere, any size, within or across screens, in correct aspect ratio or stretched to fit, in whole or zoomed to emphasize details. It offers a scalable system which can be expanded to as many as 30 inputs and 12 outputs. Input alternatives include RGB/DVI and analog video modules. HD-SDI modules will be available in the near future.

The MediaWall 4500 processor works with any display devices, with adjustments to compensate for the bezel between panels or cubes, as well as overlapped outputs to support edge blending on a continuous screen. Output resolution can be adjusted to the exact resolution of any display up to 1920 x 1200 pixels, the highest resolution of any data/video wall.

www.aerosociety.com/conference

Spring 2009 Flight Simulation ConferenceFlight Simulation: Towards the Edge of the Envelope

As the aviation industry grows, the demands on safety throughout the operational envelope of aircraft also increase. Flight simulation today is primarily concerned with reproducing normal fl ight regimes. However, aircrew preparedness also requires being ready to deal with uncommon situations.

This Conference will bring together the users and developers of fl ight simulators and will aim to identify the training needs, technical solutions, and regulatory challenges as simulation pushes the boundaries of virtual training, research and testing.

Wednesday 3 – Thursday 4 June 2009No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ, UK

Sponsored by:

425_RAeS_CPAG_QPA_Flight_sim_HRF1 1 24/2/09 11:30:44

Commander Robert D. Katz (left) commanding officer of USS Stout

during a tour of his ship with Turkish Naval Forces officers.

Image credit: US Navy.

3d VISUAL SOLUTIONVT MÄK, (MÄK), a company of VT Sys-tems Inc, has announced the availability of VR-Vantage, the company’s new 3D visual solution. VR-Vantage, which is built on OpenSceneGraph (OSG), con-sists of the next generation MÄK Stealth, MÄK’s 3D information station; Vantage IG, a desktop image generator for view-ing out-the-window scenes; and the VR-Vantage toolkit to extend the included visual applications or even build new applications.

VR-Vantage is terrain-agile. It does not have a single “native” format for terrain data. Instead, MÄK has ensured that VR-Vantage supports customers’ pre-existing data. VR-Vantage can load traditional hand-modelled databases, source data, and it can connect to web-based servers for streaming elevation and imagery data.

VR-Vantage comes with a rich set of built-in content. The product includes Boston Dynamics’ DI-Guy to animate human characters, a selection of DiS-TI’s GL Studio vehicle interfaces, IDV’s SpeedTree for dynamic vegetation, and Sundog’s SilverLining for weather effects and volumetric clouds. MÄK continues to negotiate with other partners to include more built-in functionality in future releases. VR-Vantage also includes top quality 3D vehicle models that support damage representations and articulated parts.

MOd POLICE TRAINING CAPABILITYSaab Training Systems in Huskvarna, Sweden has signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence police in the UK to supply a training capability. The value of the order amounts to approxi-mately 16 million Swedish Crowns. The capability was developed over a two year period using one of Saabs new instrumented leasing concepts ATES, which is actually a new form of the well-known DTES but designated for the “non-green” market. The ATES training solution provides the cus-tomer with an affordable and effective alternative to ownership, enhancing the quality of training without the risk of losing control.

“We are proud that the UK MoD police has chosen us as its partner in the development of a new instrumented training capability. Our flexible concept

of leasing a complete instrumented training service fits in perfectly with this customers training profile and helped them make the decision to acquire their own capability,” said Claes-Peter Ceder-löf, vice president marketing.

The contract comprises three Gamer Manpacks, 100 personal systems and 12 vehicle systems. The initial contract also includes operational and logistical support for five years.

$46 MILLION NAVAL CONTRACTThe Indian Head Division of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) has awarded Raydon Corporation with a $46 million IDIQ contract. The order, admin-istered over three years, will provide the division’s Naval Surface Warfare Center, (IHD/NSWC), with a backup in devel-opment, test and evaluation as well as manufacture, sustainment, technical documentation and training support services for ground system related train-ers to assist in various training needs of the warfighter.

VIRTUAL RAdARThe Boeing Company has received a $28.3 million contract for two virtual mis-sion training system (VMTS) retrofit kits that will integrate low-cost, realistic radar training into the US Navy’s T-45 Training System for undergraduate military flight officers (UMFO).

This phase of the VMTS program, which follows a requirements-defini-tion phase, is scheduled for completion in September 2011. It calls for Boeing to finalize design, procure hardware, mod-ify two aircraft and flight-test the sys-tem. The work involves T-45C aircraft and ground-station systems assigned to Training Air Wing 6, Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, FL. An additional 18 aircraft will be retrofitted with the sys-tem during the program’s third phase, if funded.

VMTS provides an unclassified, mechanically scanned tactical radar that simulates air-to-air and air-to-ground modes as well as weapons and elec-tronic warfare. These functions can be networked between the participating aircraft and instructor ground stations. The system will provide in-flight training against virtual enemy aircraft, including cooperative training with both real and virtual aircraft.


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National Training& SimulationAssociation, USA

Organised bySupported by

Europe’s premier event dedicated to defence training, education and simulation

The ITEC conference and exhibition provides a dedicated forum for international defence professionals to meet and do business.

• Recognised experts and senior military personnel discuss insightful strategies, new products and technology for defence training industry.

• Hot topics, industry and legislative issues

• Training solutions for the future economic climate

• Interactive panel discussions with Q&A sessions

• Case studies analysis and best practices

• Networking with key military and industry defence professionals

• Free to attend ITEC Innovations Showcase area - live exhibitor demonstrations of new technology

Remember to keep these dates free.

For full event information please visit www.itec.co.uk

18-20 May 2010ExCeLLondon, UKwww.itec.co.uk

NEw INNOVATIONSBohemia Interactive has announced the imminent release of four new products, all of which will be demonstrated at ITEC. There are two new VBS2 modules, VBS2Fires and VBS2Fusion, and Bohemia Interactive is also now offering two new state-of-the-art game-based simulation solutions – the Call-For-Fire Trainer and Marksman MK1.

VBS2Fires couples high fidelity indirect fire simulation with VBS2, delivering a realistic and flexible simulation that perfectly augments VBS2 as a tactical training tool. VBS2 Call-For-Fire Trainer (CFFT) employs VBS2Fires and innovative hardware design, and provides cutting-edge training for Forward Observers through an immersive projection system and surrogate devices. Designed for marksmanship training, the Marksman Mk1 allows the use of unmodified live weapons for simulated training, through light-weight, ‘plug and play’ virtual reality technology. VBS2Fusion provides unparalleled access to VBS2 internals and is perfectly suited to integrating AI with the VBS2 platform. VBS-2Fusion is being developed in several phases and the first version will be on display at ITEC.

HELICOPTER TACTICS PROGRAMMEAgustaWestland has been awarded a contract by the European Defence Agency (EDA) to conduct a six month Helicopter Tactics Programme (HTP) Implementation Study.

As part of the UK-France helicopter initiative, the EDA has taken the lead in co-ordinating training among its participating Member States. The HTP Implementation Study is a key part of the initial work. It includes a training analysis across all partici-pating Member States, establishing a common operational task list for support helicopter crews deploying on operations.

In addition, the study will seek to catalogue and quantify total training capability and capacity within participating Mem-ber States, as well as identifying best-practice methodology for adapting to lessons learnt from operational theatres. Drawing on experience from the previous feasibility study, this work will also outline an initial training syllabus. The study will conclude with an analysis of the potential training needs within Member States’ support helicopter crews, and provide costed options for addressing any shortfalls in training capability.

VIRTUAL TASK TRAINERSNGRAIN is to provide the United States Marine Corps (USMC) with sixty virtual task trainers (or virtual training software) to support maintenance training for individual and crew weapons, ground weapons systems, and vehicle subsystems, and will be used to support both instructor-led and self-paced student learning.

The virtual task trainers, based on NGRAIN commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software, will conform to the Shareable Con-tent Object Reference Model (SCORM), allowing the USMC to use them in conjunction with Learning Management Systems. USMC instructors will use Producer, NGRAIN’s COTS software simulation authoring tool, to update equipment parts informa-tion, procedural animations, and tasks provided with the VTTs.

COUNTER IEd TRANIINGAlion Science and Technology is providing simulation tools to the US Army and serving as an integrator between the Generating and Operational Forces under a one-year, $1.1 million contract through the Army’s Joint Training Counter Improvised Explosive

Device (C-IED) Operations Integration Center (JTCOIC). The focus of Alion’s work is to train warfighters in counter IED techniques.

Essentially, the program is training soldiers to identify, react and respond to IEDs. Alion, as a subcontractor to BAE Systems, runs the Systems Integration Modelling and Simulations (SMS) Directorate within JTCOIC, which provide animated simulations of actual IED events in four days or less by using a variety of ter-rain and analytical tools, physics-based constructive simulations and gaming software.

NEXT-GENERATION VISUAL SYSTEM dISPLAYVisualization pioneer Barco is to be a strategic provider to L-3 Communications’ Link Simulation and Training (L-3 Link) division in a joint collaboration to develop a next-generation SimuSphere® display system, called the SimuSphere HD. This advanced, QXGA-fidelity visual system is specially designed to greatly enhance fighter pilot training realism and maximize operational readiness.

L-3 Link’s SimuSphere HD display solution immerses pilots in a virtual training environment equivalent to real-world flying missions. Multiple Barco SIM 7 projectors beam QXGA-level imagery (2048x1536) onto corresponding display screens that surround the simulator cockpits, providing pilots with a 360-degree field-of-view. HDTV-like display screens are positioned for the pilot’s eye point. The Barco projection system enables the SimuSphere HD to provide an immersive field-of-view that can display out-of-the-window imagery at 20/40 visual acuity. The SimuSphere HD is field upgradeable to 20/20, and supports training activities such as flight formation, bogey detection/iden-tification, and mission rehearsal.


National Training& SimulationAssociation, USA

Organised bySupported by

Europe’s premier event dedicated to defence training, education and simulation

The ITEC conference and exhibition provides a dedicated forum for international defence professionals to meet and do business.

• Recognised experts and senior military personnel discuss insightful strategies, new products and technology for defence training industry.

• Hot topics, industry and legislative issues

• Training solutions for the future economic climate

• Interactive panel discussions with Q&A sessions

• Case studies analysis and best practices

• Networking with key military and industry defence professionals

• Free to attend ITEC Innovations Showcase area - live exhibitor demonstrations of new technology

Remember to keep these dates free.

For full event information please visit www.itec.co.uk

18-20 May 2010ExCeLLondon, UKwww.itec.co.uk

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REAL-LIFE BATTLEFIELd SCENARIOSFidelity Technologies Corp. has announced a $5.3 million contract with the US Air Force to create a simulation and training system that can be used for a full range of training exercises. The product, called the Joint Terminal Control Training and Rehearsal System (JTC TRS) will provide real-life battle-fi eld scenarios for war fi ghters in four areas: Terminal Attack Control, Close Air Support, Air Traffi c Control and Call for Fire coordination, training, and mission rehearsal.

The highly-technological system will include a large 240x60 degree projection system, to serve as an interactive screen, and an extensive network of computers.

As part of the contract, Fidelity will provide the Air Force with the specifi cs on how to build the simulator.

$16 MILLION CUBIC CONTRACTCubic Simulation Systems, Inc. has been awarded a contract valued at more than $16 million for its Engagement Skills Trainer 2000 (EST 2000), a virtual train-ing experience that allows soldiers to engage their foes on large, colorful pro-jection screens using realistic simulated weapons ranging from pistols to grenade launchers.

Validated by the US Army Infantry School, EST 2000 teaches marksmanship skills, squad-level collective defense and judgmental “shoot-don’t shoot” tactics. The system trains soldiers in the use of small arms, as well as the 50-caliber M-2 machine gun and the 40mm Mark-19 grenade launcher.

ExpeditiondI UPGRAdEQuantum3D, Inc. has announced a sub-stantial upgrade to ExpeditionDI, its immersive, man-wearable training sys-tem. The latest system, identifi ed as ExpeditionDI Block 3, includes a new graphics processor that delivers a 300 percent performance improvement, as well as enhanced weapon instrumen-tation designed to improve realism for training infantryman.

The new computer, internally dubbed ‘T2e’, is an enhanced version of the com-pany’s ruggedized Thermite 1300 tactical visual computer. Designed specifi cally for the ExpeditionDI system, T2e enables the latest generation games and application

software to be hosted on ExpeditionDI. Quantum3D has also added improved instrumentation to the weapons that it offers with its ExpeditionDI hardware platform. The instrumentation package for each weapon has been upgraded to support sensing all interaction with the weapon, including motion, aiming, modes of operation, and conduct of cor-rect procedures for reloads and immedi-ate action drills.

John Carswell, ExpeditionDI pro-gram director at Quantum3D, com-mented on the importance of these sys-tem upgrades for the Army’s training initiatives: “Immersive infantry training will be one of the most important ini-tiatives moving forward for our armed forces. The Army and Marine Corps are concerned with providing timely and accessible training to their infantry-man, and ExpeditionDI is the industry’s only untethered, immersive training system that is capable of meeting these requirements by running a broad range of gaming and simulation software applications.”

TRAINING SYSTEMS UPGRAdEMeggitt Training Systems Inc. (MTSI) has been awarded a contract worth approxi-mately $5 million from the US Army National Guard (ARNG) for enhance-ments to existing virtual small-arms trainers. Designed and manufactured by Meggitt, the simulators have been used successfully for over 12 years and con-tinue to meet ARNG mandatory training requirements.

Known as Combat Skills Marksman-ship Trainers (CSMTs), the systems fea-ture small-arms training courseware geared to the Guard’s homeland secu-rity missions. Small unit leaders use the CSMT to rehearse mission planning.

C$60 MILLION HELICOPTER TRAININGA joint venture of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and CAE has fi nalized all necessary contracts to begin construc-tion and development of a new C$60 mil-lion helicopter training centre in Banga-lore, India.

The Helicopter Academy to Train by Simulation of Flying (HATSOFF) will have a CAE-built full mission simulator featur-ing CAE’s revolutionary roll-on/roll-off cockpit design, which enables cockpits representing various helicopter types to be used in the simulator. HATSOFF expects to be training at a new pur-pose-built facility in the second half of 2010. When fully operational, the facility will be able to train up to 400 helicopter pilots each year and expects to generate annual revenues of up to approximately C$20 million.

Initially, HATSOFF will offer compre-hensive training to civil and military cus-tomers operating four helicopter types: the Indian Army/Air Force variant of the HAL-built Dhruv, the civil variant of the Dhruv, the Bell 412 and the Eurocopter Dauphin.

Prepare for theunconventionalCubic Defense Applications, a global leader in combat training, prepares warfighters for the current operating environment with fully integrated live, virtual, constructive and joint training solutions. Our innovative technologies enable multinational forces to train jointly using simulated and tactical systems. In the complex puzzle of modern warfare, Cubic has all the pieces to build forces that are well equipped for the rigors of combat.

CUBICR

www.cubic.com Visit us at ITEC, Stand E110

Live is not enough

Cubic’s EST 2000.

Image credit: Cubic.

Prepare for theunconventionalCubic Defense Applications, a global leader in combat training, prepares warfighters for the current operating environment with fully integrated live, virtual, constructive and joint training solutions. Our innovative technologies enable multinational forces to train jointly using simulated and tactical systems. In the complex puzzle of modern warfare, Cubic has all the pieces to build forces that are well equipped for the rigors of combat.

CUBICR

www.cubic.com Visit us at ITEC, Stand E110

Cubic Defense Applications, a global leader

Live is not enough

FRENCH MOD SIMULATION SYMPOSIUMThe seventh Multi-service Workshop on Modelling and Simula-tion was held from 26 to 30 January at Thales University (TU), in Jouy-en-Josas near Paris. Like last year’s event, this one was open to industry and about 55 per cent of the almost 300 partici-pants were from the civilian side.

The workshop was organized by the conference commit-tee of the Armed Forces Industry Working Group on simulation (ADIS) of the DGA, the French defence procurement agency and hosted by Thales Training and Simulation in TU.

Général de Brigade Gérard Lapprend, head of the space and multi-service programmes service opened the workshop. In his keynote speech he insisted on the importance of procuring sim-ple and low-cost products, preferring the use of serious games to developing specific simulation. He also referred to the impor-tance of being consistent with NATO M&S policy.

The technical director of Thales’ DS3 Division, Brune Nouz-ille, reflected on the expanding simulation world: from manned simulators to constructive simulation, which the French dub “technical-operational simulation”. He went on to stress the importance of interoperability, and cooperation between indus-try and government within battlelabs. Ingénieur Généal de l’Armement Alain Dohet (DGA) in charge of “Systems of Sys-tems” technical centre argued that failure in simulation pro-grammes for future systems might well impact directly on the development of the armed forces’ future systems. He pointed out the importance of cooperation and coordination with organi-zations that are developing modelling and simulation standards, like the NMSG and SISO.

The actual workshop called to mind basic concepts of simulation. And, building on that, the topics presented encom-passed the almost complete set of current simulation activities in France, providing updates on operational needs and simu-lation technology. More specifically, the experts discussed the operational validation of simulation tools, the use of simulation to support the education and training of forces, and the use of simulation during the acquisition process. A half-day was dedicated to the problems associated with databases for syn-thetic environments. The intense debates following the talks and the lively discussions during the practical demonstrations allowed divergences and common needs to be identified but also revealed possible joint actions.

At the end of the workshop it only remained for Jean-Louis Igarza, chairman of the conference committee, to congratulate the speakers for their excellent presentations, to praise the audience for their constructive contributions to the discus-sions, and most of all to thank the host company and sponsor Thales.

GAMETECH GROWSThe Defense GamesTech User’s and Connections Conference – March 9-12 in Orlando – has grown from 80 participants last year to more than 300 live and dozens more virtual this year. This parallels the growth in the application of serious gaming and vir-tual worlds technology for military training applications.

Representatives of the Department of Defense, the Army and the Marine Corps and the Canadian War College described examples of applications of gaming technology to serious games for training. Of particular note, Martin Bushika, manager for Train-ing Technology and Gaming for the Marine Corps Program Man-ager for Training Systems (PMTRASYS) described a “two-fisted” application of gaming technology to meet the needs of today’s marines; kinetic employing gaming for small unit tactical deci-sion-making training, and non-kinetic using gaming technology for language and cultural training.

Mike Enloe, representing TCM (TRADOC (Training and

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www.aerosociety.com/conference

Tuesday 23 – Wednesday 24 June 2009No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ, UK

Sponsored by:

The Annual International Training Conference in 2009 will form a major part of the Royal Aeronautical Society’s celebrations to mark the Handley Page centenary. It seeks to examine the challenges in ensuring that engineers working in the aviation industry are best prepared and equipped for careers extending over the next 50 years and beyond.

The strategic challenges in education and training will be examined from the differing perspectives of manufacturers, operators, regulators, technologists, academia and young professionals who have recently entered the aviation industry.

Annual International Training ConferenceCelebrating the Handley Page Centenary: 100 Years of Education in Aeronautics – Time for a Change?

Cranfi eld College of Aeronautics Alumni Association (CCAAA)

456 RAeS_Ann_Int_QPA_ad_HRF.indd1 1 20/3/09 13:52:24

Général de Brigade Gérard Lapprend, head of the space and

multi-service programmes.

Image credit: DGA.

Doctrine Command) Capability Man-ager) Gaming, provided an overview of the Gaming Training Strategy. Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI)’s Lt. Col. Gary Stevens described how that agency would field its next-generation Game After Ambush! throughout the Army.

Virtual worlds such as Second Life seem to be the next technological leap forward for training applications. Major General Erwin Lessel III described how Air Education and Training Command (AETC) is employing its Second World My Base Virtual Learning Environment. He said that My Base is a virtual Air Force base designed to support recruiting, learning and education, where through their avatars, airmen can attend classes, access knowledge bases and collabo-rate on projects, among other activities. He emphasized the services must find ways to adopt and integrate new tech-nologies such as virtual worlds into their training environments to keep from dis-enfranchising younger enlistees who have experience with these technologies at home and expect to employ them for learning instead of the traditional class-room approach.

Overall, more than 50 military, aca-demic and industry presenters gave presentations and provided demonstra-tions of the latest in gaming and vir-tual worlds during the three-day event. According to GameTech 2009 organ-izers, given this success, they have every expectation of turning this into an annual event in Orlando.

COMPUTER-BASEd NAVAL TRAINERSThe Royal New Zealand Navy has placed an order with UK software com-pany DT Media following a six month tender and evaluation process. The Royal New Zealand Navy will install DT Media’s Fleetman Fleetwork Simula-tion Trainer, which is a family of com-puter-based naval trainers designed to exploit the full power of modern PCs, at its Maritime Warfare Training Center, in Auckland.

Fleetman enables the running of simulation exercises using a mix of ships, submarines, helicopters and air-craft. Students, or groups of students, may be assigned to different platforms within the exercise over a workstation network.

OPERATIONAL FLIGHT TRAINERThe Boeing Company has delivered an operational flight trainer (OFT) to Aus-tralia for the Project Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) program. The OFT, which the customer accepted in February, is the first segment of the Wedgetail program to be delivered to Australia.

The Wedgetail aircraft is a derivative of the commercial 737-700 and the OFT is based on the proven technology of the Next-Generation 737 simulator platforms. The motion-based flight simulator was designed, built and installed by Thales and managed under a subcontract by Boeing Defence Australia.

The OFT is customized to account for the unique characteristics of the Wedg-etail AEW&C system, including controls for the communication, aerial-refuelling and Electronic Warfare Self Protection systems. Prior to delivery, the OFT was awarded zero flight time status, the high-est level of accreditation under Austral-ian standards.

The simulator has been installed at the Wedgetail AEW&C Support Center at RAAF base Williamtown.

ITEC 2009

This year at ITEC, KONGSBERG will demonstrate the PROTECTOR Training System, the Combat Trainer for the CV90 vehicle - both systems supported by KONGSBERG’s BaSE core technology.

We would like to encourage our present and potential new customer to contact us prior to the trade fair, to allow us to set aside time for a demonstration, [email protected].

www.kongsberg.com

Visit us at stand #F150


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AUSA wINTER SYMPOSIUM ANd EXHIBITIONThe rapidly changing battlefield, asymmetric warfare and an ever-growing list of vir-tual challenges for the Army – this was the focus of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) 2009 Winter Symposium and Exhibition from February 25-27.

Driven by AUSA’s Institute of Land Warfare, the Winter Symposium is a prelude to AUSA’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in October and serves as a key professional development forum on issues ranging from technology and training to updates on actions and efforts worldwide. 5,000 attendees, exhibitors and pre-senters, participated.

An overriding issue for the Army is rapid deployment of technology from the drawing board onto the battlefield. For example, SAIC, the primary contractor for the Army’s Common Driver Trainer (CDT) program – which has produced Stryker and M-1 cabin development at Ft. Knox, Ky., by upgrading them to CDT standards – is focused on their third CDT variant that supports the MRAP Cougar cab. But with software, said David Rees, senior vice president and director of business development, SAIC can support multiple MRAP variants.

“It was a very high-speed development, just like the [MRAP] program itself,” he said. “We actually had the cab physical mock-up at AUSA Winter last year, demon-strated it working at AUSA national in October … an we’re now delivering production variants to the Army.”

With a common software environment, the cabs operate as a “plug-in, plug-out”. In about 30 minutes, the simulator can switch from an MRAP to a Stryker. SAIC also has a single helicopter variant based on the same technology.

“We’ve got very strong up-front systems engineering, so we know what the requirements are, we know what the nuances are of the vehicle,” Rees said. “We call it composable systems … It allows us to be much more responsive to technology changes or – frankly more important for us – operational changes.”

A walk to the outdoor exhibit area provided an additional look at new technolo-gies and methods to prepare troops for deployment. One particular exhibit provided live simulation demonstrations that included actors and extensive settings to get troops closer to the action. For about seven years, Strategic Operations has provided training tools that bring the military as close to the physical and psychological action as possible, but in a controlled and safe environment.

Currently providing training for Marines at Twentynine Palms, Calif., this “Hyper-Realistic” approach utilizes movie-making techniques and trained professional actors. “Amputee role players [for example] know how to act and emote, and we put limbs on them and blow them off, and we put all kinds of special effects in there, things that you would see on television,” said Kit Lavell, Strategic Operations executive vice president. “Army medics, for example, and Navy corpsmen very rarely get a chance to see traumatic combat injuries in a training environment.”

Unlike situations where medics are unable to train with their units, he noted that their live simulations combine combat surroundings and realistic injuries to bring all elements of the team together. With an emphasis on the types of injuries that occur in counter-insurgency, Lavell said, medics see realistic injuries that are more serious before they reach the real thing in combat.

“you can have an actor be able to go through the acting portion of that, which is very important, because sometimes it gives you good information, sometimes it gives you bad, just like in the real world,” he said.

While no troop has been hurt during these simulations, Stu Segall, Strategic Oper-ations president said, “We’ve had guys who think they’re going to die.”

Among the other hundreds of exhibits, these training techniques illustrate efforts to bring troops as close to combat as possible, before deployment.

The AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition is scheduled for October 5-7 in Washington, D.C. Amid the abundance of technological wares that will make the trip to Washington will be a long-awaited look at the 2010 budget, perspectives from anew administration and perhaps a clear roadmap for the future of the Army’s ever-changing landscape.

NEw GENERATION LEARNING ENVIRONMENTSThe recently launched ROLE project aims at delivering and testing prototypes of highly responsive technology-enhanced learning environments, offering break-through levels of effectiveness, flexibility, user-control and mass-individualism. The ROLE consortium consists of 16 interna-tionally renowned research groups/com-panies and is funded by the European Commission.

ROLE researches adaptivity and personalisation in terms of content and navigation and the entire learning envi-ronment and its functionalities. This approach permits individualisation of the components, tools and functionali-ties of a learning environment, and their adjustment or replacement by existing web-based software tools. Learning environment elements can be combined to mash up components and function-alities, which can be adapted by lone learners or groups to meet their own needs and to enhance the effectiveness of their learning. This can help them to establish a livelier and personally more meaningful learning experience. The validity of ROLE’s research will be assessed in several real-life testbeds, among them adult education at Shang-hai Jiaotong University (SJTU), one of China’s top universities.

“This testbed is extremely challeng-ing,” said Dr. Carsten Ullrich from SJTU. “Our 19,000 students have a job and a family. They take courses in their sparse free time. If our research enables them to learn more effectively, then our approach will have proven its validity.” To achieve that goal ROLE will integrate tools that stimulate active learning, including from mobile phones.

wSO INSTRUCTORSBVR Systems (1998) Ltd. has been awarded a contract with a leading air force to train Instructors of Weapon Systems Operators (IWSO). The con-tract is valued at approximately US$1.45 million.

The training courses will qualify the instructors in performing air-to-air and air-to-surface roles, as well as warfighter fundamentals such as airmanship and emergency procedures handling. The course will be conducted through both classroom lectures and practice sessions in BVR’s full mission simulator.

VTS SIMULATIONTransas Marine, UK has provided the British Fylde College’s Fleetwood Nautical Campus with a vessel traffic service (VTS) simulation suite to extend the current Transas Navi-Trainer Pro-fessional Simulation Centre. The installation comprises two Navi-Monitor workstations which allow monitoring the developing traffic situation in any simulated exercise run on the main navi-gational bridges on site. A projected visualisation channel gives the view from the control tower and completes the ‘full mission’ effect. Fleetwood is now one of only two British nautical schools to offer MCA accredited VTS operator training according to the IALA V103 standard.

FIRST HELICOPTER SIM IN LATIN AMERICAEurocopter and its Brazilian subsidiary Helibras have announced the introduction of the first flight simulator for helicopters in Latin America. The flight simulator, which will be operational in two years in the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, will be designed to recreate the cockpit environment and missions of an EC725 helicopter. It will be used to train the pilots who will fly the 50 military EC725 helicopters that will be built for the first time on Helibras’ assembly lines in Itajubá, in the state of Minas Gerais.

Eurocopter president Lutz Bertling stated: “Eurocopter’s strategy is to develop its support and services activity and to promote a proactive pilot training policy. Over the last few months, we have introduced numerous simulators for the EC225 in France, the EC135 in Germany and the United States, and the NH90 in Germany. The forthcoming introduction of the EC725 simulator in Brazil and in Malaysia will broaden our offer and meet the expectations of our customers in this growing area of strategic importance.”

FAC/JTAC TRAININGIFAD, a leading provider of forward air controller training solu-tions (FAC/JTAC) have signed a partnership agreement with Arenalogic, a provider of high fidelity combat flight simulation solutions. The partnership enables the two companies to jointly provide cost-effective, deployable simulation-based training solutions for FAC and pilot training. IFAC and Arenalogic expect the new FAC/Pilot training solution to have great potential in a promising market for realistic CAS combat training.

The training solution will help military services to cope with a growing demand for mission ready ground commanders. It will improve the pilot and FAC’s proficiency, cooperation skills and performance.

AIR POwER TRAINING PROGRAMMELINE Communications has delivered the final part of the UK RAF’s Air Power Study Pack. The e-learning programme forms part of a larger Air Power initiative which aims to enhance jun-ior officer’s knowledge and understanding of Air Power within the Royal Air Force. The overall training initiative comprises Air Power Study Packs 1 and 2 which cover the history and develop-ment of Air Power as well as Air Power fundamentals. The RAF commissioned LINE to produce Air Power Study Pack 3 which gives personnel the opportunity to study the application of Air Power in more detail and bring personnel up to the level of the Basic Air Warfare Course.

All three parts of the pack are soon to be launched on the Defence Learning Portal (DLP).

Live Fire Targetry Products:

• Electronic/Digital Ranges• Marksman Ranges• MOUT Ranges• Tank Gunnery Ranges• Radio Controlled Ranges• Deployable Ranges• Indoor Ranges

For further information please call Theissen Training on +49 211 975040or email [email protected]

Live Fire“Train as you Fight”


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AVIONICS dISPLAY SOLUTIONSA division of Lockheed Martin, specializing in systems integra-tion of military aircraft, has selected Quantum3D Inc.’s IData Human Machine Interface (HMI) toolset to support the simula-tion and embedded display of graphical information shown on cockpit displays.

The IData HMI toolset will provide systems engineers at Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego, Ny, and at its facility in Havant, UK, with a breakthrough approach to develop-ing graphical information shown on cockpit displays. Instead of employing outdated code generation methods, the IData toolset outputs data defining the HMI’s graphics and behaviour. This approach can significantly reduce the time and expense in each phase of the embedded display lifecycle, from prototyping and simulation through development and deployment of the embed-ded target application.

Lockheed Martin Systems integration in Owego will use the HMI toolset to more rapidly develop tactical and situational awareness information that is graphically displayed to military pilots and crew aboard a range of rotary wing and fixed wing aircraft.

3d SIMULATION ENGINECaspian Learning is making its 3D simulation authoring tool, Thinking Worlds™ available to defence personnel, trainers and contractors as an annual developer seat licence. This allows one

user to create and deploy as many simulations as they need over one year for use by any number of personnel, regardless of loca-tion.

Thinking Worlds allows defence personnel to rapidly create their own highly immersive 3D training simulations using inbuilt image libraries, game mechanics, problem solving tasks and interactivity templates. Games have already been tested within both a DII and DLP environment in the UK and within a secure US Army system.

The UK Defence College of Policing and Guarding has devel-oped a 3D simulation in which military police are able to examine crime scenes, question military suspects and search property and people for effective seizure of evidence. In addition The Maritime Warfare School has created an advanced role playing simulation to teach new recruits processes linked to “Rounds Inspections” onboard a Type 22 frigate.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPAntycip Simulation Limited, a subsidiary of ST Electronics (Training & Simulation Systems) Pte Ltd, has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Cogent3D. Cogent3D is a privately held business specialising in modelling and simulation, created to distribute some of the world’s most technically advanced 3D products.

Antycip Simulation will be the European exclusive distribu-tor of Cogent3D’s products including its Diamond Visionics’ GenesisRT dynamic construction 3D viewers and Symmetry 3D terrain reuse tools.

“We are pleased to bring to our customers a new genera-tion of COTS simulation and visualisation technologies,” said Michel Pronier, CEO of Antycip Simulation. “Our customers today demand targeted visual simulation solutions that include dynamic and deformable terrain, high fidelity weather, sensors and night simulation effects, integration with the latest DIS/HLA and CIGI interfaces, and in some cases a certifiable solution.”

COMBAT TRAINING SYSTEM CONTRACTCubic Defence New Zealand, an Auckland-based subsidiary of Cubic Corporation, has received a follow-on contract valued at approximately $70 million from an Asia-Pacific customer for a new wireless version of Cubic’s widely used laser tactical engagement system. Cubic will deliver multiple lots of the wire-less system starting later this year.

Cubic’s Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES) tracks and records the performance of soldiers and vehi-cles as they participate in force-on-force training exercises. In 2006, Cubic introduced a new variation of this system that uses a wireless Personal Area Network (PAN) to relay information between soldiers and vehicles.

NEw CTO FOR QUANTUM3dQuantum3D, Inc. has promoted Alan Commike to the position of chief technology officer. He brings nearly two decades of tech-nology leadership to the position. Mr. Commike joined the com-pany in 2006, initially as principal high performance compute (HPC) architect and subsequently as software platform man-ager. He has played a critical role in the company’s technol-ogy and product development, being responsible for Linux and Windows platform software, firmware, drivers, and application software.

N A T I O N A L T R A I N I N G A N D S I M U L A T I O N A S S O C I A T I O N

3 0 N O V E M B E R – 3 D E C E M B E R , 2 0 0 9 W W W. I I T S E C . O R G O R L A N D O , F L O R I D A

T HT HT HTT H E E E W OWW OOOOW OW O RRRR LR LR LLRR D ’D ’DD ’ S S SS L AL AL AA RRRR GG E SE SSSSSSS T T TT M OM OM OMM O D ED ED ED ED LL IL IL N GN GN GN GG & &&& S S SS I MI MI MM U LU LU LU LL A TA TA TA TT I OI OI OI O N N N N E VEEE VE E NE N TTT

I/ITSECINTERSERVICE/INDUSTRY TRAINING,SIMULATION & EDUCATION CONFERENCE30 NOVEMBER–3 DECEMBER, 2009

Over 130 Technical Sessions and Tutorials

450,000 sq ft exhibit hall showcasing all the latest training technologies

Network with over 16,000 attendees and 500 exhibitors

Meet with Key Government and Industry Leaders and Decision-Makers, including DoD, DHS & OSD

Exhibit/SponsorshipQuestions:Debbie [email protected]

Conference Questions: Barbara [email protected]

IITSEC 09 full pg ad.indd 1 2/2/09 12:39:40 PM

N A T I O N A L T R A I N I N G A N D S I M U L A T I O N A S S O C I A T I O N

3 0 N O V E M B E R – 3 D E C E M B E R , 2 0 0 9 W W W. I I T S E C . O R G O R L A N D O , F L O R I D A

T HT HT HTT H E E E W OWW OOOOW OW O RRRR LR LR LLRR D ’D ’DD ’ S S SS L AL AL AA RRRR GG E SE SSSSSSS T T TT M OM OM OMM O D ED ED ED ED LL IL IL N GN GN GN GG & &&& S S SS I MI MI MM U LU LU LU LL A TA TA TA TT I OI OI OI O N N N N E VEEE VE E NE N TTT

I/ITSECINTERSERVICE/INDUSTRY TRAINING,SIMULATION & EDUCATION CONFERENCE30 NOVEMBER–3 DECEMBER, 2009

Over 130 Technical Sessions and Tutorials

450,000 sq ft exhibit hall showcasing all the latest training technologies

Network with over 16,000 attendees and 500 exhibitors

Meet with Key Government and Industry Leaders and Decision-Makers, including DoD, DHS & OSD

Exhibit/SponsorshipQuestions:Debbie [email protected]

Conference Questions: Barbara [email protected]

IITSEC 09 full pg ad.indd 1 2/2/09 12:39:40 PM

Energy | Environment | National Security | Health | Critical Infrastructure

© 2009 Science Applications International Corporation. All rights reserved. SAIC and the SAIC logo are registered trademarks of Science Applications International Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Designing and producing innovative tactical training products to prepare the warfighter is just one of our many missions. We’re Science Applications International Corporation − 45,000 smart, dedicated people, delivering cutting-edge solutions to respond to your training challenges. Smart people solving hard problems.

Stop by the SAIC stand E-153 at ITEC 2009 to see these solutions in action.

To learn more, visit us at www.saic.com/itec

Delivering Next Generation Training and Simulation

Calendar

8-9 September 2009APATS 2009 @ Asian AerospaceAsia World Expo

Hong Kong

www.halldale.com/APATSAA

10-11 November 2009EATS 2009 - European Airline Training SymposiumClarion Congress Hotel

Prague, Czech Republic

www.halldale.com/EATS

27-29 April 2010WATS 2010 - World Aviation Training Conference &TradeshowRosen Shingle Creek Resort

Orlando, Florida, USA

www.halldale.com/WATS

26-27 May 2009Levels of Fidelity VIIHelsinki, Finland

http://levelsoffidelity.com

3-4 June 2009Mission PlanningLondon, UK

www.smi-online.co.uk/

09missionplanning6.asp

15-21 June 2009Paris Air ShowLe Bourget, France

www.paris-air-show.com

16-17 July 2009Joint Simulation & TrainingLondon, UK

www.jointsimulationandtraining.com

AdVErTISINg coNTAcTS

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

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

Index of Ads

4c Strategies 47 www.4cstrategies.com

AAI corporation 37www.aaicorp.com

Agusta Westland 19www.agustawestland.com

Boeing 4www.boeing.com

cAE oBcwww.cae.com

cAE Newsletter centre Spreadwww.cae.com

christie 45www.christiedigital.com

concord XXI 49www.russiaair.net

cubic 51www.cubic.com

Display Solutions 33www.displaysolution.com

DSA 2010 14www.dsaexhibition.com

Equipe Simulation 27www.equipe-simulation.com

ETc 35www.etcTacticalFlight.com

ETSA 30www.etsaweb.org

FlightSafety International 21www.flightsafety.com

I/ITSEc 2009 57www.iitsec.org

IQPc 36www.jointsimulationandtraining.com

Industrial Smoke and Mirrors 15www.industrialsmokeandmirrors.com

ITEc 2010 48www.itec.co.uk

Kingston conf. on Intl. Security 56www.queensu.ca/cir/KCIS

Krauss-Maffei Wegmann 38 & 39www.kmwsim.com

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dEFENSE JOINT VENTUREEADS Defence & Security (DS) and C4 Advanced Solutions (C4AS), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Emirates Advanced investments group, are going to establish a Joint Venture company in Abu Dhabi. The main intention is to develop and market high tech solu-tions in the field of Defence and Security application.

The partnership will clearly reflect

EADS DS and EAI strategy to address effeciently the key importance of transfer of technology to the UAE as a success factor for the development and master-ing of strategic and nationally sensitive defence and security systems. ms&t

COrrECTIONMS&T 1/2009, p.26. The FCS Training IPT Lead is Chuck Broadfoot and not Chuck Brookwood as published.

Kongsberg 53www.kongsberg.com

L-3 Link Simulation & Training 40www.L-3com.com

MAK Technologies 18www.mak.com

MetaVR 13www.metavr.com

Nextel Engineering 20www.nexteleng.es

Northrop Grumman 25www.northropgrumman.com

Presagis 12www.presagis.com

RAES Flight Simulation conf. 46www.aerosociety.com/conference

RAES Training conference 52www.aerosociety.com/conference

Raydon 43www.raydon.com

Raytheon IFcwww.raytheon.com

RGB Spectrum 23www.rbg.com

Rheinmetall Defence Electronics 11www.rheinmetall-defence.com

RUAG Electronics 41www.ruag.com

SAAB Training Systems 3www.saabgroup.com

SAIc IBcwww.saic.com

SELEX Systems Integration 29www.selex-si-uk.com

SMi Group 32www.smi-online.com

TerraSim 24www.terrasim.com

Theissen Training Systems 55www.theissentraining.com

VBS2 6www.vbs2.com

Energy | Environment | National Security | Health | Critical Infrastructure

© 2009 Science Applications International Corporation. All rights reserved. SAIC and the SAIC logo are registered trademarks of Science Applications International Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Designing and producing innovative tactical training products to prepare the warfighter is just one of our many missions. We’re Science Applications International Corporation − 45,000 smart, dedicated people, delivering cutting-edge solutions to respond to your training challenges. Smart people solving hard problems.

Stop by the SAIC stand E-153 at ITEC 2009 to see these solutions in action.

To learn more, visit us at www.saic.com/itec

Delivering Next Generation Training and Simulation

cae.comone step ahead

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

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

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

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MS&T Magazine - Issue 2/2009

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Transcript of MS&T Magazine - Issue 2/2009