VOLUME 18 NUMBER 1 … · 2017-10-23 · VOLUME 18 . NUMBER 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016 MILITARY TRAINING & SIMULATION NEWS. 1. CONTENTS. FEATURE. 31 GAME CHANGER. Not all are convinced

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CONTENTS

FEATURE31 GAME CHANGER Not all are convinced of the practicalities

of integrated live, virtual and constructive training, but the need for it is certainly strong and new technologies will eventually enable the capability.

INTERVIEW

36 ENHANCING TRAINING The 128,000-strong French Army is in the

process of enhancing its simulation capabilities in response to the adoption of new equipment, restructuring and operational deployments. Maj Thierry Cadot, SOULT programme manager at CEISIM, the service’s simulation requirements organisation, talks to Trevor Nash about current and future programmes.

EDITORIAL COMMENT Smoke and mirrors?

4 NEWS • NATO awards Boeing C-17 training contract

• Esterline launches FD-series display • US Army reappraises live training interoperability •Team21findstrainingsuccessinAustralia •Frenchfollow-on order for SeaOwl Group

FEATURE8 POSITIVE OUTLOOK The US is a colossus when it comes to

defence spending, but where is the largest simulation and training industry in the world heading?

FEATURE13 IN THE SIGHTS Developments in virtual small arms trainers are

continuing at great pace, but there is also work in progress to integrate the live and virtual domains to increase training effectiveness.

FEATURE18 GETTING SERIOUS The utilisation of serious gaming in military

training continues to gather pace, and is now spanning the air, sea and land domains.

FEATURE22 CUSTOMER-DRIVEN CONTENT The realism associated with virtual simulation

continues to improve, especially in the area of visualisation. Much of this is down to the quality and content of the visual database.

FEATURE27 SETTING IN MOTION Virtual and augmented reality have been talked

about for years, but it is arguably only a matter of time before their widespread adoption alongside better use of motion tracking technology.

Screenshot taken from an interactive visual database created by B-Design3D using Bionatics’ Blueberry3D procedural rendering technology. (Image: B-Design3D)

EditorTrevor Nash [email protected]

Staff ReportersBeth Maundrill [email protected] Grant Turnbull [email protected]

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T H E W O R L D ’ S L A R G E S T M O D E L I N G & S I M U L AT I O N E V E N TN 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

Aerospace Simulation & TrainingAircrew TrainersApplied R&DApplied Systems EngineeringBig DataClassroom Training Products & ServicesCloud ComputingComputer HardwareConstruction / MiningConsultancy/Project ManagementCyberDIS IEEE 1278.1x or HLA 1516 CapableDisaster Relief/Planning SimulationsDistance LearningDistributed Simulation and LearningEducational Products & ServicesElectronic ComponentsElectronic Training/Synthetic Engineering/Damage Control TrainersExercise ManagementFlight Simulation & TrainingGamingHomeland Security Simulation & TrainingInstructional Systems DesignLVC (Live, Virtual, Constructive)ManufacturingMedical Simulation & Training Mission Planning/Mission RehearsalModeling ServicesOil, Gas, EnergyOperational & Maintenance ServicesOperator/Driver TrainersPhysical Training EquipmentPre-Brief/After Action Review Research & DevelopmentShiphandling TrainersSimulation SecuritySimulation SoftwareSimulation ToolkitsSmall Arms TrainingSmall BusinessStaffing/Logistics SupportSTEMTactics TrainersTrade Publication / MediaTraining ProductsTraining ServicesTransportationVehicle TrainersVerification & ValidationVisual ComputingVisual Display ProductsWeapon Systems Trainers & Equipment

Classroom Training Products & Services

INTERSERVICE/INDUSTRY TRAINING, SIMULATION & EDUCATION CONFERENCEu 14,700 Attendees u 470 Exhibitors u 150 Sessionsu 58 Countries, over 1,900 International Delegates

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EDITORIAL

In November, the UK government released its long-awaited National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review, thankfully abbreviated to SDSR. This 96-page document was wide-ranging and aimed at a diverse audience that included the media, the public, the military, the defence industry and international allies.

In his foreword, Prime Minister David Cameron highlighted the link between economic and defence security, as well as the importance of both hard and soft power.

Applying moral rectitude to his argument, he pointed out that the UK is exceeding NATO’s 2% defence spending target, as well as the UN’s requirement of spending 0.7% of gross national income on overseas aid. This twin approach, says Cameron, will provide ‘the golden thread of conditions that drive prosperity [and create and foster] the rule of law, good governance and the growth of democracy’.

The irony of the ‘golden thread’ when applied to Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya seems to be lost on the PM.

On the surfaceOn the surface at least, SDSR addresses a number of capability shortfalls, including: the procurement of a maritime patrol aircraft (MPA); the creation of two ‘new’ strike brigades; a doubling of investment in special forces equipment; two ‘new’ Typhoon fast-jet squadrons; an ‘additional’ F-35 squadron; and an ‘increase [in] the size of the Royal Navy’s frigate fleet’.

A more detailed analysis, however, indicates that much of the SDSR is

hyperbole dressed in the obfuscation of MBA-speak.

Although the MPA procurement is to be welcomed to close a major capability gap, other so-called additions are not really new.

For example, the two ‘new’ Typhoon squadrons are merely the life extensions of extant aircraft, the two ‘new’ strike brigades are being created using current personnel, and the additional F-35 squadron is difficult to quantify, as the exact number of aircraft to be ordered has not been announced.

The topic of training in SDSR is absent. In many respects this is surprising as in SDSR 2010, the MoD made reference to increasing virtual training, to replace more expensive live training, and set a target of 50% virtual by 2020.

Considering the new equipment entering service over the coming years, it is perhaps a little remiss not to include an update on the live/virtual training balance target espoused in the previous review.

It is also remiss not to mention the training required for the strike brigades and the ‘war-fighting division optimised for high-intensity operations’ as well as for the range of new platforms that are due to enter service in the coming few years.

This training burden will be extensive and provide the training and simulation industry with a number of opportunities, as well as challenges for the MoD.

Training is only mentioned in SDSR 2015, even then in passing, in the context of placing emphasis on the MoD’s ‘whole force’ strategy of integrating regular and

reserve elements, and with respect to increasing the number of cadet forces in schools and establishing a National Security Academy.

Real estateTwo other training elements associated with the SDSR, one published in the document and one not, concern the selling off of 30% of the defence estate, and the decision to remove the role of CBRN training from the RAF Regiment and pass it over to the British Army.

While new equipment has to be funded and selling surplus real estate is a good way to raise cash, training estate frequently equates to training areas.

Incurring the costs involved in taking away the core competency of CBRN from the RAF Regiment and then having to create it within the army seems a little strange, especially at a time of increasing threats of such weapons being used by pan-national groups around the globe.

SDSR 2015 will be remembered as a policy document created using smoke and mirrors. Personnel shortages and inefficient training will continue to plague the UK’s armed forces. ▪

• Counter-IED/EOD

• Naval training

• Projection technology

• Maintenance training

In the next issue

Trevor Nash, Editor

Smoke and mirrors?

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NEWS

4

NATO awards Boeing C-17 training contract

Boeing has been awarded a $9.5 million firm fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for C-17 strategic airlift capability Heavy Airlift Wing (HAW) flight training. This sole-source FMS contract was awarded by the NATO Airlift Mobility Program Organization through the US DoD’s 338th Specialized Contracting Squadron located at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas.

This initial three-year contract will utilise the Boeing C-17 Weapon System Trainer (WST) that is co-located with the FlightSafety International (FSI) training centre simulators at Farnborough, UK. Boeing instructors will provide ground school academic training and recurrent training for qualified aircrew using the WST, a virtual cargo load trainer, an advanced maintenance procedures trainer and computer-based courseware.

NATO’s HAW achieved its initial operating capability in May 2010. The unit has three C-17 Globemaster III aircraft that are operated from Pápa Air Base in Hungary. Crews come from the 12 HAW participating nations. The other major customer using the C-17 WST at Farnborough is the RAF’s 99 Squadron that operates eight aircraft from Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, UK.

Success storyThe C-17 trainer has been successful for Boeing, with 28 WSTs and additional equipment in service around the world.

The WSTs have all been built by FSI and fitted with its Vital X visual system. As well as Farnborough, other devices are used in Australia, the UAE and the US.

‘We’ve been very pleased with the training system that we’ve put in place for the C-17 and believe that our operation in Farnborough has demonstrated our training capabilities for other Boeing platforms such as the P-8,’ Larry Strube, VP of business development, training systems and services at Boeing, told MTSN. ‘This could provide a successful model for any future RAF P-8 training requirements.’By Trevor Nash, London

Esterline has launched a new visual display system that is designed to sit in between its high-performance Treality RP 360 and its Treality SEER dome-based model.

The Treality FD series is a family of compact rear projection visual systems with 360° immersion capability. Featuring faceted displays, the company says that it has been designed to eliminate spurious reflections inside the visual system and enhance the colour

saturation and realism for day and very dark night scenes.

The FD series has a contrast ratio of up to 50:1 and brightness of ten foot lamberts. Some 23 projectors are required to achieve a 360° field of view. According to Esterline, the system can be used with a variety of different projector types depending on specific customer requirements.

Although faceted visual systems tend to divide the pilot training cohort, their

major benefit is that they do not require edge blending, and therefore provide a fully immersive solution at a lower cost than conventional domes.

Esterline has also undertaken a redesign of its Treality TD series of deployable display domes that features roll-up seamless panels, launched at ITEC 2015 in Prague. The company has now introduced an aluminium frame for the system to make the display lighter.By Peter Matthews, London

Esterline launches FD-series display

Photo: Boeing

MTSN-01-16_p04-06_News.indd 4 1/20/2016 3:44:56 PM


NEWS

US Army reappraises live training interoperability

One of the major challenges facing NATO and Partnership for Peace nations is achieving interoperability in the live training domain.

Although NATO working groups, specifically the Urban Combat Advanced Training Technology (UCATT) group, have been addressing this issue for more than ten years, this has predominantly been a European effort, with the US observing from the sidelines. It would appear that this is about to change.

The fundamental problem surrounds issues of compatibility between the laser codes used by the majority of European nations and those of the US and its FMS customers, namely OSAG/OSAG II and the MILES Communications Code (MCC).

‘These challenges impact our ability to train and operate together and pose considerable risks to the strategies of enabling and working within allied and multinational forces,’ said Lt Gen Ben Hodges, Commanding General US Army Europe.

Hodges’ concerns are now being addressed by the US Army’s Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training & Instrumentation (PEO STRI).

Based in Orlando, Florida, PEO STRI has formed a ‘Tiger Team’ to address near-, mid- and long-term issues of compatibility that affect laser-based tactical engagement simulation systems (TESS), simulated area weapons effects, instrumentation and after-action reviews.

According to PEO STRI’s programme manager for live training systems, Lt Col Corey Hemingway, the near-term actions will comprise two Tiger Team studies, concentrating on interoperability issues between TESS and instrumentation systems and between different types of the latter.

Looking forwardMajor mid-term actions will include standardising TESS and instrumentation system communication protocols, and adding an interface for multinational fire control systems. The long-term actions focus on the advancement of a selectable protocol, developing expanded bandwidth laser sensors to support multiple laser protocols and the transition to a common instrumentation standard.

The success of the US Army’s re-engagement with the issues of TESS

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interoperability depends on a number of factors.

First, the work undertaken by UCATT must not be undone. OSAG II is about to be awarded SISO accreditation and despite the ubiquity of MILES, OSAG is designed around high-fidelity, two-way TESS applications that are able to reflect the ‘train as you fight’ creed so popular with the US military.

A second point is that the US DoD and its supporting industry have made major investments in MILES over many years that make its replacement problematic.

It is hoped that the PEO STRI Tiger Team will recommend that interoperability needs to take place at the highest level of fidelity, despite cost and IPR issues, to ensure negative training does not take place as a result of its findings.Trevor Nash, London

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NEWS

6

Team 21 finds training success in Australia

The ADF has signed a contract worth A$1.2 billion ($832 million) with Lockheed Martin to provide a new pilot training as part of Project Air 5428.

The award will see Team 21, which is led by Lockheed Martin and includes Pilatus and Hawker Pacific, deliver 49 Pilatus PC-21 aircraft, seven simulators, a classroom for students, updated courseware and support for an initial seven-year term.

It is understood that 22 of the training aircraft will go to Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base East Sale, Victoria, already home to the service’s Central Flying School.

The programme will provide training for RAAF pilots on the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, as well as the Tiger ARH, MH-60R Seahawk and MRH-90 helicopters. First courses will begin in early 2019, with an annual intake of up to 165 trainee pilots. This will allow the ADF to increase the number of pilot graduates from 77 to 105 pilots each year.

The company provides a similar training structure to the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). Speaking with MTSN at I/ITSEC in Orlando in December, Tom Quelly, director of business development at Lockheed Martin Mission Systems & Training, said that the Australian Team 21 turnkey training solution model would be based largely on the RSAF programme.

‘The [RSAF] provides the flight training instructors and we provide the aircraft with the flight hours as well as the ground-based instructors, simulators and courseware,’ he explained.

In September 2015, the company was announced as the preferred tenderer for

the Australian programme, so the contract comes as no surprise. Lockheed was chosen ahead of a bid from BAE Systems Australia, CAE Australia and Beechcraft based on the T-6C.

The contract will see the ADF’s basic flight training delivered from RAAF Base East Sale, Victoria, and advanced flight training will continue to be delivered from RAAF Base Pearce, Western Australia – the RSAF already conducts some of its pilot training in Western Australia.

Lockheed Martin now has its sights on Canada, and has started work on a multi-billion-dollar contract for its Future Pilot Training project, according to Quelly.

A tender notice for the programme was issued in October 2015 and companies that are interested in bidding are requested to file bids by 2 February.

The Canadian initiative is estimated at around C$4 billion (US$2.8 billion) and is designed to take flight training well into the 2040s.By Beth Maundrill, London

The partnership between the SeaOwl Group and the French Navy has been reinforced with the award of a six-year contract by the French DGA procurement agency for additional training support services.

The so-called Plastron contract sees the group providing training services, including two ships, materiel such as aerial targets, sea and sub-surface targets as well as personnel from two bases in Brest and Toulon. The services provide support for a number of different tasks that include: helicopter pilot training; commando training; air defence; anti-surface warfare; anti-submarine warfare; and mine hunting.

‘We have a long history of working in partnership with the French Navy and we are pleased to have been awarded this contract to assist [the service] in performing operational sea training for all the personnel of their surface ships, submarines, naval aviation and auxiliaries fleet,’ said Xavier Genin, managing director of SeaOwl France.

‘Not only does it reinforce our ability to deliver integrated support solutions to the French Navy, but it strengthens our relationship with other defence contractors in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.’

SeaOwl has been working with the French Navy since 2008 and this latest

contract extension highlights the growing trend of commercial contractors providing training service support for militaries.

The adoption of such services provide forces with significant advantages.

As well as the highly important cost-saving element, contractors such as the SeaOwl Group can maintain a pool of expertise that may be lacking from a military that is suffering from manpower shortages.

Increasing numbers of military forces around the world are looking to adopt service provision as a method of balancing budgets and improving training delivery.By Trevor Nash, London

French follow-on order for SeaOwl Group

Photo: RAAF


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US INDUSTRY

8

W ith the biggest simulation and training (S&T) industry in the world and the most wide-ranging

national group of its type, the US market covers the live, virtual and constructive domains. The industry ranges from large platform providers and system integrators such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, through medium-sized product and service providers exemplified by CAE USA, to smaller specialist companies such as MetaVR, DiSTI and Display Optical Technologies.

The US S&T industry does not stand alone, but is supported by a network of academic faculties that undertake related research. There is also an active trade body, the National Training and Simulation Association, and a relatively close relationship with the armed forces. The latter is highlighted through the large number of DoD industry briefings that are held throughout the year, where future requirements and specific programmes are discussed.

The size and power of this S&T capability is perhaps most notable when considering the US defence and aerospace sector as a whole. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the US is the world’s main exporter of defence equipment, taking up a 31% share of the global market between 2010 and 2014. Six of the top ten global defence exporters are US companies, with Lockheed Martin in first place followed by Boeing in second. Other US companies in the top ten included

POSITIVEOUTLOOK

The US is a colossus when it comes to its defence spending, but where is the largest simulation and training industry in the world heading? By Trevor Nash

Rockwell Collins is supplying its F-35 Griffin projection technology as part of the aircraft’s training system. The company sees this as opening doors to export opportunities in the future.

(Photo: Rockwell Collins)

MTSN-01-16_p08-12_US_market.indd 8 1/20/2016 3:09:18 PM


US INDUSTRY

Raytheon (number four), Northrop Grumman (five), General Dynamics (six) and United Technologies (eight).

The size of the US defence and aerospace industry, including the S&T subset, is not too surprising considering the country’s superpower status and the resources necessary to deploy in defending this position. In 2014, it spent $654.3 billion on defence, which is 3.8% of its GDP. It is salutary to reflect that the total NATO defence spend was $942.9 billion.

In many ways, the US is supported almost entirely by its indigenous defence and aerospace industry. Between 2010 and 2014 for example, only 3% of its defence equipment was imported. Although there are no figures for simulation and training equipment, it is believed that the 3% figure is closely mirrored.

Manpower is a key support issue for the industry. The US Army comprises 1,015,000 members, the USN totals 387,000, the USAF 492,000 and the USMC, 224,000. But that is not the end of the story as far as potential customers for the US S&T industry are concerned. The US has many more state and federal bodies that employ simulation technology including law enforcement agencies, the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration, US Customs and Border Protection and the US Coast Guard.

Expenditure issuesIn terms of federal investment in defence, the US budget has been affected over recent years by withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011. The BCA was a result of an impasse between Congress and the White House and led to sequestration that resulted in delays and cancellations to programmes and cuts to live training and manpower.

Defence spending is still declining, but a certain stability has been achieved with the passing of October’s Bipartisan Budget Act 2015 (BBA 15), that provides funding for two years. Planned expenditure for the next two years is expected to be $548 billion in FY2016 and $551 billion in FY2017 with an additional supplement of $59 billion for overseas contingency operations (OCO). The big caveat here is that whatever the

DoD plans to spend in forthcoming fiscal years, the planned figure is always exceeded by additional OCO or supplementary spending.

According to the DoD, the BBA 15 deal between Congress and the President will help strike a balance between needs and resources. US Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work said that ‘trying to balance between demands and ends with constant resource uncertainty is keeping us from creating a coherent programme that stands the test of time [but] we applaud what Congress has done, coming together in a bipartisan nature… with a budget deal that gives us clarity for two years’.

Stable situationSo at least the budget deal has given US industry a modicum of stability for the next two years, but has it all been bad news since sequestration?

‘From the perspective of Rockwell Collins, the past year has seen us post single-digit growth in our military training business and we’re pretty positive about the next 12 months,’ said LeAnn Ridgeway, VP and general manager of simulation and training solutions. ‘The recent US budget [BBA 15] will have no detrimental impact on us and we’re looking to increase our export business through programmes such as F-35, E-2D and T-BOS [Transportable Black Hawk Operations Simulator].’

The company’s main involvement in the F-35 Lightning II programme is with its Griffin projection system that is used in the aircraft’s full mission simulator. Featuring the company’s 2015HC projectors, Griffin provides a high-fidelity 360º field of view.

As far as the E-2D is concerned, Rockwell Collins is the prime contractor for the aircraft’s Hawkeye Integrated Training Systems for Aircrew and Maintenance that are used by the USN and is hopeful of FMS contracts from future customers, the initial one being Japan.

The same FMS hopes rest with the T-BOS that was originally developed for the US Army’s UH-60L/M Black Hawk fleet. Deployed at unit level, the T-BOS flight training device has been designed to ensure that virtual pilot training can go ahead in the workplace and negate the need to send pilots to a central training location.

‘When you consider the number of Black Hawks in service around the world, we believe that T-BOS can assist military forces to maintain a high level of operational readiness,’ explained Ridgeway.

Looking abroadRockwell Collins’ emphasis on export business is an interesting point to consider. Historically, with a big domestic defence budget present in the George W Bush years, most S&T companies could survive by sourcing procurement opportunities for the DoD or through FMS business. With military budgets falling, more companies are beginning to look outside the US, and DiSTI provides an exemplar of what strategy this can achieve.

Based in Orlando, Florida, DiSTI specialises in the provision of virtual development tools such as GL Studio and VE Studio that are used in a variety of applications, including the development of virtual maintenance trainers. The company’s export effort has historically been directed through a prime contractor, such as Boeing for the recent Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) contract to upgrade its integrated visual environment maintenance trainer devices for the F/A-18E Super Hornet. The company has also supplied a virtual maintenance trainer to an undisclosed foreign F-16 user but has now opened a European office in London to expand its footprint further.

‘DiSTI Europe represents a huge step forward in DiSTI’s dedication to our customers overseas,’ said director of

With military budgets falling, more companies are beginning

to look outside the US.



global sales Christopher Giordano. ‘Over the past five years, DiSTI has seen significant growth in our international market, Europe being a large part of that success. As DiSTI’s European market continues to grow, we need an efficient and dedicated way to best support our customers and partners throughout their entire business day. DiSTI Europe is the answer to this need, moving forward.’

Large exportsBut it’s not just the SME enterprises that are focusing on increasing their business by exporting more. L-3 Link Simulation & Training has had, according to president Lenny Genna, ‘a good year and we finished it strongly’. Link’s simulation activities are largely split between the military and commercial airline training sectors, the latter business having been added through the acquisition of Thales’ commercial training arm in 2012.

‘Although there is lots of proposal activity at the present time, the sliding price of oil and regional conflicts are having an impact on our business in the Middle East,’ said Genna. At present, around 75% of the company’s revenues come from the US but he wants to balance that figure with more export sales.

‘You have already seen us leverage technologies from US programmes such as Flight School XXI and AVCATT [Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer] to win overseas programmes in places such as Saudi Arabia and Taiwan, and we believe that we are well placed to win more foreign programmes in the future,’ he commented.

Genna would like to see the company providing more training services. Its major flagship service contract is currently the C-17 Aircrew Training System (ATS) programme, but with the acquisition of the UK’s CTC Aviation academy earlier this year, other opportunities in the pilot training field might occur in the future.

One company that is well known for its export activities is CAE. One of its major advantages is that, like L-3 Link, it is split between military and commercial airline training, but also between providing products and services. Ray Duquette, president of CAE USA, said that this is a ‘key strength of the company’ and in 2015, the trend was to see more growth in the training service provision side of the business, although even this area ‘sees the company providing our own training equipment.’

Like Rockwell Collins, CAE USA saw ‘single-digit growth in 2015’ where it ‘won some significant contracts’. These included

an extension to its KC-135 ATS contract and USN T-44C aircrew training, the award of additional P-8A simulators for the USN and RAAF, and a CH-147F contract for the Royal Canadian Air Force as well as visual systems and maintenance trainer upgrades for the Luftwaffe’s Eurofighter Typhoons.

The company also won the US Army’s fixed-wing programme for initial and recurrent training. Worth a potential $200 million over the next eight years, this contract is currently under protest, and therefore the award is yet to be confirmed.

Perhaps one of the most significant acquisitions made in 2015 saw CAE purchase Bombardier’s military aviation training business, the main element of which is the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) operation. The importance of owning NFTC is magnified when considering the Canadian Forces Future Pilot Training (FPT) requirement that seeks to integrate NFTC with basic flying training. This major contract, thought by many to be worth over $3 billion over its lifetime, is expected to be awarded in the 2020/21 time frame.

Old-fashioned systemsLike many countries, the US is often blighted by a procurement system that has failed to keep pace with modern business

US INDUSTRY

This F-16 WST was supplied to Morocco by L-3 Link Simulation and Training under the terms of an FMS contract. (Photo: L-3 Link)



US INDUSTRY

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practices and rapidly evolving technologies. With the US Army fixed-wing training contract under protest, Genna believes all is not well.

‘We have a challenge,’ he said. ‘The current process sees the DoD procuring equipment and services using a “lowest-price, technically acceptable” [LPTA] model.’ This approach was designed to reduce the number of protests because as its name suggests, all companies meeting the technical requirements – the simulator meeting the training need – would then be judged on the price offered, with the cheapest bid winning.

‘Despite LPTA, protests are up,’ added Genna. The other factor is that ‘trying to make awards protest-proof’ means that ‘innovation is being stifled’.

As we have seen, although the US market for S&T is a bountiful one, companies ignore the export market at their peril. Businesses also need to be aware of emerging technology and its impact on training methodologies. In the case of Cubic Global Defense, the company has transformed itself over recent years and has broadened its outlook and offerings. Much of this is down to its dynamic president, Bill Toti.

At present, Cubic generates around 60% of its revenues from the US but this is planned to change under the company’s Project Fusion that sees it drawing together its foreign and dispersed domestic operations into a coordinated whole. ‘Technology is a means to an end, and we must use our 5,500 global employees as sensors to feed into the company what’s happening in the global training market in terms of trends, requirements and analysis,’ Toti said.

The Cubic plan has already seen the formation of a joint venture in the UAE with a local company to form Emirates Training Technologies, as well as the creation of Cubic Italia. Toti told MTSN that the company is expanding its portfolio and ‘rebooting our strategy’ to engage with ‘a changing world’.

Historically viewed as solely a live training company, Cubic now provides its customers with a variety of products, including games-based training for the crews of USN Littoral Combat Ships and integrated live, virtual and constructive (I-LVC) capabilities. In

October 2015, Cubic announced that it had been selected to take part in Project SLATE, the US’s Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) I-LVC study.

‘We’ve got to improve the realism of training by adding technologies that determine outcomes,’ said Toti on the impact of social media on the way conflicts evolve and are fought. There appear to be exciting times ahead for Cubic, but how do the other major US S&T players view the market?

Echoing Toti’s comments on the role of technology, Lockheed Martin Training & Logistic Solutions’ VP for business development and strategy, Dave Scott, told MTSN that the company’s approach is to ‘focus on the training task and training outcomes’ and use the best technology available ‘to meet those goals’.

Contracts and investmentLockheed Martin Training & Logistic Solutions has had a good 2015,


http://www.meggitttrainingsystems.com


US INDUSTRY

12

rounded off by signing the Air 5428 pilot training contract in Australia (see news, p6). The company also announced last year that it was going to open a C-130J and LM-100J training facility at Marietta, Georgia. It already runs the US C-130J ATS programme at Little Rock, Arkansas, but Scott said ‘this facility has no spare capacity and this drove the decision to build a new training centre’.

Like many individuals in the US S&T marketplace, he is quite bullish about future potential. ‘Sequestration did delay things but I think that we’ve now moved on, the government has provided more budgetary stability,’ he observed. ‘We believe that simulation is recognised as a major cost-saver and a method of enhancing operational readiness.’

As an example, Scott cited the F-16 training programme ‘where pilots spend around 30% of their time in the simulator’. For the F-35, ‘this has flipped, with 70% of the pilot’s time in the simulator’. This, he said, is a reflection on the growing fidelity of simulation.

From the Boeing perspective, Tim Noonan, VP training systems and government services, who has been in post since June 2015, says his view is that the

S&T sector ‘is a pretty flat market’ at the moment, but with the cost per flight hour of military aircraft continuing to rise, and ‘Moore’s Law holding true’, more training will be conducted in the flight simulator or through the promise of I-LVC.

Boeing has invested in a development centre in St Louis, Missouri, to examine emerging technology and evolving solutions. Another area where business can be expanded is through closer relationships with partner companies, and here he cites CAE, FlightSafety International and JVC – the latter providing the projectors for Boeing’s Constant Resolution Visual System that has been selected by a number of customers including the USAF and the Italian Air Force.

Like many system integrators in the US, Boeing has made significant investments in I-LVC simulation. Having started with an internally funded programme seven years ago, this so-called Project Alpine then developed into the USAF-funded Project Pilot and today, the lessons learned from these studies are being developed within the collaborative SLATE project by industry and the AFRL.

As well as its fixed-wing business for the C-17 and P-8, Boeing is also seeing lots of interest in its rotary-wing products. The

main current programme is a virtual maintenance trainer for an Asian customer and there is also interest in mounting the company’s Apache Longbow Crew Trainer onto a motion platform. As Noonan said, ‘our Apache training business is going well both in the US and overseas’.

Global futuresAs we have seen, the US S&T industry has the ability to support the bulk of its national armed ‘forces requirements. Historically, this industry looked solely to the domestic market but although the Pentagon is a colossus in terms of defence spending, budgets are declining.

The result has been that more and more S&T companies are looking overseas to further their business. This trend is likely to continue into the future, especially when one considers that the industry is supported by strong academic and industrial associations that, together with the military, define the standards, terminologies and technologies that other armed forces around the world often ultimately adopt.

Although it is perhaps overstating the case to say that the future for US S&T is rosy, it is certainly looking positive. ▪

CAE is partnered with Boeing to supply P-8A training systems to the USN and export customers. Shown here is the P-8A simulator hall at NAS Jacksonville. (Photo: CAE)


SMALL ARMS TRAINING

In the sights


Developments in virtual small arms trainers are continuing at great pace, but there is also work in progress to integrate the live and virtual domains to increase training effectiveness. By Alan Dron

V irtual small arms trainers (VSATs) continue to increase in popularity, as their manufacturers strive for

ever-increasing levels of realism and to close the gap between simulation and live firing.

While live firing remains the pinnacle of weapons training for many troops – and there are strong arguments that no simulation system, no matter how good, can offer quite the same experience – the combination of continued improvements in the authenticity of virtual systems, and the undoubted cost savings that can be made by using them, mean that their prevalence is likely to grow.

3D developmentsAmong the newest VSATs on the market is Meggitt Training Systems’ FATS 100e, which was rolled out at the I/ITSEC event last December and is a development of the successful FATS M100.

‘It brings several new features to our product line,’ said Larry Raines, VP virtual

systems at the company. ‘To win the US Army and US Marine Corps contracts in late 2015, we created several technology injections into our product line.’

These included the introduction of 3D images into the system’s marksmanship training mode. ‘It gives you a lot of capability in using games-based

Cubic’s EST 3000 is the latest iteration of its engagement skills trainer range. (Photo: Cubic)

MTSN-01-16_p13-17_VSAT.indd 13 1/20/2016 2:36:06 PM


SMALL ARMS TRAINING

14

technologies for enhanced realism, but also, in 3D replay, to see where shots actually fell for indirect fire and shot placement around the target.’

The new features include Crytek-based 3D lanes, automatic coaching and VBS3-based collective training. The 3D lanes provide visually realistic and highly detailed terrains and targets, including weather and visual effects such as wind-blown environments, birds in flight, dirt splashes and explosions.

Automatic coaching is incorporated, which Meggitt says has never previously been available in the small arms training market. ‘The Meggitt BlueFire range [of weapons] has always provided a lot of feedback to the system and the instructor, its ballistic fly-out, intersection to the target, etc,’ said Raines. Developing that feedback further will give the instructor instant information as to whether an individual shot fell outside the expected area or not.

The instructor can immediately see the fall of shot on a tablet computer that can serve a number of different roles. The instructor can operate the system from it and inform a soldier immediately if they have made an error. Alternatively, it can be used for reinforcement training, by pointing out a close grouping of shots and praising the soldier for their efforts.

The tablet can also be used to help weaker instructors, who may not be particularly confident delivering knowledge or comments verbally, said Raines: ‘He can show something on the screen instead of describing it.’

The system allows training to be completed more quickly than before, added Raines. Not only marksmanship but use-of-force and rules of engagement (RoE) training can be taught: ‘Depending on the situation, there may be a use-of-force rule within RoE. For example, if someone shouts abuse at you, how do you respond? If someone pulls a knife, how do you respond?

‘The system is scalable, from one to three screens, so you can have five to 15 trainees on the system at any one time. You can link many systems together from around the world so you can get some command and control training as well. Everyone sees the same terrain, blue and red forces, and how you apply marksmanship skills in a tactical environment.

‘Customers say there’s still a place for live-fire training but… virtual training is an important cog in the continuum.’

Getting untetheredAlso new to the marketplace is the latest version of Saab Czech’s SAVIT simulator,

which was released last year. Improvements include a high-speed camera that can ‘read’ laser shots coming from the weapons used on the system, said project manager Jakub Ševeček.

The camera was developed in-house by Saab, as no suitable off-the-peg equipment existed. The weapons used on the system have also been given a stronger recoil effect for greater realism.

In past years, SAVIT has been used mainly for marksmanship training for soldiers to get experience in handling weapons. ‘You can simulate jams and therefore have to perform the necessary procedure to clear them,’ said Ševeček.

Saab Czech has now developed video scenarios for incorporation with SAVIT, and the system gives customers the option of creating their own. However, this is used mainly by police forces for shoot/no-shoot training.

Work is under way to develop SAVIT to work with Microsoft’s 3D HoloLens goggles, which the US software giant claims is ‘the first fully untethered, holographic computer, enabling high-definition holograms to integrate with your world’.

Microsoft adds that its new Windows 10 operating system ‘is the first platform to support holographic computing with application programming interfaces that enable gaze, gesture, voice and environmental understanding on an untethered device’.

‘We are trying to connect our system with that,’ explained Ševeček. ‘The glasses show you the scenario in a realistic way. It’s more realistic and immersive than projection onto a wall or into a dome.’

Virtual skillsGreater realism is also the aim of US company VirTra. ‘When I started in the industry five years ago, lots of companies were saying they had marksmanship trainers, but the problem was they didn’t have ballistic accuracy,’ said Scott Dilullo, director of content and firearms at the company.

A couple of years ago, VirTra set out to solve that omission and the result was a virtual skills trainer, the V-ST Pro.

Initially designed with the US Army in mind, it incorporated a ballistic calculator using proprietary software to incorporate

A key element of VSATs is the ability to easily control the exercise and undertake a meaningful after-action review. This is a FATS trainer from Meggitt. (Photo: Meggitt)



SMALL ARMS TRAINING

factors such as the type of weapon and ammunition used. This data can be taken from information supplied by the weapon manufacturer and programmed into the simulator.

This, claims Dilullo, made the V-ST Pro the most ballistic-accurate small arms trainer on the market. Since the system went live in January 2015, it has found sales success, although Dilullo was unable to reveal the identities of its customers.

With the new system, multiple screens up to 4.8m wide can be linked together and up to 30 firing lanes can be accommodated at any one time. Immediate after-action reviews can also be conducted.

‘Overall, the tactics have changed,’ said Dilullo. ‘We’re no longer having conventional warfare dealing with enemies 800-1,000m away. It’s more close-quarter, more police-like.’

Satellite scenariosAnother US company, Texas-based Laser Shot, also plans to upgrade its existing systems over the coming year, according to Rubin Espinoza, its international sales/business development manager.

It is teaming up with other firms to enhance its video products by including the capability to pull up scenarios from virtually anywhere in the world. A satellite image of the desired area will be refined by Laser Shot’s IT specialists, who will add appropriate targets to the landscape, with troops then practicing their judgement skills on reacting to them.

It will also be enhancing its Crosshair sniper training system. This currently consists of a micro-display in the sniper scope that gives high-resolution in-optic magnification, with targets being projected onto a screen in front of the soldier.

‘The whole system will be enhanced,’ said Espinoza. ‘I can’t go into the details, but we’re increasing the software capability. We’ll add a lot more judgemental work.’ Laser Shot is also in negotiations with a foreign customer to build a 100x50m virtual shoot-house that will allow live firing: ‘They want the ability where a complete squad can bring in a vehicle and dismount.’

Live and syntheticAs a former battalion commander with the US 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan and later colonel of a training brigade, Bert Ges was convinced that nothing could replace live-fire training. His experience with Cubic’s Mobile Engagement Skills Trainer (EST) converted him and he is now director of the company’s Warfighter Effectiveness Group.

EST was ‘phenomenal’, he said, as it greatly cut the amount of time that would have been needed to set up a live range and conduct the same marksmanship exercises. Cubic now refers to its small arms trainers as employing ‘live and synthetic’ techniques, blending them together.

Like several other companies, it is venturing into augmented reality goggles that can throw up levels of unpredictability into firing exercises, to stop soldiers from gaming the system.

Close quartersMeanwhile, Thales Deutschland has just introduced the latest version of its Sagittarius VSAT, the Sagittarius Evolution. Since it originally appeared in 1993, more than 260 Sagittarius systems have been sold worldwide, said product manager Marco Zender. Like other companies, Thales Deutschland has seen the nature of combat changing, with much more emphasis on close-quarter urban combat, and Evolution seeks to accommodate this.

The basic system involves projection of an image on to a 3m-wide screen or a normal wall. This can accommodate two trainees side by side, with the screen split vertically, and it can give a unified image if the soldiers are training for a common exercise. Other versions of the system can provide four, five or ten-lane configurations.

Older versions of Sagittarius were essentially marksmanship trainers. Development of the Evolution variant began four years ago, with the first examples delivered to Germany’s special forces in December 2015.

It provides training for a range of weapons from pistols up to the Dynamit Nobel RGW 90 recoilless grenade weapon, which can be used for anti-tank or anti-structure missions and whose warhead effects can be controlled by the firer.

‘It’s very difficult to train with that weapon, as one shot would cost around €8,000 [$8,700], so you can imagine that synthetic training is very useful,’ commented Zender.

The avatars employed in Sagittarius Evolution have had a degree of unpredictability introduced: ‘In the old version, there was only scripted behaviour.

‘For normal training, that’s OK, but when you’re going a step further you have to randomise, or not have such predictable behaviour. With the old system the trainee knew, even on the second attempt, that after five seconds something would appear at the edge of the screen and after 20 seconds, something else would happen.

‘We did a presentation last year for a German general, just a few metres away from a [live] firing range and he saw the big advantage that a soldier could go into a building near the firing range, train with the weapon and then go to the live range just 100 metres away. That’s very effective training.’

The troops are also very happy with Sagittarius Evolution’s degree of portability, said Zender. It can be packed into a box roughly 80x70cm for the wireless version. If tethered weapons are required, two further containers – the compressor and the weapon connection box – have to be used.

Impending improvementsAs for the future, several potential trends in VSATs can be discerned.

Making simulators indistinguishable from the real thing remains the ultimate

The SAVIT VSAT is designed by Saab Czech and used by a number of military forces around the world. (Photo: Saab)



SMALL ARMS TRAINING

16

One of the most obvious examples of the increasing blurring of the distinction between live and virtual training can be found in live shoot-houses. A leader in this field is the Royal Netherlands Army, which has engaged Dutch training and mission preparation systems company RE-liON to create a new generation of systems for shoot-houses.

Previously, the Netherlands armed forces conducted a study looking at how they could improve training for urban operations. Among measures taken to address this was the provision of seven shoot-houses.

Military investmentIn 2011, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and Simulation Centre for Land Warfare undertook a study on LVC technology. This spawned the Urban Short-Range Interaction (USRI) project, which projected computer-generated human avatars to act as opponents for soldiers training in house-search operations. Troops were able to interact with these avatars in both verbal and non-verbal modes.

The successor to USRI is the Advanced Target Interaction Simulation System (ATISS). This is still not a product but the plan is to take it through the pre-production stage to the point where a fully fledged system can be produced. ‘USRI can be described as a demonstrator and ATISS is more of a prototype,’ said Chris Haarmeijer, RE-liON’s CEO. ‘RE-liON is looking at how to mature the technology further. It’s not blue-sky research any more.’

According to Capt Sander Cruiming, staff officer knowledge, innovation and policy at the Royal Netherlands Army’s Simulation Centre for Land Warfare, ‘the goal of the ATISS research programme is to develop or integrate technology that will allow us to reach a higher training fidelity than we reach with conventional targets’.

‘Traditional targets that are often used on outdoor ranges are not suitable for indoor use for practical reasons. Pop-up targets, for instance, need room to pop up and down, which takes at least a metre out of a shooting house room that was already quite small. Another reason is that the mechanical and electrical parts have to be protected against small arms fire and moving them around a room is not easy. By projecting avatars on the walls we get rid of most of those practical problems.’

He added that the main reasons for developing ATISS, however, had to do with the training quality the army wanted to offer trainees, based on experience in Afghanistan, Iraq and other missions that mainly took place in an urban environment.

‘Current urban operations [UO] training consists roughly of two parts: tactical training and live-fire training. The tactical training is mainly done in our two UO training villages, Oostdorp for squad- and platoon-level training and Marnehuizen for platoon-, company- and battalion-level training. Traditionally, only the special forces units like the Commando Corps and part of the Royal Marines undertook

live-fire shooting house training. Missions like the one in Afghanistan showed us this was insufficient for our armoured and air assault infantry battalions, as they were also in the midst of urban combat all the time.

New demands‘This led to the requirement and building of seven brand-new shoot-houses, of which six will be in the Netherlands and one is planned to be in the Dutch Caribbean, where both the army and marine corps have infantry units stationed.’ USRI, he explained, was part of a larger LVC research project that focused on the training value of introducing virtual avatars into the live environment.

When this project was completed, the UO training group approached the simulation centre with an actual requirement for virtual targets, as it had just started building its shoot-houses for the army’s infantry battalions.

‘The fact that the end of our research project and the start of their shoot-houses project coincided was fortunate and offered an opportunity. This led to the initiation of ATISS which, unlike USRI, focuses on the technology and not the training value of the concept itself.

‘Since the army and TNO don’t deliver products, we partnered with RE-liON Enschede. RE-liON was also chosen to deliver a virtual urban operations training system to the Royal Netherlands Army, Blacksuit.’

ATISS is intended to be used for both conventional urban warfare and anti-terrorist training, said Cruiming. The two involve personnel being confronted with a

target, said Ges: ‘What you see today is a vast improvement on what you saw five years ago, which was a vast improvement on five years before that. There are systems out there today that

are phenomenal, but require 10-15lb of extra gear to wear. Some require wearing goggles that are actually cameras and if a component fails, they go dead. ‘We’re now creating see-through technology similar to Google Glass – if the device goes down, you can still see through it.’

Stronger recoils and better video resolution are the requests from several clients, said Ševeček.

NETHERLANDS EXPERIENCE

Cubic is one company that is enhancing its small arms trainers with human performance monitoring to monitor the stress levels of trainees. (Photo: Cubic)



SMALL ARMS TRAINING

certain threat, the presence of civilians, or both.

‘ATISS focuses on two things – interaction and the ability to offer a larger and dynamic variety of role play. Conventional shooting-house training will confront an operator with targets that are either hostile or non-hostile on entry to the room. It is what it is and doesn’t change during the scenario. There is no interaction with the target at

all, so therefore the training only focuses on shoot/don’t shoot decision-making.

‘ATISS will do that as well, but it is very possible that on entry there is no weapon visible on the avatar. The avatar might however draw a weapon later on, or run to a weapon standing in the corner of the room. Offering a dynamic scenario brings training closer to reality and also offers a non-kinetic solution, like the ability to let an avatar show his hands or get on his or her knees.’

Another perk that ATISS will offer is the ability to train with demographic groups that are not currently available as role play in live-fire environments, such as elderly people, children and animals.

‘Units will, however, be confronted with those groups during deployment and combat situations, but only then and not before. We view that fact as a gap in our training that ATISS looks to solve. Combine all this with environmental noises that will be introduced and the fidelity and mindset training of the operator greatly increases.’

According to Haarmeijer, the most difficult technical aspect of this new type of shoot-house is interaction, which can

take the form of speech, gesture or even posture. ‘It’s still very difficult to have a conversation with a virtual character. One-on-one is already amazingly difficult, but imagine going to one-to-many, or many-to-many.’

Added realismHe added: ‘The idea behind ATISS is that it’s not integrated into the shoot-house but is modular, so it can be placed in any of the shoot-houses.’

The first shoot-house is finished and is about to enter operation. Each will have a different layout, so units can experience a variety of structures and not become over-familiar with a single internal configuration.

The ATISS system is intended for extensive use among army formations, noted Cruiming. ‘Any infantry unit will go through an extensive urban operations training programme, both tactical and aimed at shooting skills.

‘By the time an infantryman is allowed to go into a shooting house he has gone through a long and hard training programme, given the dangers of shoot-house training. On top of that, he will have to take a shooting test every day before undertaking an exercise in a shoot-house. If he fails that test, he will not fire a single shot that day. The shoot-house instructors are held to an equally high standard, to ensure safety but also to offer the best possible training before deployment.

‘All of this is aimed at raising the operational readiness of the single man and his unit, given the fact that all or most current day conflicts take place in an urban environment and will see civilians on the battlefield.’

‘We’re seeing more interest in judgemental simulators,’ said Dilullo. ‘You can’t just throw a grenade into a room and go in to clear it.’

In some ways, military simulators are following the pattern of those produced for civilian law enforcement work, where greater emphasis is placed on shoot/no-shoot decisions. Portability is also currently high on the military’s wish-list,

noted Espinoza. ‘They say that what they want in the simulation world is something small and portable so they can use it wherever they want. The military deploy [and] need something they can take with them.’

Although some companies have provided portable simulation ranges in the past, these have often been large, trailer-mounted systems whose

reliability has not always been the best and which needed a dedicated operator, he added.

Laser Shot’s systems are designed so that they can be plugged in and the image projected onto a screen or a sheet, controlled by a tablet computer: ‘Every kid now knows how to use an iPad-type system to change a scenario.’ ▪

Captain Sander Cruiming of the Royal Netherlands

Army. (Photo: RUAG)



Gettingserious

The utilisation of serious gaming in military training continues to gather pace, and is now spanning the air, sea and land domains. By Beth Maundrill

A s training becomes increasingly digital, the use of game-based elements is on the rise. Both

commercial gaming companies and the defence industry are looking to provide next-generation technology to militaries, who are keen to achieve the potential cost savings from this approach.

The game engines used to provide desktop training are software frameworks that create a virtual environment, and have expanded from the commercial market into the military domain.

Getting seriousThe US Army is getting serious about serious gaming and is one of the leading forces utilising the technology to fulfil its training needs. The service’s capabilities were significantly boosted when it acquired Game After Ambush (GAA) software in 2009. Contracts involved a collaborative effort between Australian company Calytrix Technologies, Laser Shot and Bohemia Interactive Simulations (BISim). The former provided its LVC Game middleware, while Laser Shot supplied its Tactical Weapon Simulator and BISim contributed its Virtual Battlespace 2 (VBS2) engine.

‘It is obvious that soldiers and marines can be trained using desktop training. When it comes to the navy, typically you can just put [personnel] on their ships – these days a lot of ships have simulators built into them,’ explained Pete Morrison, CEO of BISim.

‘The need for desktop training just wasn’t there in the same way it was for the army. I wouldn’t say they are behind, but they have different requirements and are still figuring out how they can use game-based training.’

A later iteration of the programme began in 2013. Calytrix and BISim

worked together to fulfil the US Army’s Games for Training (GFT) effort, scheduled to run until 2018. BISim provided a new version of VBS, VBS3.

‘Under that contract, the US Army deployed VBS3 as its flagship [GFT]. It is installed on all US Army computers and is used in over 70 battle simulation centres and in Close Combat Tactical Trainer [CCTT] systems,’ Morrison added.

While the partnership between Calytrix and BISim has been prominent in the previous iterations of the US Army’s GFT programmes, the future could see the

GAMING

Calytrix has put forward its Titan Vanguard CX game engine for the US Army’s GFT NGG programme. (Image: Calytrix)


two companies partner with other participants.

The service issued an RfI in August 2015 for the GFT Next Generation Game (NGG). The requirement is for the training of individual soldiers and small-to-medium-sized units. An award for the GFT NGG contract is not expected before 2018, according to a service source.

Currently, the programme office is continuing to conduct market research with industry partners to fulfil its requirements. Requests include: user-friendly software; higher-fidelity graphics; ability to move across PC platforms; interfaces for future

technological hardware and software support; and improved interoperability to work within the LVC environment.

Clash of the titansCalytrix and BISim both confirmed they have submitted proposals. Although Morrison was unable to say who his company will partner with this time, it is unlikely to be Calytrix, which is offering the new Titan Vanguard CX visualisation solution that is built on the Outerra simulation engine. Calytrix announced at I/ITSEC 2015 in Orlando

that it would be working with TitanIM on the game engine.

‘While VBS is an excellent training tool and well used by the US Army, it is also getting very old and does not meet the future requirements for NGG – a technology refresh is needed,’ Shawn Parr, CEO of Calytrix, told MTSN.

Parr believes that the US Army is looking for ‘whole of world’ (WoW) simulation, support for all the service, rapid mission rehearsal and operational support. While VBS is a widely used tool, it is generally focused on the land environment.

Current game-based training (GBT) capabilities tend to be stovepiped into land applications and used to train for a single task or platform.

However, solutions such as Lockheed Martin’s Prepar3D game engine, which was initially mainly used for air training, has now been demonstrated within the maritime environment for the operation of warships, engagement with multiple entities and looking at theatre-level performance.

With Titan Vanguard CX, Calytrix is attempting to provide a WoW simulation environment that supports space, air, land,

sea and sub-surface applications. Keeping up with technology is key and the US Army is aiming to take advantage of new gaming products that are available in the commercial market. The use of COTS hardware allows customers to access commercial market advancements without the need for a unique development effort.

Nevertheless, BISim claimed Parr’s comments ‘significantly understate the breadth of VBS’s capabilities’.

‘The VBS baseline is updated quarterly with new technology and our latest release of VBS3 has significant naval and air capability, including our recently

implemented cutting-edge dynamic water rendering of sea states 1 through 12 and PhysX flight models,’ the company told MTSN.

‘BISim believes VBS3 together with VBS Blue (which offers round earth, procedural generation and, importantly, correlation to third-party run times) and VBS IG will continue to be a compelling suite of capabilities for military simulation for many years to come.’

BISim is well integrated into the commercial gaming world, as its roots were there before entering the military market

GAMING

VBS3 is currently in widespread service with the US Army and is found in over 70 battle simulation centres. (Image: BISim)


GAMING

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place, but the company now has a business unit devoted to the defence sector.

There is of course a vast difference between commercial and military gaming.

‘Typically, a military training game is built to very specific requirements,’ explained Morrison ‘Whereas when you are building a game for entertainment, it is creativity that drives the process forward. It can be difficult sometimes to get game developers excited about working in a military space because the solution is often prescribed.’

In terms of the future of leveraging gaming technology, Morrison believes that militaries are now looking beyond simple desktop trainers.

‘The next step, and a trend that we are seeing worldwide, is that they want to take that technology onto their bigger simulators – their tank and flight simulators.’

Lockheed Martin is utilising gaming technologies for F-35 flight training. The company uses a combination of game engines and the actual aircraft’s software and controls, creating a rich simulated environment.

The OEM estimates that around 70% of such training is conducted through simulations, compared to around 40% for F-16 pilots.

Desktop training for future pilots utilises the company’s Prepar3D engine to – as the name implies – prepare aircrew before they move into higher-fidelity training in full-mission simulations (FMS) and eventually the real aircraft.

‘When you think about it, serious gaming almost sounds like an oxymoron – how could a gaming environment support any sort of initiatives that would support the military and defence market?’ said Atul Patel, advanced technology director for Lockheed Martin Training & Logistics Solutions.

Prepar3D was originally a flight simulator for the entertainment market, having its roots in Microsoft’s ESP technology, but has now made the leap over to provide training for one of the most modern, technologically advanced fighter jets in the world.

‘We want to optimise where [the pilots] are getting their training,’ explained Patel. ‘If they can learn a lot on the desktop, that makes you more efficient and more capable when you get into the FMS.

‘This becomes important when you have a single-seat aircraft like the F-35 because you don’t have somebody looking over your shoulder ensuring you are not making any mistakes. So you want to make sure the pilot is comfortable in that environment. Game engines help with this.’

Working from homeLockheed Martin is the prime for all training in the USAF F-35 programme, as well as for other customers across the globe operating the type.

According to Patel, there is no limit to the number of hours that a trainee can spend using the equipment, and it can even be

used on home computers and devices.

‘Desktop training is an interesting situation,’ he added. ‘Our philosophy is that we want to be able to provide the training any time and anywhere.’

This mentality allows the training to be co-located with the trainee rather than the more traditional method of personnel having to travel to a base to receive instruction. Certainly,

at the lower levels this has been made possible by the use of games. Individuals can train solo and then come together for advanced events using elements such as FMS.

InterchangeabilityThere can also be classroom-based as well as deployed training, for instance on board ships. This interchangeability was considered when Cubic Advanced Learning Solutions (CALS) provided a solution for the USN’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) programme that is designed for both classroom and shipborne use.

‘One thing about LCS is that the vision from the [US] Navy was a reduced manning environment,’ explained Amy Kruse, VP and CTO of Cubic Global Defense. ‘So rather than having a large number of crew, they were looking at cross-training individuals to reduce the number of crew.

‘That’s really important if you think about people that need to maintain skills and need to be cross-trained on particular functions. A game-based training approach is really critical to that because it enables you to do that at sea.’

Cubic was awarded a contract worth up to $112 million by the USN in December 2013 for its CALS solution. The virtual trainers are to be used at the LCS training facilities in San Diego, California, and Mayport, Florida, for West and East Coast crews respectively.

The company is using the Unreal 4 gaming engine, created by Epic Games, to model the detailed interior of the ship and insert avatars.

Long lists of requirements are usually provided to industry when the military is looking for a specific capability, but when working on its Patriot Table Top Trainer (T3) for the US Army’s Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) missile, Raytheon found that it could innovate to a large extent.

‘Incorporation of gaming into the training world is so new that our army customer tends to give us broad goals and asks us to come up with innovative ways to achieve them,’ said Sandy Brown, director, programme management, combat training centres and support missions at Raytheon.

Requirements for Patriot T3 included the need for a scoring system, intervention

Prepar3D is used as a tool to train the latest generation of F-35 pilots in the USAF. (Image: Lockheed Martin)


GAMING

without having to overhaul the entire software or spend large amounts doing so.

‘They want to be able to quickly build custom rehearsal scenarios and add robust terrain and structures,’ said Brown. ‘An example that both the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen Neller, and the Army Chief of Staff, Gen Milley, have mentioned is training for operations in mega-cities. It is not feasible to build a huge training complex with 100-storey skyscrapers, so they’re looking for serious gaming to provide this kind of terrain. Commercial games do this already.’

Lockheed Martin has included a feature in its games engine that provides a certain level of modularity.

‘For our Prepar3D device, we have a unique ecosystem that allows participants to modify scenarios, capabilities and provide add-ons. Think of that as crowdsourcing for the Prepar3D engine, and what that allows is an opportunity to see and capture innovation, which we do not necessarily need to have within our employee base,’ said Patel.

The requirement that BISim is seeing from the US Army is the desire to have a game-based architecture where components are modular and can be plugged and unplugged.

‘There is this concept of “plug and train”, where if you want to use a different rendering engine you can take out what has been plugged in and replace just the rendering component with different or better technology if that suits the need, without having to replace the entire system,’ said Morrison.

Another consideration for game developers when building for military

customers is the necessity for all new systems to be compatible with extant ones, according to Brown. In the US, they need to remain compliant with current DoD information assurance standards and be mobile enough to be used in many different environments.

Of course, there is also the affordability aspect of GBT that militaries are looking to take advantage of. The training market has been hit

by sequestration in the US and reduced defence budgets internationally, and only recently has it begun to recover again.

GBT is able to provide a low-cost solution for militaries to address some, but not all, of their training requirements. Customers want to be able to leverage as much technology from the commercial market as they can, saving on R&D costs as they go.

Matching upWhile all this provides a convincing argument that GBT is the way forward, there are some limitations on what this kind of technology can deliver.

In December, Rockwell Collins partnered with the University of Utah’s Entertainment Arts & Engineering (EAE) department to research the use of game engines and define how they match up to image generation (IG) technology, Rockwell’s primary focus in the simulation market.

The company is coming to the end of its second year of research with the university and has taken on nine students to help work on the project, up from an initial three students. Rockwell acknowledges that there are certain things that games do well, such as the movement of human characters and cloth as well as certain lighting features.

‘The aim is to bridge the gap between what games do well and what IGs do well,’ said Bob Brantley, principal product line manager for IG at Rockwell Collins.

As a result of the research conducted, the company is now developing new capabilities for its IGs that are reflective of what game developers are doing. Rockwell has no intention of becoming a games company, however.

‘From a competitive standpoint, we looked at the things that IGs do that games don’t, and we assessed how long we thought it would take pure gaming technologies to get up to that. That gave us a competitive assessment of how long it will be before game technologies can take over a simulation-type environment.’

Brantley pointed out that this timescale is very dependent on future technology advances. He added that a current limitation of games is that they are not fully able to display large areas well, and with one of the key requirements from militaries being WoW imagery, this is a severe limitation:

‘In an IG large-scale simulation that is flying at high altitude or at high speed, I have to build a much larger area with the same basic amount of resources that a game is dedicating to a square block.’

Size mattersEssentially it all comes down to size. As the defence industry looks to incorporate gaming technology into larger simulators, this will be a key consideration for developers who may have to produce designs that cover, for example, whole continents – not just single platforms or small areas in games such as CALS and T3.

‘Until gaming technology can truly consume a whole world-type environment at high detail, updating at 60Hz, can interconnect to different types of display devices and large-scale cockpit integrations, they are still a ways away,’ Brantley said.

Another challenge that may be faced is the desire for commonality and enabling the sharing of information and training within the game-based environment.

‘The military space has pushed really hard for simulators to work in a common environment, including using standard formats and interchanges for many years,’ he continued. ‘Games by their nature are completely proprietary and on the commercial side they work very hard to be that way because they don’t want to share information.

‘Until a game company gets [focused] on becoming a military-type solution rather than a game solution with its roots in gaming, they are going to struggle.’ ▪

Navies are looking at game-based training to keep personnel current on shipboard tasks and skills. (Image: Cubic)

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VISUAL DATABASE CREATION

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The realism associated with virtual simulation continues to improve, especially in the area of visualisation. Much of this is down to the quality and content of the visual database. By Trevor Nash

A simulator’s visual database forms one element of the overall visual system, the others being the image

generator (IG) and the display system. As such, the richness of the database provides an overall perception of fidelity and realism that attempts to seduce the user into suspending disbelief and thereby mentally transforming the simulator from a mere training tool into a real platform that is operating in a lifelike environment.

The success of this seduction is not purely down to the visual database. It must work in close conjunction with the IG and the display system. The IG should have the raw processing power to generate a real-time image from the visual database – typically considered to be 60Hz, but increasingly 120Hz – and for the display system to present this image to the trainee without distraction.

Iteration vs detail The speed that the database is updated, referred to as the iteration or refresh rate, is directly correlated to the content of the database and the application that it is being used for. A fast-jet simulator that is being flown nap of the Earth needs a very high iteration rate. More detail in the database requires the IG to work overtime to process data to present a realistic image. This challenge typically means that iteration rates and database content need to be traded off, depending on the role of the simulator.

In a ship’s bridge simulator, during a docking manoeuvre for example, the vessel is moving at one or two knots. Therefore, the

iteration rate can be reduced while the database detail needs to be high, to provide accurate representations of sea states and closure cues with the dock. These closure cues are typically provided by complex textures and shading.

Another factor that needs to be considered in the development of visual databases is trainee acceptance. Younger service personnel from the digital generation have been brought up in a world of gaming and special effects. Any training system that does not replicate such visualisation is likely to be met with scorn, although it should be borne in mind that the average game

database covers a small area and has a low iteration rate, while special effects in movies are not created in real time. Compared to games and movies, real-world training requirements necessitate large, complex and changing databases.

Whole-Earth environmentsAlthough whole-Earth databases aren’t new, Rockwell Collins has recently launched its latest WholeEarth product that claims to bring ‘technology to an entirely new level’.

‘The pace of world conflict today requires rapid deployment. Our WholeEarth synthetic environment reduces the time to train by an

Customer-driven content

MTSN-01-16_p22-26_Visual_Database.indd 22 1/20/2016 1:19:31 PM



order of magnitude,’ asserted LeAnn Ridgeway, VP and GM of simulation and training solutions at Rockwell Collins.

‘The new WholeEarth product provides immersive training environments within hours or days of need.’

The WholeEarth synthetic environment provides a global representation of day, night, specular, sensor, summer and winter scenes using 0.5m imagery resolution with 3D imagery inserts. Customers select specific areas that need higher levels of

fidelity that can be enhanced for training or mission rehearsal tasks. These might include aspects such as airfields, industrial complexes or urban areas.

Rockwell Collins says that WholeEarth provides an out-of-the-box training capability with the added benefit of reducing costs and preparation time. It is these last two factors that the training community is most vexed about.

Typically, military customers want to create visual databases very rapidly, especially when it comes to their use for mission rehearsal tasks, but there are other requirements too.

According to Stephane Blondin, VP of product management and marketing at Presagis, these requirements ‘more or less revolve around speed of creation, interoperability and collaboration’.

Driven by mission rehearsal needs, the weeks or months that it took to develop a visual database in the past has now been cut to hours and days. This ‘creation compression’ is in part due to improved database generation tools but also because military users are ‘focusing on the reusability of their data and taking advantage of open-format solutions, essentially limiting the number of databases needed’.

Reuse and recycleThe reuse and repurposing of data is also a trend highlighted by CAE’s senior technical fellow, Andrew Fernie: ‘Many of our military customers are interested in national-level database foundations upon which they can build mission-specific localised content.

‘Once they have the foundation and start building content, they then want to share that additional content nationwide on multiple programmes or simulators, and increasingly across military services – army, navy and air force.’

Fernie says that users now want to treat their visual databases as national assets and not just as a resource for one particular application. This is certainly the case in the UK, where the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory’s Advanced Geospatial Information and Intelligence Services project is one such example. One of the partners in the programme is Envitia.

‘Envitia is really a geospatial management company that is assisting the UK Ministry of Defence to rationalise its geospatial data,’ explained Andrew Cullington, the company’s geospatial intelligence consultant.

‘Through the Defence Geospatial Services contract for example, we are looking to provide an enterprise-wide access portal that is tailored for a specific user. The key to this project is the use of open standards and reusability, which will result in reduced costs and the more rapid creation of databases.’

A universal database?From CAE’s perspective, the answer to the standards issue can be found in its

Common Database (CDB) solution. Fernie said: ‘Thanks to the open CDB specification, some of our customers are currently operating many training devices representing different platforms and sharing a common database.’ However, not all agree with the universality of CDB.

‘Unfortunately just saying it’s a standard doesn’t make it so,’ opined Jan Bjernfalk, VP products at Quantum 3D. ‘CDB runs well on IGs that were designed to run CDB. But from what we’ve seen in our experiments with taking a CDB database and using it as some sort of interchange format, it became apparent that the end result of an automatic translation process did not necessarily run well on non-CDB IGs. And ultimately we saw better results, and better use of the designer’s time, by just going back to the source data and starting over.’

Bjernfalk said that ‘perhaps CDB is trying to attack the problem at too low a level’ and that instead of looking for a solution in the runtime of the IG, ‘we should focus on making higher-level – source – data more easily transportable instead’.

Although CDB may not be the total solution to commonality and reuse, a number of military users are specifying the protocol, although it has not been adopted as an official format.

As Fernie says, ‘anyone can download the full specification and implement a compliant system based on the information it contains’, but the next stage is official recognition. The first step on this road has seen it adopted ‘by the Open Geospatial Consortium [OGC] as an OGC best practice standard, affirming its usefulness to the geospatial community’.

Standardised simulationsAnother indication of CDB’s gathering momentum can be seen in the latest version of TerraSim’s TerraTools 5.1. This features a plug-in that can import geospatial data and model content from CDB format into TerraTools. This content can then be processed and exported to one or more TerraTools-supported terrain formats, such as VBS3.

For decades, the S&T community has been calling for common standards to allow the same database to run on many platforms. Is this pie in the sky or truly

Rockwell Collins has developed the WholeEarth database aimed at military

and commercial airline training applications. (Image: Rockwell Collins)




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attainable? The response from Presagis is very positive.

‘This is absolutely achievable,’ said Blondin. ‘The OGC is in the process of establishing a standard for modelling and simulation databases. They are currently standardising CDB as a viable industry standard. CDB was defined by a community of users and vendors such as USSOCOM, the Israel Defense Forces and the German Armed Forces. In addition, numerous additional military branches across the world have already standardised on CDB for all their simulation needs.’

Why do companies such as CAE and Presagis view CDB as a solution? ‘The specification is unique, because it’s an open database format, a source data repository and a runtime publishing format all in one,’ added Blondin. ‘Basically, the specification provides customers with flexibility, since CDB is both a central repository for legacy systems and a real-time runtime.’

One of the issues that stems from the commonality debate is that if the training and simulation industry achieves the Holy Grail – that of all visual databases being able to run on all image generators – will the constraints required of commonality stifle innovation?

One company with a fairly agnostic view on the subject is Israeli database specialist

B-Design3D. In the business for 25 years, the company thinks of itself as a service provider and, according to VP of marketing Gil Koubi, ‘always considers the end user and their training requirements’ before contemplating the technology.

‘We are not hung up on any particular solution, as the most important part of the equation is what the user wants to achieve with the database,’ he said. ‘We develop databases in a variety of formats covering many tools and image generators, including those from Presagis, Unity, VT MÄK, VBS and Havok to name but a few.’

Improved toolsAsked what has changed most as regards creating visual databases over recent years, Koubi told MTSN: ‘The tools used to create databases have certainly improved, as has the middleware that is used to enhance the database.’ An example of that is Blueberry3D, a so-called procedural rendering engine that is used to add fidelity to ground-level simulation by enhancing items such as rocks and vegetation. ‘The other change… has been the availability of increasing amounts of free content, including some satellite data,’ he added.

So, with the arrival of some free data and improved production tools, has it ever been easier or quicker to create visual databases?

‘At first glance, the answer would be a resounding yes, but it is slightly more complicated to explain,’ said Blondin. ‘Higher-quality data is much more readily available and there has been a rise in public data with such tools as OpenStreetMap, smart city initiatives and more. In addition, computing power and technology have increased drastically in the past decade to accommodate the creation of visual databases.

‘However, there’s always going to be a need to progress, evolve and meet new [challenges such as] customer expectations that have been significantly increased due to advancements in 3D games and entertainment, but we have also invested in the same 3D rendering techniques to provide a visually immersive and compelling experience.’

One example of the availability of new types of source data can be found with Vricon and its stereo reconstruction of 3D images. Initially developed by Saab, the technology sees oblique cameras taking photographs of the same object from different angles. Software then modifies the stereoscopic images to create 3D content.

Saab initially used this data-gathering technology mounted on an aircraft. One particular programme saw the company providing high-resolution 3D images of the British Army Training Unit Kenya ranges for use in the after-action review process. Realising the limitations of an aircraft as a gathering platform, Saab combined its efforts with those of DigitalGlobe, and under the Vricon banner, offers 3D satellite source data down to a resolution of 0.5m.

Increased expectationsBlondin does not believe that the cost of creating a visual database is necessarily falling, despite the availability of free content. What is true, he said, is that ‘the realism of a database is an important factor to customers since their expectations continue to increase. Users demand richer visuals at high levels of detail when observing target models.

‘Essentially, customers focus more time on developing the primary target areas than the secondary areas of the database. “Free content” doesn’t always match with the customers’ expectations and we

A CDB rendering of the Hoover Dam and bridge running on CAE’s Medallion 6000. (Image: CAE)

THELAND & AIRLAND

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Untitled-1 1 2/1/2016 2:49:46 PM

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need to use high-resolution images to deliver superior tools.’

From Fernie’s perspective, the creation of ‘visual databases has become easier on several fronts, most notably because of improvements and automation of production workflows – a direct consequence of improved tools’.

Like Blondin however, he added a warning that although the creation process is easier, ‘the demand for more complex, dynamic and interactive content requires databases that go well beyond strictly static visual representations’.

Virtual rehearsalsOne of the drivers of this requirement to have more capable and higher-fidelity visual databases is that military forces around the world are looking at how they can transfer training from the expensive live domain into the less expensive virtual one.

As Fernie argues: ‘In order to do more virtual training and mission rehearsal, militaries need more realistic synthetic environments and the ability to integrate and inter-operate with other simulation systems. New data models and tools have been developed to meet these needs for database development in order to create more compelling and realistic virtual environments.’

Quantum3D echoes many of the sentiments expressed by CAE and Presagis, and Bjernfalk said that it is certainly easier

to produce a database ‘of any given quality’ due to ‘automated processes, many of which can be done in runtime’.

The reasons for this, he said, are faster hardware and that ‘software database design tools are more capable, and there are more to choose from’, but, like Presagis and CAE, he highlighted the fact that customer expectations for scene density and realism continue to rise with all this capability.

‘So in reality we sometimes find ourselves spending just as much time on an airfield or a village as we did in the past. It’s just that the result now is so much more realistic and detailed.’

Although providing the ‘wow factor’ when viewed on the simulator’s display, the out-of-the-window visual scene should not be considered in isolation.

The data used for the visual picture is also used to create other images that are viewed on the simulator’s electro-optical and radar sensor displays. Correct correlation and physically accurate representation are vital to avoid negative training. This process is helped by the ability to assign material classification to the elements of the database.

For example, a simple road running through a visual database may be ‘constructed’ using asphalt, concrete, stone or compressed dirt. This is perhaps not too important in the visual spectrum but at night, each surface has different properties

and reacts differently to, for example, being viewed through NVGs. They also react differently across a spectrum of temperatures and so material classification has become increasingly important in creating high-fidelity databases.

Prospective developmentsAsked what the future will bring for the development of visual databases, Bjernfalk believes that augmented reality will be the way forward but said ‘even the way we think about it hasn’t matured yet’.

As well as continued improvements to modelling tools, he also sees realism continuing to increase: ‘Today we have parametric buildings. Tomorrow we will have parametric people. We will have real-time biometrics; a player’s actions will be detected, processed and fed back in real time to the simulation. The goal is to have the guy in the simulator actually feel like he’s standing next to a tank – rather than just feeling like he’s looking at a screen displaying a tank.’

As noted above, the database is just one element of the visual system triad, the others being the IG and the display. As processing power increases over time within the IG and display technology improvements occur through development such as 4k x 4k, the database is pressured to keep up and provide more and better content.

Despite higher iteration rates and higher-fidelity displays, content has never been more plentiful, nor the tools used to create that content more intuitive to use. Indeed, companies providing source data such as Vricon allow the direct importation of that 3D data.

The challenge is of course that users want more and more content and more and more realism. Today’s content is never enough and although it is easier and quicker, and therefore cheaper, to create this content in theory, adding the detail takes time and costs money.

The development rate of improved visual system technology does not appear to be slowing, so the cry for more content is unlikely to abate. The result is that the realism of visual systems will continue to improve and the pace of automation of the workflow process used to create the content will quicken. ▪

The latest version of TerraSim’s TerraTools features a plug-in to convert CDB geospatial and model data before it is exported into other formats, such as VBS3. (Image: TerraSim)


TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Virtual and augmented reality have been talked about for years, but it is arguably only a matter of time before their widespread adoption alongside better use of motion tracking technology. By Peter Matthews

V irtual simulation has been with us for a number of years and as a training domain is typically

encountered as a visual system on aircraft, ship and ground vehicle simulators.

In many ways, these virtual simulation systems can be considered passive.

Although there is interaction provided by the visual device through an ability to avoid obstacles or react with other virtual entities, the human is fundamentally outside the virtual environment and interacting with it as opposed to within it.

Trekking alongThe idea of human interaction is not new. Back in the 1980s, the writers of Star Trek came up with the concept of the Holodeck. According to Startrek.com, it is a ‘smart’ virtual reality system as

evolved by the 2360s – a technology that combines transporter, replicator and holographic systems.

‘The programs, projected via emitters within a specially outfitted, but otherwise empty room, can create both solid props and characters as well as holographic backgrounds to evoke any vista, any scenario and any personality – all based on whatever real or fictional parameters are programmed.’

In essence, this description is relevant to today’s efforts to integrate the human into the virtual world.


Crew members in an AVCATT UH-60 simulator that utilises the IS-900 tracking system. (Photo: US Army)

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TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

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However, the military is yet to fully embrace the concept and so actual user cases are few. The technology can be said to be on the cusp and it is likely to see greater adoption over coming years as companies continue to try and seamlessly integrate humans and virtual environments.

The key element here, of course, is seamless integration. If training is to be effective it must be realistic, and if trainees, typically dismounted infantry, are not using their actual equipment or a close modification of it, training fidelity can tail off.

Based in California, Motion Analysis develops and manufactures real-time 3D digital optical motion capture systems that non-invasively measure and record movement with ‘extreme accuracy’ in real time. Its business is derived from providing: animation in the film, broadcast and games sectors; movement analysis for sports, medical robotics and rehabilitation; and industrial products for immersive training, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

Live viewsAlthough most people are familiar with VR – replacing the real world with a virtual one – the company states: ‘AR is considered as a live view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented, or supplemented, by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video or graphics. The technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality.’

The process for achieving this features 3D optical motion capture hardware, man-worn reflectors and software that is used for initial setup, calibration, tracking and post-processing. Motion Analysis’ Raptor motion capture (MOCAP) camera is fitted with a ring light that transmits near-IR that is reflected by man-worn markers and picked up by the camera. This data is then processed by the company’s Cortex software and then sent to an image generator for use by, for example, avatars.

Its flagship MOCAP digital camera is its Raptor-12HS, which operates at up to 300fps at a resolution of 4096x3072px.

‘The system typically operates at 60Hz and has an accuracy of less than one millimetre,’ said Dennis Shockley, the

company’s VP for industrial and military sales, US and Canada. ‘It can be used indoors and outdoors and the latest versions of Raptor have 20 times the processing power of previous versions.

‘The Cortex MOCAP software is designed for both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems for use with high-throughput multi-processor environments. It is built on Microsoft’s .NET Framework to maximise the productivity for our programmers, which translates into more features delivered at a faster rate to our customers.’

At SIGGRAPH in August 2015, Motion Analysis demonstrated Cortex with a ‘continuous calibration’ capability – a self-diagnosing and -correcting calibration system.

‘Continuous calibration is the product of a multi-year R&D project by our company,’ said Shel Fung, SVP of engineering. ‘Our engineers had to think outside the box and develop new algorithms for both our Cortex tracking and calibration software. These all resulted in savings in time and improved accuracy for our customers. Once the system is installed and calibrated, the user never has to calibrate again, even if a tripod is bumped or a building wall moves because of heat expansion or vibrations.’

Another company involved in this sector is Motion Reality. Based in Marietta, Georgia, the company offers two motion tracking systems, VIRTSIM and its latest Dauntless product.

Like Motion Analysis, Motion Reality’s military and law enforcement training business takes a back seat to its work in the movie and golf industries, but it has had some notable successes.

Freedom forceThe company also uses IR tracking that immerses trainees in scenarios requiring the execution of basic individual manoeuvres, complex unit tactics and mission rehearsals. They are able to train as individuals, in teams or as full squads.

Trainees have complete freedom of movement to run, jump or crawl throughout the full volume (equivalent to a basketball court), unrestricted by wires or tethers. Each participant wears an HMD that provides virtual immersion and allows him or her to see other players in avatar format. These include friendly and enemy forces.

Both VIRTSIM and Dauntless feature tracking markers mounted on replica handguns and assault rifles that track the azimuth and elevation of the weapon.

Random weapon malfunctions can be wirelessly introduced, such as jams and optical sight failures. Participants wear what is known as trainee gear kit that comprises tracking markers and emitters that transmit a localised electric shock to the wearer if they are hit.

The company says that the VIRTSIM system allows training in a range of reconfigurable environments. ‘User-customisable scenarios can be configured within these environments to train individuals in direct action, counter-terrorism, react-to-contact or other tactics, techniques and procedures based on the current operating environment,’ it states.

A US Army door gunner in the NCM3 simulator. In this application, Thales Visionix motion trackers track the gunner’s weapon azimuth and elevation as well as his head position. The latter determines the visual image within his HMD. (Photo: US Army)



TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Through the use of an after-action review (AAR) capability, instructors can evaluate weapon discipline, scanning skills, the use of cover and every shot a trainee has fired.

This allows them to address safety concerns and tactical errors throughout the training process.

‘This 3D AAR provides playback of all actions and shots from every angle, as well as from each participant’s individual perspective,’ it continues. ‘All trainee body motions and all shots fired by every participant are recorded and displayed, and every training session is automatically catalogued and stored in an accessible database.’

The company has supplied a handful of its VIRTSIM devices to law enforcement organisations, including the FBI Academy located at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, in 2009. Motion Reality is teamed with Raytheon for this project.

In 2012, VIRTSIM was evaluated by the US Army as part of the Bold Quest trial to evaluate immersive training for dismounted infantry.

Latest iterationsThe latest Dauntless system, the 5000-12, can accommodate up to 12 trainees. Each participant is represented in an individual’s HMD as an avatar, and as well as actual participants, computer-generated, AI-based players can be inserted into the scenario. Dauntless uses CryTek’s CryEngine games-based graphics.

The latest customer for Dauntless is Virtual World, based in the UK. MD Andrew Young, who is also the principal of the National Firearms and Tactical Training Centre, said: ‘Virtual World have purchased one of Motion Reality’s 3D immersive simulators for firearms training for the police and military in the UK.

‘This, we believe, will be the first of the new 4K high-resolution training units delivered outside of the USA and be the first such facility in Europe. We expect to take delivery in March 2016 and be operating from a base in Surrey shortly after.’

Young told MTSN: ‘Dauntless gives the military or police firearms training teams a chance to create untethered movement for all role players over three separate areas simultaneously and handles the previously

complicated area of proceeding up or down staircases with ease.

‘Adaptations are currently being made to scenery and scenarios for UK use and a new range of UK-adapted non-lethal firearms will also be brought into the training programmes.’

He hopes that this will be the first of a number of such units in the country and is arranging a series of open days in April.

Back at ITEC 2015 in Prague, Swedish company Omnifinity was exhibiting its Omnideck 6, which was integrated into a scenario featuring an F-35 flight simulator, a joint terminal attack controller, a joint forward observer and dismounted infantry for close protection. All assets were integrated into common synthetic environment provided by MetaVR using its VRSG system.

Omnideck 6 is an omnidirectional treadmill that allows trainees to crawl, walk, jog or run at speeds of up to 2.2m/s. With this system, it is the floor surface that moves and addresses the issues associated with training areas that are constrained by the location of tracking cameras.

The manufacturer says that the Omnideck 6 is ‘the missing link between training and reality’, although the system is yet to be sold to a military customer. Present users include Transport Systems Catapult in the UK and RWTH Aachen University in Germany, with both employing their devices for research activities.

Dutch developmentsElsewhere, in the Netherlands Xsens, acquired by Fairchild Semiconductor in 2014, develops MOCAP and wearable technologies for 3D motion tracking.

The company states that its sensor fusion technologies enable interaction between the physical and digital worlds in consumer electronics devices and for professional applications such as 3D character animation, motion analysis and industrial control and stabilisation applications.

Unlike IR camera technology, Xsens uses micro-electrical-mechanical systems (MEMS)-based GPS/INS. The latest Xsens MTi portfolio consists of seven models, including inertial measurement units, vertical reference units and attitude and heading reference systems.

Xsens MEMS technology is also used within the RE-liON Blacksuit (small unit immersive trainer). This project was undertaken at the Royal Netherlands Army’s land forces simulation centre and involved RE-liON and the Dutch government research organisation, TNO.

Commencing in 2007, funding was obtained for a demonstrator to train special operations forces, with the prototype delivered to Amersfoort in 2011. Operational training will commence later this year.

‘The Blacksuit Mk 1 system allows groups of infantry and special operations forces to train and prepare for missions using VR,’ said Chris Haarmeijer, CEO of RE-liON. ‘This deployable system allows for tactical and mental team training, using endlessly variable virtual environments with computer-generated opposing forces programmed to exact requirements.’

Common approachSuch technologies are not all about putting the human into the virtual world. Sometimes motion tracking systems are used to collect dynamic data from a human that is then presented to a trainee either in an HMD or simply projected onto a screen.

This approach has become very common, with the growing need for interaction with realistic digital characters. One example would be in shoot-houses or for interrogation training.

Omnifinity unveiled its latest Omnideck simulator at ITEC 2015 and the system has now been sold for two research applications. (Photo: Omnifinity)



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‘The role-player steps into a capture portal and is projected as a high-definition LIVE digital character into a live training scenario in real time,’ states US-based Organic Motion.

‘[There is] no need to pre-record branching video or animated scenes. The digitally animated character’s movement, speech and gestures exactly mimic the role-player and facilitate an interactive two-way dialogue in a natural and intuitive manner. This is not a recorded character, but an actual live person interacting with trainees who view that person as any intended digital character.’

The company’s LIVE product uses voice modulation software, projection and targeting technology to create an immersive training capability that it says is cheaper than a live role-play and more effective than an AI-based computer-generated figure. The major reason for this is that one actor can play a host of different roles.

The technology behind LIVE is referred to as ‘markerless’ motion capture technology. These systems use sophisticated computer vision technology to identify and track subjects without the need for any special suits or markers. To accomplish this, advanced algorithms are required, especially when the expectation is to track motion in real time.

The challenge for this technology is when it is used in applications such as Blacksuit and Dauntless, where tracking is required for weapons and multiple players.

However, Organic Motion adds: ‘This cutting-edge technology is an active field of research at leading universities throughout the world.’ Therefore, it is still very much work in progress.

Making tracksIn terms of tracking weapons or limited human motion within small envelopes, there are a number of products on the market. In the US, Polhemus uses AC electromagnetic tracking technologies that feature small, lightweight sensors attached to people or weapons. These trackers provide six degrees of freedom (DoF) and track X, Y and Z co-ordinates, as well as the subject’s yaw, pitch and roll orientation.

Polhemus tracking products such as Scout are used in a variety of helmet

tracking applications for flight simulators. The requirement is to track where the pilot is looking so as to provide high-resolution inserts for the simulator’s visual system. Current programmes that utilise the Scout tracker include A-10, F-16 and AC-130U simulators.

In the case of F-16 applications, the Vermont Air National Guard uses the Polhemus Scout for its stimulated NVG training.

The pilot wears his real NVGs while in the cockpit, and the Scout tracks the pilot’s head, enabling the MetaVR VRSG image generator to know at any moment the exact location and viewing direction of the pilot. The image generator then renders an NVG area of interest (AOI) inside a cone visible to the goggles.

Imagery rendered within the NVG AOI is modified to stimulate the goggles and display items such as covert lights. Imagery rendered outside the NVG AOI is rendered as normal and covert lights are not visible outside it. This forces the pilots to look through the NVGs to be able to see the scene in sufficient detail at night for flying.

Another application of such technology, but this time using the company’s Liberty Large Area Tracking Untethered System (LATUS) tracker, can be found in the UK on the Virtalis portable helicopter system that has been designed for rear crew training and is in service with the Royal Air Force.

The tracker enables the rear crew member to move their head and view the visual image through their HMD. The tracker captures the X, Y and Z data from the head position and generates the relevant view accordingly.

Degrees of freedomAnother US company to major in the area of motion capture is InterSense. Bought by Thales in 2013, the company now trades under the name of Thales Visionix, but has maintained is product catalogue. Its main tracking systems are the IS-900 six-DoF system and InertiaCube4 three-DoF system.

Both devices have been widely used in a number of major simulation programmes, such as the US Army’s Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (AVCATT) that is used by active, reserve and Army National Guard crews for the AH-64, UH-60, CH-47 and

OH-58 helicopters. AVCATT has a sub-simulator that is networked to the main crew device and known as the Non-Rated Crew Member Manned Module (NCM3). Both elements use the inertial/acoustic IS-900 tracker.

Other applications for the IS-900 include the Improved Moving Target Simulator (I-MTS) that is used for surface-to-air missile training and within the F/A-18C Distributed Mission Trainer. The InertiaCube applications include the Raydon MRAP virtual trainer where they are integrated with the visual system to provide personnel and weapon tracking data.

Motion tracking and motion capture have been with us for many years. The former is now considered as mature technology and can be seen in training applications such as weapon/head movement tracking. True, whole-body MOCAP technology is now advancing at such a pace that military forces are becoming early adopters. A case in point can be seen with the Blacksuit system in the Netherlands.

These high-end systems are not all about MOCAP. Lots of players means lots of computer processing and a requirement for high-fidelity HMDs and visualisation. These technologies continue to advance and it will not be too long before they coalesce to provide coherent MOCAP-driven VR and AR training systems. ▪

Motion Reality’s latest motion capture system, Dauntless, has been sold into the UK for police tactical and shoot/no-shoot training. (Image: Motion Reality)



I-LVC

CHANGERNot all are convinced of the practicalities of integrated live, virtual and constructive training, but the need for it is certainly strong and new technologies will eventually enable the capability. By Tim Mahon

T he military training and simulation world has changed beyond all recognition in the past ten

years, from technological innovation to requirement evolution as well as from training objectives to preferred contracting methodologies.

This is as it should be – ensuring training planners and practitioners can specify,

procure and use the best equipment, systems and services the training and simulation industry has to offer.

One significant change is the development, acquisition and implementation of so-called integrated live, virtual and constructive (I-LVC) training. This brings multiple domains to bear on a training objective and satisfies a requirement that itself is changing rapidly.

Best of breedI-LVC seeks to deliver ‘best of breed’ training solutions that integrate and exploit

every technological and service-related aspect of training capability to the ultimate benefit of instructors and trainees alike.

However, questions remain whether I-LVC is really the much-vaunted innovation it purports to be or is an old solution dressed in new apparel.

Is it, in fact, truly a game changer, or just a redundant ‘new’ solution – one that looks for a problem that does not necessarily exist in the harsh, budget-restricted world of military procurement?

Some might be forgiven for believing it is, indeed, a chimera, while others

GAME

The ground domain is receiving minimal encouragement to take part in I-LVC initiatives, probably because it is the most difficult to integrate. The future might see this anti-armour gunner engaging virtual targets. (Photo: Saab)

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firmly support the idea that the current emphasis on integration is of itself evidence there is a new dynamic at work.

Amit Haimovich, head of marketing and business development at IAI MLM in Israel – a company with a long tradition of providing varying degrees of integration for its customers – believes both camps have a degree of justification in their claims.

‘If you take a look at what we have done, we have a 20-year heritage of providing live training for military users, and what we are now doing is appropriating the live domain as the host, if you will, for an integrated approach to evolving requirements,’ he said. ‘Live is the most technologically demanding domain within this type of training and that means companies like ours have a depth of experience and knowledge on which to draw in order to create something new and useful for the end user.’

Seamless approachHaimovich argues that the LVC pillars of the training field are well understood, technologies in the live domain are quite mature and the new buzzword of I-LVC is merely an indication of the importance of doing something that training solution providers have been attempting to deliver for over a decade – seamless training pipelines that exploit available technology and are flexible enough to adapt to changing requirements.

‘The issue is conceptually clear and crystallised – the building blocks are available. But not every requirement is going to need a high level of integration; and not every training provider is going to be capable of delivering a fully integrated solution on their own. At the heart of the entire issue is the question of network capability and management,’ explained Haimovich.

Modern training requirements in every domain of warfare – land, air, sea, sub-surface and space – demand ever increasing numbers of entities.

Although this is most demonstrably the case in land warfare, the increasing number of unmanned systems in the naval environment, or potentially huge number of real and false entities generated by EW systems in a combined operations environment, have caused the quantity of entities represented in a simulation solution to rise almost by an order of magnitude.

Live training providers such as Saab and Cubic have reacted to this with ever more sophisticated versions of their exercise control (EXCON) functions, coupled with innovative methods of managing and channelling the vast volumes of data they produce.

Importantly, both companies – and their peers throughout the industry – recognise the critical nature of being able to process and distribute data in as near to real time as possible in order to enable instructors to

generate maximum value from after-action reviews (AARs).

Viewed by many as the most important component of any integrated solution that involves live training, the AAR has one overriding imperative if it is to contribute fully to the training objective – it must take place as soon as possible after the conclusion of the exercise.

Several hours is too long, and a reasonable number of minutes is infinitely preferable. As a British Army officer recently interviewed put it: ‘I want the boys to be in the AAR before the sweat dries and while traces of the adrenalin are still in their systems. That way the lessons not only get learned – they get understood and appreciated.’

Strong backboneWhat this all means, however, is that the network – the backbone on which the whole system, and therefore the exercise, not to mention EXCON, depends – must be robust, considerably faster than has been required hitherto and critically, in Haimovich’s view, possessed of a sufficient update rate to cope with current and predicted future demand.

‘The demand load can be hugely variable, depending on the application, but if you take a scenario such as air-to-ground bombing… a very high update rate is an absolute necessity,’ he said.

‘You can trade off capability against the number of entities being represented, but you can’t do much about the required update rate, so it comes down to having a more robust network and the capability to manage it.’

To implement I-LVC solutions, therefore, is going to be more than a simple matter of gluing separate components together. It is going to require upgrading and, in some cases, entirely replacing the network backbone for the relevant training objective. That offers another challenge for users.

Network management itself is a demanding and sophisticated discipline, particularly from the design and solutions integration perspective. Superior performance digital transceivers are required, as are advanced signal processing and switching capabilities.

The data link has to be more tightly coupled in order to prevent attenuation and

The constructive element is one of the easiest to integrate, as C2 operators work from inside buildings or vehicles and do not need to see live assets in the integrated environment. (Image: MASA)



I-LVC

other interference issues, and perhaps most critically the whole solution – technology and infrastructure – has to be ‘tuned’ to the right level of requirement.

The right information needs to be captured, processed, analysed and distributed to the right individual, in the right place at the right time. The real challenge confronted by the end user today is not really the integration question, but the need to save money.

Flight hours used for training are expensive and if they can be replaced by a simulation-based solution, significant sums can be saved, achieving the same results at a lower cost over time and even amortising the equipment acquisition costs.

Suitable compromiseThere is, of course, a finite limit to the amount by which training hours on ‘real’ platforms can be cut – nobody suggests all live training be cut in favour of virtual world solutions – but the I-LVC option offers,

perhaps, the ideal compromise for those armed forces with the relevant levels of capability and a plethora of training requirements that the ‘new’ discipline is intended to empower.

The creation of widely differing scenarios in an I-LVC environment to cater for the increasing threat spectrum is inevitably one of the strongest arguments being marshalled by the solution’s protagonists.

It is the uncertain nature of this spectrum that presents system designers with one of their most significant challenges.

‘Realistic scenarios are not always easy to create and sometimes there is no adequate corpus of knowledge on which to base them,’ explained Haimovich, adding that previous generations of air-to-air training solutions were designed on the basis that 80% of combat would be dogfight-style.

In the current situation, ‘where we face a whole new arena of threats’, the great majority of aerial combat will take place

beyond the pilot’s visual range. Training for this environment calls more on imagination than frequent experience and demands that a whole host of factors, including ergonomics and human factors engineering, be taken into account.

CAE, whose reputation as a provider of pilot training sometimes disguises the fact that the company is equally at home offering solutions for the terrestrial and marine environments, comes down firmly on the side of I-LVC being a real requirement – now and in the future.

‘We believe the problem is real,’ said the company’s VP of technology and innovation Marc St-Hilaire. ‘It is no secret that many defence forces around the world are confronted with budget constraints, which is forcing them to look for solutions that can cost-effectively support maintaining readiness and capability.

‘It is also well known that modern warfare involves bringing a coordinated range of assets, including people and

Cubic has considerable experience in integrating its live air combat systems with ground-based troops and is currently involved in the US AFRL’s SLATE I-LVC project. (Photo: Cubic)



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weapon systems, to combat, so that means training should reflect how defence forces are going to fight. In many cases right now, though, modern weapons platforms with advanced capabilities and the integration of these capabilities in a training environment go beyond current simulation solutions.’

Addressing the problemThat the problem is real and being taken seriously can be easily proven by examining some of the programmes of record that are addressing the I-LVC requirement, St-Hilaire argues.

In the US, the J7 Joint Force Development Directorate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has published the Joint Live Virtual Constructive (JLVC) Vision 2020, positing that I-LVC will quickly become a new norm in military training.

The US Army is pursuing its own parallel and complementary vision in its Live, Virtual, Constructive Integrating Architecture (LVC-IA) programme, seeking to lay the groundwork to enable I-LVC to begin exploiting its potential.

It is not just the military which is stepping up. Visitors to I/ITSEC in Orlando in December last year would have noticed the attention being paid to integration – at the fundamental level of architectural design as well as implementation level – with numerous iterations of the overarching

Exercise Blended Warrior taking place throughout the venue.

Bringing together the military user with the industrial solutions provider and the academic world, Blended Warrior proved that, rather than looking for an expensive problem to resolve, I-LVC is a harbinger of the way the industry will look for the foreseeable future.

The challenges are significant, however, not least in the architectures. ‘We are starting from the existing legacy systems and up to 30 years of using closed, proprietary data and systems,’ explained St-Hilaire.

One solution, he suggests, is wider adoption of industry standards – particularly open standards – as the building blocks from which to launch strategic, effects-oriented development. It is no accident that CAE has been developing and promoting the Common Environment/Common Database (CE/CDB) for terrain database creation and manipulation for close to two decades.

First developed to support mission rehearsal capabilities in a virtual environment for US Special Operations Command, CDB is not a company proprietary system, but an open industry standard, use of which as the architectural underlay will vastly improve and accelerate development of I-LVC training solutions, in the company’s view.

Dynamic environment‘However, integrated LVC requires more than simply the underlying architecture and we believe one of the fundamental requirements behind LVC training is a dynamic synthetic environment,’ argued St-Hilaire.

‘In other words, you need a simulation of the virtual environment that can be continuously changed by the live players and simulated players. For the past several years, CAE has been developing some of the major building blocks of a dynamic synthetic environment, including a cloud architecture, streaming data and simulator agents.’

CAE is the world’s largest trainer of aircrew, taking its military and civil customers and extensive global network of training centres into account, and is now bringing those two characteristics together in a programme aimed at I-LVC development.

‘One of our current [internal] R&D projects relates to experimenting with a solution for distributed mission operations using streamed data from a cloud source, where we are linking several training centres around the world and each will use the data sourced from the cloud,’ added St-Hilaire.

The effort will undoubtedly pay off in time, no matter how extensive. CAE is in no doubt that there is global interest – interest that is developing rapidly – in graceful, dynamic and above all cost-efficient I-LVC solutions.

Such solutions will be available in cohesive form in the immediate future, rather than at some yet-to-be-defined point in the medium term – and will address the imperative for joint and combined operations between allied nations, enabling interoperability of equipment, systems and personnel as well as tactical doctrine.

Although I-LVC solutions are under development, discussion and scrutiny for all domains of modern combat operations, it is in the air that the most sophisticated requirements are now emerging and attracting the greatest level of interest and debate.

Points of viewNowhere is this more passionately expressed than by Dave Scott, VP of

One major challenge in introducing I-LVC is the need for common

visualisation standards. Shown here is a frigate within a CDB environment.

(Image: CAE)



I-LVC

strategy and business development at Lockheed Martin’s Training and Logistics Solutions division.

‘LVC is a game-changer,’ he stated. ‘As platforms become increasingly sophisticated, I-LVC training is essential for mission readiness and operational agility. LVC has the potential to solve a number of training challenges: loss of range space; loss of frequency bandwidth usable for military training and ranges; and increased ranges and capabilities of new weapon systems that exceed current and future available range spaces.

‘I-LVC training helps prepare pilots for higher-end threats in anti-access/area-denial environments. Some training tasks must be conducted using simulation to avoid disclosing tactics, procedures, or capabilities of the weapon system. LVC is essential for exposing pilots to challenging scenarios to train against advanced threats.’

As an example, Scott cites the live flight test conducted in 2014 with an LVC solution enabled by the Advanced Combat Enhancement System (ACES).

‘A pilot flying in a live F-16 engaged in a synthetic training exercise with a pilot flying as wingman in a ground-based F-16 simulator. Simulated sensor data sent from the ground into the aircraft provided a shared constructive training scenario for the live and virtual aircraft. The two F-16s cooperated to engage multiple simulated aggressors and defend against simulated ground surface missile threats in real time,’ he explained.

ACES integrates several technologies to move data between ground and aircraft sensors, helping pilots train

with simulators, computer-generated forces and other aircraft in the same synthetic environment.

It changes the ‘training paradigm’ by bringing high-end training into the LVC environment.

‘With the sophistication of fifth-generation platforms, we believe integrated LVC environments will be essential for effective training,’ opined Scott.

He expects the current levels of interest being shown in I-LVC to gel and gestate rapidly, though ‘rapid’ in this case means a time frame probably measured in years rather than months.

Proof-of-concept programmes and capability demonstrators will continue to emerge in parallel with military efforts to scope, shape and size the manner in which these integrated disciplines can address their training challenges.

Staying secureThis highlights a further obstacle to rapid implementation: operational security.

‘When considering training in potentially very sensitive scenarios, one of the

challenges we have to deal with is how to conceal intentions and developing concepts of operations. Openness and frank exchange of ideas are essential, but not at the cost of security – and that’s an issue difficult to solve in the global market as currently constituted,’ observed Haimovich.

He should know. There are 17 air forces currently using IAI MLM’s air combat training systems, many in Europe, and all are potential users of an enhanced I-LVC system to cope with the demands of training aircrew for combat with fifth-generation fighter aircraft.

‘The big question is how to create a training environment that connects fifth-generation aircraft to legacy systems, how to provide a common backbone for different services – sometimes from different nations – to be able to train together in the same manner as they are likely to fight together. And to do that with a potentially unlimited number of entities, in a threat-intense environment, with adequate refresh rates and 99.9999% reliability,’ he suggested.

The issue is real, the challenges significant and the need to recognise the implications of trading capability against cost is dire.

There can be no question that the future is integrated from a training requirements perspective.

Distributed Mission Operations gave trainers a taste for injecting advanced high-fidelity scenarios into training programmes, providing participants with as realistic an opportunity as possible to experience ‘real-life’ combat operations.

I-LVC will take that springboard and launch a new genre of training capability – one that will not only transform training and education but will also enable the armed forces to have a common platform and solution for mission rehearsal activities, long the Holy Grail of systems planners. ▪

Openness and frank exchange of ideas are essential, but

not at the cost of security.

Integrating personnel into the virtual element of LVC will require HMDs, such as this Rockwell Collins SimEye SX45. (Photo: Rockwell Collins)


INTERVIEW


T he French Army has around 20,000 troops currently deployed on operations and the training required

for these deployments is increasingly being provided by simulation. Through its Scorpion programme, which is a modernisation of all arms and inter-agency collaborative training, new procurements are now taking place. The latest is a constructive training system known as SOULT (Simulation pour les Opérations des Unités interarmes et de la Logistique Terrestre).

A diverse portfolioThe French Army is no stranger to constructive training systems and has a number of different applications in service. The challenge of maintaining this diverse portfolio of products was the main reason for the creation of the SOULT project. ‘Three years ago, the French armed forces began a rationalisation process of its simulation systems, and on the constructive simulation side, SOULT will thus replace [legacy systems] SCIPIO, Janus and Romulus,’ explained Cadot.

Based on MASA’s Sword, SOULT is designed to interface with the French Army’s range of communication and battlefield management systems to provide a seamless training environment for ‘division, brigade and battalion staffs’, Cadot explained. ‘This entirely digitalised training brings a real value to command post training.’

As well as replacing older constructive training systems, the French Army’s Sword global licence will allow SOULT to be deployed more widely. Current plans will

Enhancing training

The 128,000-strong French Army is in the process of enhancing its simulation capabilities in response to the adoption of new equipment, restructuring and operational deployments. Maj Thierry Cadot, SOULT programme manager at CEISIM, the service’s simulation requirements organisation, talks to Trevor Nash about current and future programmes.

see the system employed at the CEPC command post training centre at Mailly-le-Camp, five central training schools and 77 battalion-size units by 2018.

MASA is providing a three-year support contract, as well as delivering a series of product enhancements. Asked to elaborate, Cadot said that one ‘foreseeable extension for Sword lies with its deployment to the French CBRN and logistics training schools, and for use by other specialised organisations’. Sword will provide an artificial intelligence capability within SOULT that was lacking in older systems, meaning that fewer personnel are required to conduct exercises to act as role-players.

This results in training centres being able to reduce the number of operators and improve realism, explained Cadot. ‘Moreover, thanks to its cloud deployment and operator interface, Sword is easier to use than the older constructive training systems that are currently in service.’

Sophisticated expansionAs well as constructive training, the use of sophisticated systems for individual and collective training is also set to expand. The French Army sees this as falling under three headings: virtual training to improve technical skills; virtual technologies – specifically first-person shooter games – to improve low-level tactical skills; and finally, live training systems to meld together technical and tactical ‘know-how in hard psychological conditions’. Other changes are also planned.

‘The French Army is considering connecting constructive and virtual tools in order to simulate technical-tactical exercises,’ said Cadot. ‘[From] a strictly operational point of view, the French Army is not trying to develop LVC distributed simulation. On the other hand, for strictly technical reasons, LVC will be implemented in the second stage of the Scorpion programme, with dynamic embedded simulation around 2025-2030.’

As well as the continued implementation of SOULT, two other major projects on the horizon are Project Cerberus to provide enhancements to the CENTAC force-on-force live training centre at Mailly-le-Camp and the addition of instrumented buildings at the CENZUB MOUT training site at Sissone.

The future looks to be a very busy one for the French Army’s CEISIM organisation and its drive to adopt new LVC simulation systems. In the words of Cadot: ‘Preparation for operational engagement requires highly capable simulation systems to support force readiness. This is a major topic for the French Army and today we have the dedicated resources to determine our simulation requirements.’ ▪

Preparation for operational

engagement requires highly capable simulation systems.

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innovation

Innovation has been a driving force throughout CAE’s almost 70-year history and has led CAEto be the technology leader in simulation. We continue to be unique in the industry as the only truly global company focused exclusively on training and simulation. Defence forces around the world want to extend their use of integrated live-virtual-constructive (LVC) training to support mission readiness prior to operational deployments. This requires training systems to be networked and interoperable to support integrated mission training across platforms, services and coalition partners. And once again, CAE is leading the way with innovative solutions across the air, land, sea and public safety domains. Our focus and technology leadership has led to the development of market-leading capabilities,such as the common database (CDB) and synthetic environments that facilitate interoperability,networking and correlation. No company has more experience as a training systems integrator,enabling our customers to expand the use of their existing training systems. For example, CAEhas supported the Royal Australian Air Force’s participation in Coalition Virtual Flag, one ofthe world’s largest live and virtual air combat exercises. Trust a company with the focus, experience and expertise to be your partner of choice fornetworked, interoperable and integrated LVC training.

CAE is a world-class training systems integrator that offers training centres, services, and products designed to prepare defense and security forces for mission success.

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Documents

VOLUME 18 NUMBER 1 … · 2017-10-23 · VOLUME 18 . NUMBER 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016 MILITARY TRAINING & SIMULATION NEWS. 1. CONTENTS. FEATURE. 31 GAME CHANGER. Not all are convinced