A Subtle Transformation
SOF Flight Simulators Support Operators' Requirements.
by Marty Kauchak, MT2 Editor
The U.S. Special Operations Command’s (USSOCOM) rotary-wing community has subtly bolstered its fleet of flight simulators. SOCOM’s service components have fielded cutting-edge technologies in their training devices, updated the simulators to reflect the latest material changes in the aircraft they support, and inserted mission planning and other enhancements—with the promise of more innovation on the way.
MULTI-FUNCTIONAL
Air Force Captain Wes Ticer, spokesperson, USSOCOM Public Affairs, noted the community’s combat mission simulators (CMS) and full mission simulators (FMS) are “a high-fidelity replication of the actual aircraft that simulates the aviator crew stations. Most of these devices allow qualification or prequalification of individuals or crews, or at a minimum, reduce the amount of actual aircraft hours required to complete a qualification.” While the community’s simulators help aspiring and qualified operators meet requirements in lieu of operating high-demand, low-density airframes, the devices also support mission rehearsal and other evolving community needs.
THE SIMULATOR FLEET
The crown-jewel of the community’s training system is its fleet of simulators. There is one CMS for each of the A/MH-6M, MH-47E, MH-47G, MH-60K and MH-60L Direct Action Penetrator (DAP) models at the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) (SOAR (A)), Fort Campbell, Ky. CAE delivered the A/MH-6M, MH-47G and MH-60L devices. The company is also the prime contractor for the MH-47E and MH-60K simulators under a contracted logistical support (CLS) contract. The systems were originally delivered by the former entity Singer-Link.
The A/MH-6M Little Bird’s device, delivered in fall 2005, has a 6-degree-of-freedom (DOF) motion system and a 3-DOF vibration platform that sits on top of the motion system. “This was the world’s first simulator developed for the Little Bird helicopter,” David Graham, CAE’s director of special operations forces programs, told MT2. He noted that a key feature of this simulator is its extreme field of view and pointed out, “The simulator features a dome display with a 240-degree (horizontal) by 98-degree (vertical) field of view (FOV).”
The MH-47G CMS, delivered in summer 2007, also has a 6-DOF and 3-DOF vibration platform and a unique attribute. “This simulator features a collimated display with the largest field of view on any full-motion simulator,” remarked Graham. “The simulator also features the first-ever implementation of the Common Environment/ Common Database (CE/CDB), a new database architecture designed for the USSOCOM that promises significantly enhanced database capabilities to support rapid mission rehearsal timelines,” stated a CAE press release. The inclusion of an enhanced mission rehearsal capability in this simulator provides the operator with several intriguing capabilities: supporting rapid mission rehearsal times on the order of days or even hours; and continuing to close the gap between mission rehearsal and training systems.
SEOS delivered the display system for this simulator and the MH-60L DAP’s training device discussed later. These visual display systems are another example of technology’s quantum-leap forward in SOCOM’s rotary wing trainers.
With respect to the MH-47G CMS, “The brief was to build a display system that combined the advantages of film mirror technology (low weight, lack of any seams within the image, easily repairable) with the advantage of glass mirrors (low distortion at the edges of the field),” Owen Wynn, executive chairman and co-founder, SEOS, told MT2. Added to that requirement was the need for the largest field of view ever constructed for any collimated display system. “This was not an ‘off-the-shelf’ product,” he emphasized.
To meet the end-user’s requirements and challenging specification, SEOS developed a new and innovative (patented) technology. The specification was to have an instantaneous FOV of 210 degrees (horizontal) by 65 degrees (vertical). “Bearing in mind that SEOS is still the only company to offer a film-based 60-degree system at all, and that this vertical FOV was only possible with displays where the field of view was biased downwards, the requirement did not look possible at the start, let alone with exceptional geometry at the edges of the field of view. To amplify the point, at the time the best SEOS had to offer with such a high forward field of view was a system that delivered 50 degrees vertical, a long way short of the 65 degrees required,” recalled Wynn.
After months of development SEOS designed a special aspheric back projection screen with the largest film mirror ever made. The basic system offered an instantaneous vertical FOV of 60 degrees (+25 degrees to minus 35 degrees) with up to an additional 5-degree capability (vertical) accessed through pilot head motion. “In this way the required field of regard could be accessed,” said Wynn.
To achieve the excellent geometry at the edges of the film mirror SEOS also developed and patented a new Dead Band Reduction (DBR) system that took away the tendency of the film to adopt a non-spherical shape. “This version of DBR still represents the state of the art in mirror technology,” pointed out Wynn, and concluded, “The same display system has been used on both simulators [MH-47G and MH-60L (DAP)] and works within specification even for the very wide pilot spacing of 48 inches.”
Two FMSs serve the MH-53 community. One simulator is located at 19th Special Operations Squadron (SOS), Hurlburt Field, Fla., the other at the 58th Special Operations Wing (SOW) (part of Air and Education Training Command), Kirtland AFB, N.M. Lockheed Martin Simulation, Training and Support is the prime contractor for these devices under a CLS contract.
“There is one CV-22 FMS located at the 19th SOS and two located at the 58th SOW,” said Air Force Capt. Ticer. There will be a total of eight systems (two motion and six non-motion) delivered through fiscal year (FY) 2015. Flight Safety International is the prime contractor for these training devices.
The community’s newest device, the MH-60L (DAP) CMS, was delivered by CAE to the 160th SOAR (A) this summer. The simulator has a 6-DOF motion system and 3-DOF vibration platform. “Unique to this simulator is the use of extra projectors which are mounted on the top of the simulator and reinforced with the exterior frames you can see on the outside of the simulator,” said Graham. “These extra projectors provide additional visual capabilities for the pilot and copilot who often fly this helicopter with the ‘doors off’,” he added.
The U.S. Air Force’s Distributed Mission Operations (DMO) program continues to evolve. The DMO network is expected to provide a persistent training environment that allows operators to train in a joint synthetic battlespace made up of live, virtual and constructive (computer-generated) entities.
Eyeing another capability for the training devices, “USSOCOM recently conducted a requirements and capability review and is in the process of evaluating the value of connecting CMS/FMS into DMO-type exercises and rehearsals where the primary training audience is not the aircrews but the command and control elements and ground forces training to interact with aviation assets,” pointed out Ticer.
DOWNSTREAM DEVELOPMENTS
More enhancements to the SOF aviators’ training technology portfolio are programmed through the budget out years.
Several upgrades to the SOF rotary-wing devices are programmed during FY08 and are in the President’s FY09 Budget Request.
During FY08, CAE is updating the MH-47G CMS “with the latest ZSQ-2 Electro Optical System and other aircraft concurrency changes. We will also update the MH-47G with the latest version of the Common Database (CBD) specification (v.3.0) that provides the benefit of improved compression and reduced storage size and bandwidth,” said Graham. This year CAE will also field the MH-60L CMS and the Exercise Management Center, enabling joint mission rehearsal and interoperability of the MH-47G and MH-60L CMS. The MH-47E simulator will receive an enhanced power turbine inlet temperature capability. This action addresses an engine safety issue discovered with the aircraft during normal shutdown. CAE is also enhancing the A/MH-6M CMS to a Block 1 configuration that includes a new ZSQ-3 Forward Looking Infra-red simulation and updated CAE Medallion Image Generators (IG).
FY09 funding will support various enhancements. A wideranging CV-22 Aircrew Training Devices line addresses obsolescence issues for IGs, projectors and digital radar land mass simulation for all fielded training devices. Also for FY09, the MH-47G and MH-60L CMS are also scheduled to receive the Common Avionics Architecture v.5.0 upgrade. The development is designed to add increased concurrency for the Suite of Integrated Radio Frequency Countermeasures (SIRFC) and other airframe systems. A computer host upgrade is envisioned for the MH-60K CMS is also programmed.
To support another evolving capability, this January, the U.S. Army’s PEO STRI solicited information regarding the possibility of reutilizing two existing full-motion simulators by converting them from the current airframe configurations (MH-47E/MH-60K) to newly fielded MH-47G/MH-60M systems. The purpose of the request for information was “for the Army to assess industry’s ability to provide training devices by reutilizing existing MH-47E and MH-60K simulators. This effort will address the ability to provide adequate training capability for the required throughput of students necessary to man the force. Based on this assessment, the Army may award a competitive contract under PEO STRI’s STOC [STRICOM Omnibus Contract]. Funding is not available at this time but it is anticipated prior to award,” stated the PEO STRI Business Opportunities Portal homepage. This effort “would allow PEO STRI to validate cost and schedule projections and reallocate funds to provide this training capability sooner than the scheduled FY12 date,” concluded the homepage.