Written by / Compiled by KMI Media Group staff

MT2 2010 Volume: 15 Issue: 1 (February)

Cubic Defense Applications received contracts to provide additional combat training instrumentation for the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force.

Cubic delivered Japan’s first Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation (ACMI) system to Komatsu Air Base in 2007 under contract to Sumitomo Corporation of America. The “rangeless” system allows training without a fixed infrastructure and is fully interoperable with Cubic training systems used by U.S. combat pilots at Misawa and Kadena air bases in Japan, and Osan and Kunsan air bases in the Republic of Korea. It includes wing-mounted instrumentation pods that record simulated weapons actions, and Cubic’s Individual Combat Aircrew Display System, or ICADS, used for ACMI debriefs.

Cubic now has ACMI systems in the following nations—Japan (U.S. Air Force), Korea (U.S. Air Force), Japan (Japanese Air Self Defense Force), Taiwan (Taiwan Air Force), Thailand (Thai Air Force), Australia (Royal Australian Air Force). These systems are installed, or will soon be installed, at a total of 10 bases.

Phil Fisch, senior director of business development, Air Ranges, Cubic, described ACMI’s ability to support complex training scenarios, given the system’s popularity in the Pacific region. “Our systems allow joint and coalition training throughout the region. The training missions, for example, include joint training exercises between the USAF and the Japanese Air Self Defense Force. On a larger scale, Cubic equipment was used a part of Talisman Sabre 07 and Talisman Sabre 09 [both exercises on the Australian continent]; these exercises include integration of live forces from both nations as well as incorporation of virtual and constructive simulations.”

Philip Fisch: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Concurrent’s Imagen Selected for Marine Corps’ Training Systems

TJ Inc. selected Concurrent’s ImaGen family of COTS visual servers to support the U.S. Marine Corps’ Supporting Arms Virtual Trainer (SAVT). The SAVT program supports joint terminal attack controllers and joint forward air controllers. Six SAVT trainers will be deployed to the services’ bases around the globe.

“Concurrent’s ImaGen product line offers flexible, multi-channel graphics platforms,” noted a company statement.

Ken Jackson: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

E-6B Contract Extension

L-3 Link Simulation & Training was awarded a one year contract option to continue to provide support for the U.S. Navy’s E-6B Aircrew Training System (ATS). Additional annual contract options could extend L-3 Link’s flight crew training support through 2015.

L-3 Link has won three consecutive competitions since 1993 to remain prime contractor on the program. “The company is providing E-6B TACAMO pilots, navigators and flight engineers with instructor-led, computer-based and simulator training. In addition to maintaining legacy instructional courseware, L-3 Link also operates and maintains all program training devices,” said a company statement provided to MT2.

Both academic and simulator aircrew instruction delivered by L-3 Link supports initial qualification, instructor upgrade, refresher, requalification, instrument ground school and crew resource management training. The E-6B ATS schoolhouse is located at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. and the FAA Level D equivalent E-6B Operational Flight Trainer is housed in an adjacent L-3 Link facility.

Jeff Schram: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

MÄK Releases VR-Forces Entity Boost Plug-In

VT MÄK, (MÄK) announced the release of the Entity Boost plug-in for VR-Forces. This module is the latest component of a cross-product strategic initiative to support greater scalability for large exercises.

As part of the initiative for greater scalability, MÄK is leveraging diverse technologies including multi-resolution modeling, multi-threaded design, multicast filtering, cloudcomputing, and the high level architecture’s (HLA) data distribution management (DDM). Nearly all MÄK products, including VR-Forces, VR-Vantage, VR-Link, the MÄK RTI, and the MÄK Data Logger, will be updated as part of this effort to better support large exercises. Combining the capabilities of the products and the technologies, MÄK can provide a platform for scaling up to 100,000 entities and beyond.

The new VR-Forces Entity Boost plug-in adds support for interest management (IM) through the use of HLA’s DDM. IM is a key to solving system-wide scalability problems. “This allows you to use more computer resources to add simulation engines without the addition of each simulation engine causing more stress to every node on the system—that’s the key,” Marc Schlackman, vice president, marketing, told MT2. He continued, “Interest management is a mechanism that also allows you to declare what you are intersted in, so you can process only those entities that are relevant to you.”

Marc Schlackman: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Easy Blend Selected for U.S. DoD Visual Systems

Scalable Display Technologies’ auto-calibration software is enabling the creation of ultra-high resolution displays in more U.S. military training systems. In addition to supporting the evolving Littoral Combat Ship’s training system, the technology was recently picked to bolster an aircrew weapons training simulator for the U.S. Coast Guard and the Marine Corps’ Supporting Arms Virtual Trainer.

“The interesting dynamic here is that we have had a wholesale transition from cathode ray tube projectors to COTS-digital projectors. So as people buy relatively low-cost COTS projectors, the challenge is how to line them up to get one seamless display,” Andrew Jamison, the company’s chief executive officer, told MT2. The change agent is EasyBlend, Jamison added, “which makes the alignment of the pixels to be point-and-shoot easy—you point the camera at the screen, you take the pictures and you get a seamless, blended display.”

While legacy visual display systems with multiple projectors may take several days to complete edge blending and other alignment tasks, EasyBlend software enables the process to be completed in about one minute per projector. Noting that over time, installed projectors move and the projectors’ lamps age, Jamison pointed out, “We color calibrate and geometry calibrate to keep the display factory fresh every day.”

Andrew Jamison: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

CAE to Supply Additional M-346 Training System Devices

Alenia Aermacchi (AAEM) awarded CAE a contract to design and manufacture an M-346 full-mission simulator and an M-346 part-task trainer as part of the M-346 ground-based training system for the Italian Air Force.

AAEM and the Italian Defence Ministry previously signed a contract for AAEM to supply six M-346 Master advanced lead-in fighter trainer aircraft and related flight simulators, which together comprise an integrated training system. This contract forms part of a broader agreement to supply a total of 15 M-346 Masters and related support to the Italian Air Force, the launch customer for the M-346 aircraft.

“As the preferred full-mission simulator and training device supplier for the M-346, CAE was awarded a contract by prime contractor AAEM for the design and manufacture of the M-346 training devices for the Italian Air Force,” read a statement provided to MT2. The statement continued, “Within this contract, CAE has subcontracted the development and supply of simulation and instructor operator station subsystems to Selex Galileo in Ronchi dei Legionari, Italy. The M-346 full-mission simulator and part-task trainer will be delivered to Galatina Air Force Base near Lecce, Italy during the second half of 2011.”

Chris Stellwag: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

A Virtual Boost for Fort Bragg Range Modernization

Laser Shot Inc. announced the installation of what it called a “first of a kind” legacy range modernization at Range 37M, Fort Bragg. This installation created an immersive virtual targetry shoot house for multi-room, multi-target live fire engagements through the use of Laser Shot’s exclusive close quarters battle (CQB) courseware LVS, and the advanced technology of the Thermal Shot Live Fire Virtual Targetry System.

The installation included 14 live fire target engagement areas throughout the shoot house that included custom hardware mounting and Laser Shot’s exclusive climate controlled shrouds to shield the electronic components of the installation from the outdoor elements. With the completion of this project, Range 37M is now ready with a highly realistic, coherent training facility to provide crucial CQB training to soldiers on a variety of skill levels.

Christopher Chambers, president, Laser Shot, pointed out that Laser Shot launched a training capability at Range 37 that did not exist before in a live fire facility. He told MT2, “We modernized an existing legacy CQB shoot house that had non-animated static targets to a point where it has completely realistic tactical scenarios with life-like human behaviors embedded in its virtual characters. Old style paper targets and poppers have been removed to accommodate life sized human-thinking and human-moving 3-D projected characters.” He added, “The entire scenario is created and edited at user level, can be changed, altered, stopped, or reviewed on the fly by the instructor via handheld wireless miniature computer and has infinite variety to enable extensive in-depth training. Our range upgrade program not only breathes new life into yesteryear’s facilities, but dramatically increases training quality and throughput.”

Christopher M. Chambers: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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