mt2 20 3%20final

July 2015Volume 20, Issue 3

www.MT2-kmi.com

ORGANIZATION PROfIle:NatioNal CeNter for SimulatioN

Mobile Training Devices O Operations in Urban TerrainTraining Avatars O UAS Pilot Training

LVC Deployer

Col. Bradley M. Crites

CommanderAir Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation

CyberseCurity eduCation and

training

Special Section:

America’s Longest Established Simulation & Training Magazine

Link Simulation & Training L-3com.com

TOTAL TRAINING SOLUTIONS THAT PROVIDE

ADAPTIVE AND IMMERSIVE INSTRUCTION

We’re Ready to Deliver These Enhanced, Cyber-Secured Capabilities to Your Organization.Whatever your mission, at L-3 Link we provide total training solutions for both manned and unmanned aviation that are proven in their ability to accelerate student learning and produce mission-ready aircrews, operators and maintainers. By developing an optimum mix of training media, we deliver flexible solutions that minimize the need for classroom instruction, present realistically complex training scenarios, and drive costs out of your training operation.

Go to link.com to see how we can maximize training effectiveness, improve student throughput, lower training costs, and produce highly qualified personnel who are prepared to achieve mission success.

July 2015Volume 20, Issue 3military training technology

World’s #1 Military Training Magazine & Site• 7IssuesPerYear• MoreReadersbyFar

• GreatestAdvertiserBase• 2015isOur20thYear

Cover / Q&A

COlONel BRAdley M. CRITesCommander

Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation

16

Departments2 edITOR’s PeRsPeCTIve3 PROGRAM HIGHlIGHTs/PeOPle14 dATA PACkeTs26 TeAM ORlANdO27 ResOuRCe CeNTeR

Industry InterviewJIM TAkATsPresident and CEOTRU Simulation + Training

28

“Training in the LVC construct is vital for mission

success, not only in the Air Force, but in all services.

The training environment

that we call LVC-Operational Training links

Air Force organizations and allows interaction

with various military capabilities

around the world.”— Colonel Bradley M.

Crites

Features

11TRAINING fOR THe uRBAN TeRRAINWith future military operations expected increasingly to occur in the world’s burgeoning cities, military trainers and their industry partners are stepping up efforts to develop effective technology and formats for military operations in urban terrain (MOUT) training.

By Erin Flynn Jay

19TRAINING ON THe MOveAs they become important tools for military training programs, mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones are changing the way developers create instructional software, and holding out the promise of real-time monitoring of and interaction with students as they learn.

By Harrison DonnElly

23uAs PIlOT TRAININGThe Army and the Air Force face challenges ensuring that the pilots who remotely operate their unmanned aerial systems complete their required training, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report.

24ORGANIZATION PROfIle: NATIONAl CeNTeR fOR sIMulATIONThe National Center for Simulation is a not-for-profit trade association that promotes M&S technology expansion, supports education and workforce development and provides business development aid to members.

4AvATARs fOR TRAININGDoD is turning increasingly to training technology that simulates real people and situations, not only to develop skilled personnel equipped to carry out its worldwide mission, but also to help those individuals prepare in advance for and cope afterwards with the stress caused by the intense and dangerous situations to which they are exposed.

By KarEn E. THuErmEr

eduCATION ANd TRAINING fOR CyBeRseCuRITyBoth the nation’s colleges and universities and the simulation and training industry are stepping forward as key allies as the Department of Defense makes development of a skilled cybersecurity workforce the top priority in its increasingly critical mission to defend department networks against cyber-attacks.

By Harrison DonnElly

Special Section

Link Simulation & Training L-3com.com

TOTAL TRAINING SOLUTIONS THAT PROVIDE

ADAPTIVE AND IMMERSIVE INSTRUCTION

We’re Ready to Deliver These Enhanced, Cyber-Secured Capabilities to Your Organization.Whatever your mission, at L-3 Link we provide total training solutions for both manned and unmanned aviation that are proven in their ability to accelerate student learning and produce mission-ready aircrews, operators and maintainers. By developing an optimum mix of training media, we deliver flexible solutions that minimize the need for classroom instruction, present realistically complex training scenarios, and drive costs out of your training operation.

Go to link.com to see how we can maximize training effectiveness, improve student throughput, lower training costs, and produce highly qualified personnel who are prepared to achieve mission success.

8

One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a pilot is to become spatially disoriented, which occurs when he or she fails to properly sense the aircraft’s motion, position or altitude relative to the horizon and the earth’s surface. Spatial disorientation (SD) causes an estimated 20 percent of significant Air Force mishaps, and has been cited as cause in a recent Black Hawk crash that killed 11 Marines and National Guardsmen.

Flying experience enables pilots to gain mastery over SD, as they learn to understand what is happening to them and how to respond correctly. Until recently, however, ground-based training was of limited effectiveness in developing those skills, leaving only the option of actual flight, with all its expense and risk.

In the past, pilots have trained using a Barany chair, in which the trainee was blindfolded, spun around and then asked to perform certain tasks. The 100-year-old invention was helpful in making students aware of the effects of disorientation, but did not allow for the full range of experiences and demands of a modern aircraft.

In response to that lack, the Air Force two years ago launched a competition for a Barany chair replacement, in the form of a motion-based trainer with basic aircraft control and performance displays representative of generic training aircraft cockpit controls and functionality. The winner of the competition was the GYRO Integrated Physiological Trainer II from ETC, which provides a SD flight training experience in which trainees can be exposed to and learn to deal with more than 20 different disorienting situations.

Air Education and Training Command recently unveiled its first spatial disorientation flight trainer at the 82nd Aerospace Medicine Squadron, Sheppard AFB, Texas, where it was hailed as an important step in developing pilots with the experience needed to meet the SD challenge.

“Flight operations--especially training operations--carry inherent risk, so any time you can reduce that risk it’s good for the mission,” Captain Taylor Zahm of the 80th Operations Support Squadron told an Air Force reporter.

Harrison DonnellyEDiTor

Recognized Leader Covering All Aspects of Military Training Readiness

editorialEditorHarrison Donnelly [email protected]

Copy EditorsKevin Harris [email protected] Jonathan magin [email protected]

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kMI Media GroupChief Executive OfficerJack Kerrigan [email protected]

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CirculationDenise Woods [email protected]

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Military Training Technology

Volume 20, Issue 3 • July 2015

eDitor’S PerSPectiVe

Developers of virtual-reality training systems can take advantage of recent advancements in technology and computing power that depict human characters in much higher fidelity than ever before. [Image courtesy of Havok]

Program highlightS Compiled by KMI Media Group staff

Contract Funds Air Traffic Control TrainingThe Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

has awarded SAIC a contract with a maximum value of $727 million to provide all training and training program support services under the FAA Controller Training Contract. During the next five years, the FAA expects to hire as many as 6,000 new air traffic controllers to replace a retiring workforce. Under the contract, SAIC will provide support services to the FAA Academy and air traffic control

facilities to help FAA fulfill controller training requirements. These services include program management support; classroom training; simulation and laboratory training; moni-toring of student progress; training develop-ment, maintenance and revision; air traffic training program support; administrative support; and innovation support.

Lauren Presti;[email protected]

Air Force Lieutenant General Darryl L. Roberson has been nomi-nated for appointment to the rank of lieutenant

general and for assign-ment as commander, Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas.

American Systems has hired Keith McGhee as vice president and director of the Global Training and Development Directorate, where he will oversee this group’s busi-ness development, finan-

cial management and workforce management goals.

FlightSafety International has announced several executive appointments, including Gerry McRae as executive director, business development and Robert McGahan as director, business develop-ment, government training and simulation.

Compiled by KMI Media Group staffPeoPle

Lieutenant General Darryl L. Roberson

Army Seeks Helicopter Virtual Maintenance

TrainerThe Army has awarded Disti Corp. a contract to

develop a virtual maintenance trainer (VMT) for the UH-72A Lakota helicopter. The $4.4 million contract includes the development of 12 interactive student workstations with a networked Instructor station, an additional “hanger” workstation to be collocated with a hardware-based trainer, and a “reach-back” training capability to deploy virtual training content on hand-held mobile devices. Since the introduction of the UH-72A into the Army’s operational fleet in 2006, initial maintenance efforts focused on providing experienced Army aviation maintainers with factory aircraft famil-iarization training to maintain the UH-72A fleet in an FAA-approved environment. The focus for UH-72A maintenance training is now shifting from contractor-provided familiarization training to an Army institu-tional training course for UH-72A maintenance. As part of that course, the Disti-built VMT will provide a virtual practical exercise interactive workspace designed to support the performance of UH-72A maintenance tasks to task standards.

Scott Ariotti;[email protected]

3-D perception (3-DP) has announced delivery of two of its Northstar immersive visual display systems for the Air Force Test Pilot Training School at Edwards AFB, Calif. The company delivered and installed the two Draco Northstar mini-dome systems. These high-resolution devices feature a 3.4-foot radius spherical screen, and a seamless 160-degree vertical and 60-degree horizontal field of view, a dedicated heads-up display. Draco domes are 3-DP’s small-footprint automatically aligning visual display system concept, which is ideal for fast-jet applications and can be installed in standard office spaces.

Adam McCard;[email protected]

SDS International has received a contract to support the Air Force deputy chief of staff for strategy, planning and requirements and other Air Force organizations in the conduct of its mission for operational strategy concept development, operational/regional politico-military analysis, capabilities assessments, war and mobility plan-ning and requirements development. Under this contract, SDS will support the simulations, training and experimentation program, which includes the planning and execution of Air Force Title 10 war games, unified engagement and futures game. Unified engagement and future games are Air Force chief of staff war games designed to study operational challenges from the perspectives of a joint force commander. Specific support requirements include providing subject-matter expertise in wargaming, Air Force air-sea battle implementation, modeling and simulation support, exercise support, live-virtual-constructive operational training, and war and mobilization planning.

Air Force School Receives Immersive Display Systems

Contract Supports Air Force Wargaming

www.MT2-kmi.com MT2 20.3 | 3

The Department of Defense is increas-ingly turning to training technology that simulates real people and situations, not only to develop skilled personnel equipped to carry out its worldwide mission, but also to help those individuals prepare in advance for and cope afterwards with the stress caused by the intense and dangerous situations to which they are exposed.

Every branch of the mili-tary is employing some kind of avatar or virtual-reality training technology, which offers benefits over conven-tional live training in terms of cost and scalability.

The need for and poten-tial of virtual reality technol-ogy was underscored by the “Squad Overmatch Study” released last year by the Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Train-ing and Instrumentation, which looked at training sol-diers to recognize and apply learned techniques to man-age psychological stress in a combat-realistic, controlled, repeatable and reviewable simulated environment while exercising warrior skills. The study focused on the prevention of post-traumatic stress and improving men-tal performance at the squad level by employing gaming and virtual and live training technologies, combined with learning techniques, to man-age psychological stress in combat scenarios.

If suitably realistic, pro-grams that expose warfight-ers to high-stress situations

in virtual-reality environments before they are deployed can significantly improve readi-ness, according to Cory Kumm, worldwide director of military and simulation at Havok. “However, the effectiveness of training in these scenarios often depends on how closely the visuals depict the real world,” he said.

The major advantage of avatars—defined as graphical representations of the user or the user’s character—is that they provide human-like interaction, noted Bob Klein-hample, director of simula-tion and training systems for SAIC. Military members can practice complex situations where they must make split-second decisions regarding whether or not to use force and how to engage potential threats.

Advocates describe ava-tars and virtual worlds as best used as a supplement to live training. “Its use opens the doors to training and other situations where availability of a person with specific skills might be hard to find, cost-prohibitive or physically dan-gerous,” Kleinhample said.

“Virtual worlds can provide geo-specific or geo-typical

experiences for personnel without the costs or dangers of personnel travelling to or working in actual locations.”

Virtual training environ-ments “must replicate both kinetic and non-kinetic as-pects of full-spectrum war-fare, lest they risk imparting negative training,” observed Andy Gruendel, program manager at Alelo.

In Gruendel’s view, current virtual train-ing technologies do not provide sufficient re-alism, particularly in the human dimension of training. “The military needs rigorous virtual training that replicates the social and cultural aspects of operating in full-spectrum opera-tions, as well as the physical stresses,” he said.

The Army’s Games for Training (GFT) program applies combat lessons and opera-tional capabilities in a virtual environment. The program is managed by TRADOC Capa-bility Manager Gaming at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., which collects user requirements from soldiers to pinpoint technology helpful for training.

In its recent re-compete of the GFT flag-ship gaming environment, the Army specifi-cally asked for virtual technology that is capa-ble of emotional behavior, speech recognition and language support.

“This requires synthetic training envi-ronments that are populated with sociocul-turally accurate virtual role players,” said Gruendel, explaining that virtual role players need to interact with trainees in a culturally accurate manner, and using speech and ges-tures—just as real people do.

“The simulation should model the sec-ond-order effects of those interactions within the human terrain,” he added.

Realistic and inteRactive

Today, a host of companies offer virtual technology that is increasingly realistic and interactive.

SAIC provides avatar and virtual-world capabilities across three different areas: sim-ulation, instructional systems design/inter-active media instruction and serious games. Its capabilities are found in the Transport-able Reconfigurable Integrated Crew Trainer (TRICT) built by the Army Game Studio. TRICT makes extensive use of both avatars and virtual worlds in training personnel on the MRAP and other vehicles.

By KaRen e. thueRmeR, mt2 coRRespondent

Realistic viRtual enviRonments Build sKills and help waRfighteRs cope with the stRess of intense opeRations.

Cory Kumm

[email protected]

Bob Kleinhample

[email protected]

andy Gruendel

[email protected]

www.MT2-kmi.com4 | MT2 20.3

“TRICT allows crews to drive a real ve-hicle through a virtual world and provides all the tactile feedback of operating the ac-tual vehicle and its systems, from driving to communication to weapons,” Kleinhample said. “Users can experience how it brakes, accelerates and leans, and even what it is like to roll a vehicle over for real-life egress train-ing. Avatars in the virtual world can be con-figured to be friendly forces, civilians or op-position forces actively engaging the vehicle with small arms to IEDs—all in real time by an instructor, thus adding a dynamic human element to training scenarios.”

The technology is also being used to create culturally accurate avatars for ethics training. “The Center for the Army Profes-sion and Ethic (CAPE) is using the Ameri-ca’s Army training game to train soldiers to respond to ethical challenges in a virtual world,” Kleinhample explained.

CAPE is using “Moral Combat” to reju-venate Army ethics education by injecting a series of challenging ethical scenarios into the existing maps, missions and objectives presented in the America’s Army game.

“This version of the America’s Army game provides soldiers with an entertaining experience that increases ethical awareness, stimulates and evolves the moral working self, and provides a data-capture mechanism to support ethics research and moral charac-ter development,” Kleinhample said.

Havok offers simulation and 3-D visual-ization technologies that are being used by integrators to prototype and develop high-fidelity simulations for tactical and combat training. The company’s Rocketbox Library is seen as a source for high-fidelity avatar

models for simulation and training due to its high-quality stock 3-D models and anima-tions and strong specialization on real-time characters and animations, Kumm said.

A wide variety of character types, both military and civilian, are available for licens-ing in source file format for integration with IG systems. The library of 3-D character models and animations has also been en-hanced with Havok technology, essentially giving the avatars “brains” so they interact correctly with the environments and simula-tion scenarios they are used in.

“This version of Rocketbox Libraries is already included and fully integrated with the Havok Simulation Framework,” added Kumm. “The option to get the integration of both products into one framework makes adding animated characters to training sim-ulations a much easier process than it was before, significantly reducing the cost for creating sophisticated simulations that con-tain intelligent lifeforms. This makes it very useful for the military and armed forces for the creation of highly realistic and immer-sive virtual training experiences.”

Today, the Army, Navy and Air Force use Havok Rocketbox characters in some form for a wide variety of applications. For example, small-arms trainers use autono-mous avatars as enemy forces. In command and control systems, avatars are used to help display complex missions, and for aviation, avatars or 3-D characters are used for flight crew, again helping immersion.

Recent advancements in technology and computing power help to depict human characters in much higher fidelity than ever before. “This leads to new opportunities to better help prepare trainees for situations they could be facing,” commented Kumm. “Subtle nuances in character movement, up to the level of facial expressions, can make a significant difference when having to dis-tinguish one or more potential threats from uninvolved civilians in a crisis scenario.”

Highly realistic virtual characters with believable and detailed animation are also very important in training used in combina-tion with virtual reality. “Systems such as

virtual reality googles add unprecedented realism, making the trainee feel as if he/

she is really part of the scenario—liter-ally being immersed,” Kumm said.

These factors are especially important in training where emotional factors play a decisive role.

cultuRal awaReness

Products offered by Alelo emphasize vir-tual role-playing methodology. The company offers three major product lines to train mis-sion-critical tasks throughout the military: Operational Language and Cultural Training System, Virtual Cultural Awareness Trainers and Virtual Role-Player Military (VRP MIL).

Alelo’s VRP platform trainers select vir-tual role players from libraries of reusable character roles, assign them to non-player characters and insert them into the virtual world, creating realistic simulations with a minimum of effort.

“Briefings, after-action reviews and vir-tual coaches can add additional scaffolding to reinforce mission goals,” Gruendel said. “Throughout the simulation, user interac-tion data is collected to generate precise quantitative measures of performance.”

The results have been positive. Accord-ing to Gruendel, the first Marine battalion to complete a tour of duty in Iraq without any combat fatalities trained with Alelo’s Tactical Iraqi language and culture trainer prior to deployment. “Over 60,000 military members have learned intercultural skills using Alelo’s Virtual Cultural Awareness Trainer courses on Joint Knowledge Online,” he said.

The VRP MIL platform populates vir-tual training environments with cultur-ally accurate avatars. “The NATO Joint Force Training Center in Poland and other U.S. coalition partners are adopting it,” Gru-endel stated. “It provides a foundation for sociocultural modeling in military synthetic training environments.”

VRP MIL is currently compatible with the Bohemia Interactive Simulations VBS3 (Virtual Battlespace) platform, enabling trainers to create virtual role-play simula-tions by populating worlds with artificially intelligent virtual role players that include validated culturally appropriate behaviors.

Earlier this year, Alelo conducted a trial in conjunction with a NATO pre-deployment exercise in which participants were im-mersed in a key leader engagement scenario using English or Pashto. The focus of the tri-

A digitally animated character’s movement, speech and gestures exactly mimic the role player, facilitating an interactive dialogue. [Image courtesy of Organic Motion]


al was to demonstrate soft skills training in a virtual environment supporting the overall accomplishment of the mission.

With its roots in Hollywood special ef-fects, Organic Motion is a new company in the military space. Its product, Live, is unique in that it allows warfighters to in-teract with digitally animated characters in live training scenarios in a natural and intuitive way.

According to Ed Miller, vice president of Organic Motion, most companies in this space only offer branching videos with ac-tors playing out scenarios. Live, on the other hand, introduces a greater level of realism by inserting live roleplayers into training exer-cises in a convincing manner.

“When warfighters step into a ‘room’ for training, they have a conversation with that avatar where emotions and expressions pop out of their face,” he said. “They will have a regular conversation because the training is driven by an actual human in real time, like video conferencing, and the actor or trainer can be anyone they want to be. That actor plays multiple roles.”

The role player is in a capture portal that projects him or her as a high-definition Live digital character into a live training scenario in real time. Nothing is pre-recorded and there are no animated scenes. The digitally ani-mated 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 train-ees who view that person as any intended digital character. Live uses the latest voice modulation software, projection and target-ing technology to create a completely im-mersive training capability.

Up to 50 avatars can participate, but the individuals being trained cannot tell if they

are driven by a real human actor or not. “The operator sits there like a matrix and decides where and when to play the human,” Miller said. “There’s nothing out there like that.”

According to Miller, a Live digital charac-ter is much more effective than an artificial intelligence character, and more cost-effec-tive than multiple human actors.

While Organic Motion was slow in be-coming involved with the military, the com-pany was contracted by the Army last year to install a system at Fort Benning, Ga., and the Marine Corps and Navy have shown interest as well. Organic Motion Live also received high marks in the Squad Overmatch Study, Miller said.

gaming standaRds

Janus Research Group is developing a biometrics and forensics (BIO/FOR) virtual training package to be completely compliant with Army gaming and virtual standards so that the end product will meet required DoD specifications for training in a simulated environment.

“Since the start of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, BIO/

FOR technology capabilities have rapidly made their way to the forward edge of the battlefield as an exponential mission enabler,” noted Mark Covey, Janus vice president for modeling, simulations and training. “Attaining iden-tity dominance plays a crucial role in an effective counter-insurgency mission by work-ing to reduce and ultimately eliminate the anonymity an insurgency requires to con-

duct its operations.” Properly training warfighters on ad-

vanced equipment and evolving tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) re-quired to achieve this identity domi-nance is an enormous undertaking,

Covey noted. “Effective BIO/FOR virtual training allows users to train wherever they are, be it in a deployed location or at home station where scheduling conflicts often preclude the use of mobile training teams and relegate a unit to minimal exposure at a combat training center 90 days before a deployment.”

Combined with the worldwide distri-bution of the virtual training programs either by CD/DVD or digitally via the Web, the program being developed will provide DoD with the flexibility to train users on BIO/FOR equipment, concepts and TTPs anytime, anywhere.

“This training product can be used by ac-tive, reserve, National Guard and other ser-vices to reduce the pre-deployment training burdens for these units,” Covey said.

Plans also call for deploying this capa-bility with the Army gaming Virtual Battle Space 2 and the Army Intelligence Center of Excellence’s Learning Technology Director-ate Learning Management System.

TRADOC Capability Manager Biometrics and Forensics (TCM-BF) contracted Janus to construct this virtual training solution and environments as a blended solution that in-corporates cinematic visualization tools, in-teractive multimedia instruction programs and serious games technology.

“It’s all developed using the COTS virtual environment engine Unity,” remarked Covey. “Janus is developing the total package in in-crements, and has delivered several modules to the TCM-BF, including the military deci-sion-making process, leader and staff train-ing, mission preparation considerations, post-mission activities, site exploitation kit, exploitation site management, biometrics

The effectiveness of training in virtual reality scenarios depends on how closely the visuals depict the real world. [Image courtesy of Havok]

mark Covey

[email protected]

6 | MT2 20.3 www.MT2-kmi.com

gathering, building and vehicle search, fo-rensic material handling, IED components, document and media exploitation, cache de-tection and homemade explosives.”

pushing the BoundaRies

Within the last year, two significant de-velopments have boosted virtual reality tech-nologies. First, the Department of Education strongly endorsed the value of using game-based technologies for education—based in part on documented successes within DoD. Second, the increased popularity of game development technologies has led to lower licensing costs and greater ease of use of the technology.

“Both Unity and Epic (makers of the Unreal engine) have reduced their licensing fees and made the technology easier to work with,” remarked Kleinhample. “The result is that it is easier and cheaper than ever to use these cutting-edge technologies. Addi-tionally, the proliferation of end-user devices such as tablet computers and powerful mo-bile phones, combined with bandwidth and infrastructure capable of delivering content to these devices, has enabled users to have increased access to these virtual worlds.

“As early adopters, customers in DoD will continue to push the boundaries of what is possible and will quickly leverage advances made in other areas,” Kleinhample said.

Human interaction with these tech-nologies will continue to change, however. Kleinhample said he already sees customers asking that virtual worlds and other highly immersive technologies be able to be deliv-ered to where the user is on their available platforms.

“We are investing in these areas to lever-age the power of cloud technologies and our ability to design for multiple platforms,” he said. “As these technologies become more accessible, greater functionality can be ex-pected from them.”

Alelo envisions extending its VRP plat-form to include higher-level sociocultural models. “This will involve modeling socio-cultural dynamics at the micro-social, meso-social and macro-social levels,” Gruendel said. “We propose to include the dependen-cies and interactions between the model levels to create integrated human-terrain ar-chitecture. Such an integrated architecture can model second-order effects of military operations.”

Havok’s library of characters is constant-ly evolving, with the company adding some

30 percent more content in the past year. “We have recently added the possibility to apply dynamic injury and dirt layers to the character model surfaces,” Kumm stated.

Havok has also created a flexible com-ponent system that enables the user to switch between different equipment items, headgear and other attachments with just a few clicks. “The addition of such a mix-and-match approach makes the number of differ-ent characters that can be depicted with the system limitless,” he said.

Going forward, Kumm expects contin-ued expansion of Havok’s library and in-creasing levels of detail to further reduce the gap between the real and virtual worlds.

“While motion-capture technology is a great tool to help in production of such ani-mation data, we need sophisticated systems to blend this data together smoothly into fluent motion for correct movement of the 3-D characters,” Kumm said. “In most cases, a realistically moving low-resolution char-acter model is preferable over a high-reso-lution model with stiff motion or disrupted transitions.” O

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Both the nation’s colleges and universities and the simulation and training industry are stepping forward as key allies as the Department of Defense makes development of a skilled cybersecurity workforce the top priority in its increasingly critical mission to defend depart-ment networks against cyber-attacks.

The latest DoD strategy paper on cybersecurity, released in April, lays out a broad approach to safeguarding its own systems, while also responding to significant attacks on the U.S. cyber-infrastructure and developing cyber-capabilities to support military operations. In that effort, the first goal listed is to build and maintain both a cybersecurity cadre and supporting capabilities.

Following up on its 2013 decision to establish a Cyber Mission Force, which when fully operational will include nearly 6,200 mili-tary, civilian and contractor support personnel from across the mili-tary departments and defense components, the report said that DoD now “must make good on that investment by training its people, building effective organizations and command and control systems, and fully developing the capabilities that DoD requires to operate in cyberspace.”

The strategy paper also emphasizes the need for the department to work with the private sector, and in this case both academia and industry appear ready to respond.

In a field once dominated by informal networks of hackers shar-ing security information among themselves, where only a decade ago college cybersecurity courses were a rarity, today hundreds of programs offer instruction, from basic training at community col-leges to universities offering advanced degrees. More than 150 schools are currently designated as centers of excellence by the National Security Administration.

The simulation and training industry also sees major opportuni-ties in cybersecurity, and is coming forward with products designed to leverage their expertise in computer-based learning. For example, one system seeks to provide “a full, instrumented, synthetic cyber-warfare training environment.”

The courses of instruction run the gamut from day-to-day op-eration of standard security systems to high-level strategy. Learners range from active duty servicemembers receiving DoD instruction supported by contractors to uniformed personnel and veterans en-rolled in degree programs designed to prepare them for senior secu-rity positions in government and industry.

advanced education

One issue that both customers and providers must face involves choosing between focused training targeted to specific operational needs and postsecondary degrees covering the range of technology and policy topics. While the distinction between the two approaches is not hard and fast, analysts say a correct choice based on the target group is critical to effectiveness and efficiency.

For the Information Assurance Center at Iowa State University (ISU), the focus is on cybersecurity degrees at the graduate level.

The institution offers master of science or master of engineering de-grees, either through traditional campus-based classes or online.

“When we first started the program, we felt that for security pro-fessionals who would do more of the planning and occupy positions higher in an organization, an advanced degree was the way to go—having the foundation of a computer science or software engineer-ing as your fundamental platform, and then adding security on top of that. We targeted students who could quickly move themselves up in the security arena,” recalled Doug Jacobson, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of the center.

“If you look at the landscape, there are community colleges pro-ducing people in the security area, four-year schools and schools pro-ducing people with advanced degrees. They all have a different role and organization. The community colleges tend to be the ones for

running the equipment, while as you move up into the advanced degrees, they are going to be more into high-end design,” he continued. “Our role here at ISU is to train the people who can be higher up in the command structure as far as cybersecurity, and also to help up-train people.”

Although many students are clearly bound for the much larger field of private sector-cybersecurity, the ISU program has seen an uptick in the number of applicants from DoD,

either here on campus or through distance education, Jacobson said, adding that enrollees include people in an IT role in DoD who are looking to retrain themselves into a security role.

Jacobson offered this perspective on military needs: “If you look at a place like U.S. Cyber Command, you are going to have more peo-ple who are the focused experts on a certain type of technology—the firewall person and intrusion detection person. That’s a great place for people with specific types of training. But if you look at some of the issues of broader threats or advanced persistent threats, having a broader background has a real benefit. But they’re not mutually ex-clusive. We graduate students all the time who then take some highly specialized courses and sit for various certifications.”

Another leader in this field is Grantham University, which offers three primary programs to help students develop expertise--a bach-elor’s degree in information systems security and certificates in cyber-security concepts and advanced cybersecurity. All three programs are aligned with the industry-standard CompTIA Network+ and Security+ exams, with actual practice certification exams within the courses. The bachelor’s degree is also in alignment to the Certified Informa-tion Systems Security Professional certification.

The bachelor’s degree program covers such topics as cryptogra-phy, access control, computer forensics and risk management. Stu-dents delve into the policies, strategies and tools necessary to secure

By haRRison donnelly, mt2 editoR

Education and Training for Cybersecurity

Doug Jacobson

[email protected]

academic and industRy pRogRams help dod puRsue its goal of developing a sKilled cyBeR woRKfoRce.

Special Section


grantham.edu/mt2Copyright© 2015 Grantham University • All rights reserved • grantham.edu • DEAC accredited • #207

and protect critical infrastructure, data and services, and virtualiza-tions and simulation labs give students opportunities to apply theory in realistic situations.

A large majority of those enrolled in the information systems security degree program are active-duty military or veterans, noted Nancy Miller, Ph.D., dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, who added, “Cybersecurity is an ideal field for transitioning military service members wanting to continue their focus on keep-ing America safe, and Grantham’s cybersecurity programs are a perfect complement to their military training and security-focused work ethic.”

American Military University offers a broad array of online degree and cer-tificate programs, including bachelor’s and master’s degrees in cybersecurity, information systems and information technology with concentrations on information assurance or digital fo-rensics. Undergraduate certificates in-clude cybercrime, digital forensics and information security planning.

As for the distinction between frontline and advanced educa-tion, Dan Benjamin, dean of the School of Science, Technology, En-gineering and Math for the American Public University System, said “You need both. As an analogy, we need skills in both guerilla war-fare and traditional, sustained warfare to contain an enemy. We offer full-degree programs to prepare seasoned professionals in the field. We also offer targeted, 18-credit certificates to address more focused cybersecurity education.”

simulation and tRaining

Training and simulation companies see significant opportunities in working with the military on cybersecurity issues, which are both similar and different from other types of training.

“We do the same kinds of things in cyberspace that we do in the operational space, from the standpoint that you have to understand

what kinds of things people need training in, what the specifics of those operations are, how DoD is going to want to train them—what they consider basic, medium or advanced—and help them define and build those tool sets,” observed

John Stevens, chief technology officer for Cole Engineering.“That’s even more complicated in cyber than in operations because

this area is evolving so rapidly, which makes it that much harder to keep up,” Stevens continued. “What’s state of the art today is not what was

state of the art last month, so in the conventional training systems arena of acquisition, the cycles are way too long to deal with that. We need to find ways of building more flexible systems that can be updated and adapted in a con-trolled fashion in the field so you don’t have to go back to the contractor for another 12-to-18-month cycle to build and field another version to deal with something that’s obsolete even before you build the first iteration.”

One key challenge lies in under-standing what the DoD customer

needs to communicate to trainees, he noted. “That is complicated in this area, because a lot of this information is classified, with good rea-son. But if we don’t know what you are trying to do, we can’t help you very effectively. If you can’t tell us what kinds of things you need to train, or what the operational people are doing, we can’t help. The second piece is how to streamline the acquisition cycle so they can get things that are relevant in the hands of people who need it in this arena where things are changing overnight.”

Stevens pointed to his firm’s work with the Army OneSAF pro-gram, an open-source, common constructive simulation platform. “One of the capabilities we integrated into OneSAF is for computer net-work operations, which allows operators to simulate denial of service and other kinds of attacks on nodes in the mission command network inside OneSAF. That affects the model’s ability to see and react to things in the battlespace, and is reflected in the mission command systems,

Dan Benjamin John Stevens

john.stevens@ coleengineering.com


For more information about our degree programs andspecialized corporate training in information assurance, visit www.elo.iastate.edu/infas or contact us at [email protected] or 515-294-0659.

> Coursework is 100% online and flexible to suit your schedule.> Affordable tuition and fees.> Learn from the same respected professors in the same classes as our resident students.> Many lab-based courses, providing hands-on experience.

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because they don’t respond the way you would think or don’t do things that they should. The staff gets training in recognizing that something isn’t right.”

Scalable Network Technologies, meanwhile, has developed the Network Defense Trainer (NDT), which integrates real and simulated cyberattacks, wired and wireless virtual networks, live and virtual equipment and applications and traditional kinetic warfare training simulators into a cyber-warfare training environment.

Trainees, who can include everyone from commander to network administrators in the same exercise, use their real battlefield applica-tions and network defense tools on role-player stations that are mapped to virtual nodes within NDT. The training is fast-paced for operational speeds, and is centered on awareness, reaction time, correct action, workarounds and countermeasures, along with the ability to work through a degraded cyber environment at all levels to complete a mis-sion. It logs all trainee actions and attack successes, then reinforces les-sons learned with after-action reviews that show trainees and observers what actually happened and why.

The advantages are many, according to a company spokesman. Both blue and red assets and networks can be modeled and attacked, combining kinetic and cyber warfare, with damage in one domain af-fecting performance in the other. Accurate modeling provides high-fi-delity responses to real attacks and defenses. The system integrates real exploitation tools into a safe training environment allowing trainees to detect when something is wrong, assess what is happening, contain the attack, take countermeasures and modify operations.

Another approach has been taken by RUAG Defense, which has de-veloped a cyber center of excellence that differentiates between train-ing for commanders, operators of systems that are connected to the cyber domain, and computer network operations personnel.

Unlike training programs that focus on technical platforms and red versus blue training, RUAG focuses on training processes and inclusion of important peers, while also pushing integrated educa-tion and training in business continuity and crisis management and lessons learned.

“We think that system-specific education will also be increasingly valued,” a company executive observed. “A lot of system providers these days include security training in one form or another. Harvest-ing the power of these singular trainings and including them in train-ing for basic education of soldiers will greatly improve cyber-readiness.

“Last but not least, we strive to educate current and future lead-ers about cyber and train them to use force projection through cyber effectively. This is clearly further advanced than today’s cyber emer-gency training. After all, cyber is not that complicated, and good deci-sion-makers will make good decisions if they understand its peculiari-ties better than they would if they were only to trained follow certain processes if something bad happens,” the cyber specialist added. O

For more information, contact MT2 Editor Hank Donnelly at [email protected] or search our online archives

for related stories at www.mt2-kmi.com.

Special Section


With future military operations expected increasingly to occur in the world’s burgeoning cities, military trainers and their industry partners are stepping up efforts to develop effective technology and formats for military operations in urban terrain (MOUT) training.

“With the wind-down of U.S. direct combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the re-balancing of our forces, uncertainty ex-ists as to how future threats will translate into the look and functionality of our military MOUT facili-ties,” said Kit Lavell, executive vice president for Stra-tegic Operations Inc. “After September 11, we learned that we needed to rapidly redesign and rebuild our Cold War-looking training facilities to meet the new, asymmetric threat. Strategic Operations believes the emphasis in the immediate future will be on more affordable, re-configurable, mobile, multi-purpose MOUT facilities.”

To meet those needs, Strategic Operations offers new products. Their patented Re-locatable Habi-tat Unit (RHU) is based on a 4-foot by 8-foot com-posite material panel system that is lightweight (less than 100 pounds), and engineered to assemble into multi-story, complex configurations with only one tool.

“The RHU is designed by movie-industry profes-sionals and military tacticians to faithfully replicate any area of the world in look, construction material and type, offering a wide array of textures and looks,” said Lavell. “An international client has asked Strate-gic Operations to assemble a MOUT with more than one hundred RHUs inside a climate-controlled struc-ture for day and night operations.”

Other clients have asked the company to build realistic interiors inside live-fire shoot houses, similar to a first-of-its-kind project for a 35,000-square-foot shoot house they built for a U.S. special operations client. “With 52 different zones, including residences with furniture and appliances, a hotel with a revolving door, a bank with teller stalls and vault, a school, and a medical clinic, the interiors of the shoot house are all made of architec-tural foam. The result was unprecedented hyper-realism with no ricochet danger in an affordable and easily repairable environment,” said Lavell.

Other new products are merchant ship simulators built for Navy MOUT facilities and a series of modular MOUT structures built spe-cifically for mission rehearsal by special operations units. Lavell said these structures replicate real-world facilities of many descriptions, built quickly for timely operational requirements. Exteriors and interiors have realistic props, sets, and other “atmospherics,” all of which add to the “willing suspense of disbelief” that the operators are not in the actual facility.

flexiBle scenaRios

Another key trend is to invest in the next step for urban train-ing by scaling up the single shoot house to entire villages in which maneuver training can be conducted. The need is all the more press-ing with the wind-down of operations in Southwest Asia, where re-

al-world missions spurred intensive development of warfighters’ skills in dense environments.

MOUT training is leaning toward greater need for flexibility and for forces to train as many scenarios and in as many different areas as possible, observed Oliver Meyer, senior vice president of simulation and training for RUAG Schweiz AG.

“A single and permanently instrumented location operated by a third party no longer meets all the needs of modern forces,” he said. “They need technology that is mobile, robust and easy to use anywhere, yet still cap-tures all the data required for effective training and a detailed after-action review.”

RUAG offers the Mobile CTC (combat training cen-ter) concept to deliver customers the flexibility they need. “With our concept, customers can ‘train as they fight’ using our Gladiator harness and high-fidelity 1- and 2-way laser simulation for accurate ballistics for a range of light and heavy weapons,” said Meyer. “In addi-tion, Mobile CTC encompasses a vehicle-based EXCON and mobile transponders to ensure the data connection between all participants and provide a platform for in-depth exercise analysis out in the field.”

The MOUT training market is changing in terms of what specific skills forces want to train and which envi-ronmental and situational factors need to be replicated

in the training exercise, he added. “The expectation is that more military operations will occur in

urban environments, but also that this comes along with an asym-metric threat and an enemy concealed within the normal popula-tion,” Meyer said. “Target identification therefore becomes a skill that needs to be increasingly trained, as does appropriate force escalation. The challenge that forces and providers face today is to provide com-prehensive and realistic training of the traditional infantry skills of fire and movement, within a wider framework that responds to the more complex nature of modern urbanized warfare and the enhanced scrutiny soldiers’ actions come under in this age of rapid and global information exchange.”

With MOUT sites returning to combined arms live fire and de-cisive action force-on-force operations, instrumented MOUT train-ing is evolving back to what it was prior to the September 11 attacks and the global war on terrorism, suggested Gray Campbell, senior program manager, General Dynamics Information Technology.

By eRin flynn Jay, mt2 coRRespondent

industRy pRovides challenging enviRonments foR waRfighteRs pRepaRing foR opeRations in the woRld’s teeming cities.

Kit lavell

[email protected]

oliver meyer

[email protected]

MT2 20.3 | 11 www.MT2-kmi.com

General Dynamics IT first instrumented MOUT training in 1995 with the Army MOUT site at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Polk, La.

“This occurred due to the commanding general of JRTC and Fort Polk desiring a state-of-the-art MOUT site that utilized technology to upgrade the training fa-cility,” said Campbell. “From 1996 to 2010, the Army built numerous MOUT sites across domestic and for-eign locations, where the majority of training was pla-toon live-fire exercises (using training ammunition) and/or company-level force-on-force (using blank am-munition and laser technology).”

Once units started to deploy to Iraq and Afghani-stan, many of the MOUT sites supported mission re-hearsal exercises (MRE) for units preparing for opera-tions. The training consisted of situational training utilizing a large number of civilian role players depicting Iraqi and/or Afghan civilians. The CTC MOUT sites were utilized for these MREs.

“Now that the Army has moved to training for Decisive Action Training Environment (DATE) operations, MOUT sites are returning to supporting a wide variety of live-fire operations. The level of operation has increased, with many MOUT sites supporting company-battalion-level force-on-force operations,” said Campbell.

complex villages

MOUT villages often have more than 30 build-ings. “Multiply that by floorplans ranging from as few as two rooms up to six-story structures with over 60 rooms plus hallways, as well as maneuver areas cover-ing the approach and between structures, and the tech-nology required to capture video and provide training enablers within the areas of interest can be extensive,” said Campbell. “In response to this complex under-taking within MOUT as well as for the larger training area, General Dynamics IT created a range management solution to promote range safety and support daily operations to maximize range utilization.”

General Dynamics IT’s solution is built on a COTS architecture and ties in peripheral solutions that configure the system to support re-porting of daily activities, inventory control, maintenance, vehicle and personnel tracking and wireless network communications that can complement/supplant legacy land mobile radios.

The solution then presents a common operating picture of range operational status and health to credentialed users through a stan-dard Web page. Campbell said this solution was designed to allow the range manager to take control of the information he receives from down range.

Through a Web page, the range manager can get up-to-date re-porting on the range schedule, operational status, inventory, who is currently signed into the range and where they are now. The range manager can also receive feedback and monitor the status of the ranges being overseen, as well as standardize the methods used to capture and access that information.

On ranges as large and complex as MOUT, General Dynamics IT believes this type of capability will promote safety and support techni-cal and operational management of the ranges role players, support personnel, and technologies to help maintain a safe and fully mission-capable training environment as the training evolves and expands into the future.

New opposing force (OPFOR) threats are being utilized, such as offensive and defensive cyber operations and continued use of role play-

ers. The Army also trains against the new DATE OPFOR model, which includes a wide range of threats, such as criminals, insurgents, guerrillas, paramilitary and mi-litia forces and regular OPFOR military organizations.

“The majority of these threats migrate to built-up areas, so Army MOUT sites must support this level of training. Additionally, military units are increasingly utilizing actual civilian infrastructure to conduct large-scale training exercises,” said Campbell.

General Dynamics IT provides low-cost, flexible and portable instrumentation solutions to support live-fire exercises within existing and civilian facilities. In addi-tion, the company offers a live-fire, force-on-force train-

ing system, introducing increased training stressors with live, realistic scenarios to support a new level of advanced training that incorporates judgmental shooting and rules of engagement decision-making.

tRaining feedBacK

Another advance is represented by the ability of Saab’s MOUT in-strumentation system to provide meaningful and mea-surable training feedback at platoon and company level, according to Steve Parrish, business development man-ager for Saab.

“The system’s hardware and software is designed to deal with the overwhelming amount of activity data that is typically generated above section level, and pres-ent it in a selectable manner that leads to meaningful feedback—effectively clearing the fog of war,” he said. “Earlier MOUT training systems on the market placed the emphasis on providing detailed positional tracking of individual exercise players, augmented with hours of

surveillance video that required editing.”Typically, the positional tracking solutions were expensive and

complex, and did not rise to the challenge of coping with hundreds of exercise players in the three-dimensional environment of urban ter-rain and the frequent transitions into the open, Parrish noted. These systems were effectively designed to train building/room entry tactics and techniques and hostage rescue, but did not properly lend them-selves to the broader spectrum of larger-scale collective training.

Saab’s approach has been to design a scalable system that can be readily configured to meet any exercise size, together with nodes of special interest, and software (WinExcon) that can match surveillance video footage to timed events and multiple selectable locations to enable timely and lesson-rich after-action reviews to be conducted.

“WinExcon has the tools to mine exercise data to facilitate ac-tionable conclusions. WinExcon can visually aggregate and de-ag-gregate the unfolding exercise and enable pockets of interest to be viewed, view the flow of battle or at a higher level,” he said.

Saab’s instrumented MOUT technology not only addresses tracking and data management, Parrish noted, but also accurately simulates the composition of the urban environment to enable the realistic simulation of “shoot through walls” for direct and in-direct fires. Further, Saab’s unique two-way simulation of armored fight-ing vehicles’ main gun and soldier-fired anti-structure weapons en-able their effects against buildings to be realistically simulated.

Steve Parrish

Gray Campbell

[email protected]


Urban warfare is now reliant on intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance feeds to provide the crucial intelli-gence needed, and Saab’s MOUT system can now replicate this with-out the need for real-world assets.

The system is not only scalable, but is also configured to be read-ily integrated to external virtual and constructive domains with the use of Saab’s WISE software, which enables connectivity regardless of protocols, standards and architectures.

“For many years, we have been seeing armies investing in skill houses, and much attention on high-accuracy measurement systems for the individual soldier. A lot of focus has been put on high-resolu-tion indoor tracking solutions such as ultra-wideband (UWB). Much has been an engineering approach, and when observing individuals or just a few soldiers inside a single building, this makes perfect sense,” said Parrish.

The problem arises when these lessons are scaled up to a require-ment for an entire MOUT training village. This has led to very expen-sive solutions, or in some cases uneven performance when UWB has been deployed at village size. Another lane of action has been to take video to the extreme and just have massive video coverage instead of a tracking system. But after-action reviews have proven very time-con-suming and difficult to analyze with this approach, Parrish continued.

“The mix of a medium-accuracy indoor tracking system combined with strategic video will enable an automated selection of applicable footage,” said Parrish. “The tactical training system gives who is shoot-ing and who is getting hit, while indoor tracking tells us where these persons are located at that specific time and thus enables automated extraction of the correct video frames.”

scaling up

Military training programs are now investing in the next step for urban training by scaling up the single shoot house to entire villages to conduct maneuver training. Here, Saab is seeing a trend that it isn’t just about urban skills alone, but more about the full spectrum of requirements from crowded alleys to open plains. It is becoming evident that the modern training site must offer a seamless battle flow between open and urban terrain.

This means that an urban training package is so much more than indoor tracking. It is about simulating indirect fire effects on building and its inhabitants, high-fidelity shooting through walls, and ambient effects such as sounds, odors, fire and smoke.

Although not a specifically new product, Saab is offering a new module to its MOUT system to enable CBRN training to be conducted. This add-on capability supports specific standalone CBRN training, and also adds another facet to collective urban training. The CBRN simulates the nature and the spread of contaminants and their effect on field detection equipment. Further, the system simulates the ef-fects of the use/non-use of personal protection equipment and decon-tamination measures.

Saab has always had the approach that any new training needs must be an add-on to the baseline tactical training system. The Saab Gamer system, designed for open terrain training, has been growing, with expansion packs for urban training, counter-IED and lately, CBRN.

“By having this approach, we are trying to create the military training equivalent of a giant box of Legos. There will always be new pieces, but they will leverage all the pieces you already have invested in,” said Parrish.

The approach also means that it’s up to military users to use the pieces they need for their specific scenarios. A straightforward urban hostage rescue mission could suddenly evolve into facing suicide bombers using chemical bombs, thus forcing the response of HAZMAT teams. The concept is that the training staff will be able to apply what-ever pieces of training equipment to the topical threat.

The use of virtual training aids is increasing, and there is also a realization of the need for blended training involving the mix of live, virtual and constructive simulation domains. Military leaders under-stand that they must train for urban operations and also rehone con-ventional skills.

Moving more and more into virtual training as a potential cost saver is certainly a growing trend. The virtual simulators are great for training where the actual machine isn’t trained, Parrish said. “By that we mean that the tank or airplane itself isn’t necessary to be put to the harsh environment. Rather, the crew should be trained. This truly ap-plies to vehicles, aircraft and ships.

“But for an individual soldier, he is the actual ‘machine’ and it is he who must be subjected to the reality of environment. There is no virtual simulator that can make you run for hours, jump and crawl in the freezing rain like reality can. So for the boots on the ground, live training will prevail as the main learning tool.” O




Data PacKetS

Training Exercise Develops Stability OperationsAfrican Lion 15, a joint military exercise held in

Morocco this spring, included development and training for a combined force for stability operations. During the exercise, Marines with 2nd Law Enforcement Battalion demonstrated crowd-control procedures against a group of Moroccan, Dutch and Belgium soldiers acting as an unruly crowd. Exercise African Lion 15 is an annually scheduled U.S.-Moroccan exercise designed to improve mutual under-standing of each nation’s tactics, techniques and procedures while demonstrating the strong bond between the two nation’s militaries. The one-week exercise includes various types of military training, including a command post exercise and stability operations such as nonlethal weapons training and crisis/disaster response training.

Rockwell Collins has released the EP-8100 image generation system, a high-fidelity image generator aimed at the mili-tary simulation and training market. One of the key differentiators of the EP-8100 is the system’s ability to utilize customers’ existing databases. It features conversion software that allows existing Rockwell Collins synthetic environments, as well as many industry-standard synthetic envi-ronments, to run on the EP-8100. These converted environments can be executed in their original form or may be enhanced to

take advantage of the unique capabilities of the EP-8100. In addition to the EP-8100, Rockwell Collins is showing its RealFires transportable trainer, a high-fidelity, scal-able training solution designed by experi-enced joint fires operators for the joint fires community. This rapidly deployable training system contains up to three cases for the controller, the instructor and an optional role player. The training system sets up in minutes and is easy to use and edit.

Dave Gosch;[email protected]

Engineering and Computer Simulations (ECS) has integrated technologies from two major U.S. tech firms to create a total virtual world game for training in which the player is fully integrated into the game action. ECS integrated Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect 2 hardware into the Oculus Rift headset to produce a virtual world that is directed by the player’s body movements. Lift an arm and you can land a helicopter on an oil rig. Take a step and you might rescue a buddy from peril in an active battle. The game completely eliminates the player console device, and all activity is directed by the player’s body. The Oculus Rift stereoscopic, head-mounted display provides a wide-angle, 3-D perspective of the game environ-ment, while Kinect capability registers body movements and initiates game action. This integration elevates virtual-reality worlds to their next level of sophistication and brings them closer to full virtual world integration. “We’ve talked for years about completely eliminating the line between player and game,” said Howard Mall, ECS vice presi-dent of engineering. “This is an exciting and significant step toward achieving that, and although we’ve not completely eliminated the line yet, we’ve blurred it quite a lot.”

High-Fidelity Image Generator Seeks Military Market

Virtual Training World Directed by Player Body

Movements


Alenia Aermacchi has unveiled the M-345 Ground-Based Training Demonstrator Device, an advanced flight simulator representative of the flight qualities of the Alenia Aermacchi M-345 HET (High-Efficiency Trainer) aircraft and offering a replica of the cockpit and the main flight controls of the aircraft. The ground-based training system, which includes aircraft flight and systems simulators and computer-based training devices, is a key compo-nent of the new M-345 HET integrated training system. M-345 HET provides air forces with an economically affordable and effective

solution, thanks to a significant reduc-tion in acquisition and life-cycle costs, compared to those of powerful turbo-prop trainer aircrafts. M-345 benefits from the jet performance and from the expanded flight envelope, both in terms of speed and altitude, which ensure more training per flight hour and higher training download capa-bility from the subsequent advanced/LIFT phase, providing important cost savings in producing a fast jet pilot. With

the M-345, flying the same number of flight hours, the student pilot can complete Phase 2 with a significantly higher skill level.

To strengthen teaming skills for manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) operations, a new training game is being developed with the Army Research Institute by Aptima and partners Trideum Corp, ASTi, Kinex and Imprimis. The Night Vision Tactical Trainer-Shadow game is designed to prepare unmanned aerial system operators to effectively communicate and coordinate with pilots of manned helicopters, ground commanders and other manned assets. While UAS training prepares operators to fly platforms and operate payloads, such as capturing surveillance imagery, the evolution of MUM-T has placed greater emphasis on real-time collaboration with helicopter pilots. Funded

through a Department of the Army Rapid Innovation Fund contract, the simulator utilizes the Army’s ONESAF game engine and COTS speech recognition technology, providing the Army a lower-cost, readily acces-sible training vehicle that can be used from any Internet-connected computer. By incorporating synthetic entities and natural language processing that emulates voice and chat interactions, an individual UAS operator can practice communications and coordination in teaming scenarios without requiring live pilots and other participants.

Kevin Sullivan;[email protected]

Bohemia Interactive Simulations (BISim) has demonstrated its new image-generation software, VBS IG, for flight simula-tion. BISim has integrated VBS3 with JSBSim open-source flight dynamics models for the F-16 and attack helicopters. JSBSim provides the aerodynamics, flight control system, propulsion and other elements to approximate realistic flight dynamics within the simulator. VBS3 serves as the CIGI host for VBS IG. VBS3 was programmed to provide an F-16 HUD, using CIGI symbology to create a 2-D overlay on VBS IG. BISim also integrated capabilities into VBS3 for multiple inputs, including joysticks, wheels, yokes and pedals used with flight simulators and image generators. The six-channel flight simulation demo at ITEC will be displayed on a 4-meter dome provided by Immersive Displays. D-BOX Technologies is providing a motion platform with its Motion Code and has worked with BISim to integrate it into VBS3.

Tess Butler;[email protected]

Training Game Strengthens Manned-Unmanned Operations

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg recently visited the Multinational Military Flight Crew Training Center in Izmir, Turkey, where he flew with simulators produced by Havelsan. [Photo courtesy of Havelsan]

Ground Demonstrator Supports High-Efficiency Trainer

Image Software Offers Realistic Flight Dynamics

Compiled by KMI Media Group staff


Colonel Bradley M. “Critter” Crites is commander of the Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation (AFAMS), which is the lead agent for centralized management of Air Force cross-functional and shared live, virtual and constructive operational training (LVC-OT) foundational capabilities and resources sup-porting the Air Force service core functions. As commander, Crites is responsible for overseeing Air Force initiatives for en-terprise solutions that will help build an efficient foundation to achieve “Readiness Thru LVC,” and allow warfighters to maxi-mize performance and decision-making.

Crites was commissioned through Reserve Officer Training Corps in 1991, following graduation from the University of Cali-fornia, Irvine. During his career, he was commander of the 43rd Electronic Combat Squadron, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., and served four times as a deployed squadron commander of the 41st Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron, Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.

His previous assignments include: chief of Officer Develop-ment Branch, Air Combat Command Manpower and Person-nel, Langley AFB, Va.; chief of EC-130H formal training and assistant director of operations, 755th Operations Support Squadron, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.; wing air operations of-ficer and AC-130U weapons and tactics officer, Hurlburt Field, Fla.; and missile maintenance officer with Minuteman III ICBMs at Minot Air Force Base, N.D. Crites has also served with the Army as part of Combined Joint Task Force Paladin and Headquarters International Security Assistance Force, Kabul, Afghanistan.

Before assuming his current position, Crites served as deputy director of operations, 12th Air Force, Air Force Southern, U.S. Southern Command, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. He shared re-sponsibility for overseeing operations for active duty wings, as well as guard and reserve flying units; planning and executing counter-drug and ISR operations and exercise efforts through-out the 31 nations of Latin America and the Caribbean; and over-seeing USSOUTHCOM’s radar architecture, medical operations and exercises. He is a command pilot with combat experience in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

Q: How would you define the live, virtual and constructive (LVC) concept, and what does the motto of your command, “Readiness Thru LVC,” mean to you?

A: The LVC concept is a fundamental capability that should be at the heart of all training programs supporting readiness in the Air Force. Live simulations involve real people operating real sys-tems; virtual simulations involve real people operating simulated systems or environments; and constructive simulations involve simulated people operating simulated systems. Training in the LVC construct is vital for mission success, not only in the Air Force, but in all services. The training environment that we call LVC-Operational Training (LVC-OT) links Air Force organizations and allows interaction with various military capabilities around the world.

“Readiness Thru LVC” means changing the traditional train-ing paradigm to maximize warfighter readiness in the Air Force. As budget constraints cause a decrease in live training, the Air Force needs to increase their simulators’ capacity and fidelity to achieve the readiness required for tomorrow’s missions. Fur-thermore, emerging fifth-generation training is bound to high-fidelity simulators for both security and capability requirements. We need to be ready to capitalize on synergies that increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our airmen training through high-end simulation.

Q: What is the role of the AFAMS in managing Air Force LVC capabilities?

Colonel Bradley M. CritesCommander

Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation


LVC DeployerChanging the Training Paradigm to Maximize Readiness

Q&AQ&A

A: In 1995, General Ronald Fogleman, chief of staff of the Air Force, established AFAMS as the top-level modeling and simu-lation (M&S) implementer and integrator. In February 2013 the secretary of the Air Force and the chief of staff signed the LVC-operational training flight plan designating AF/A3/5 and AFAMS as the lead integrator for LVC. AFAMS is now the office of primary responsibility in the Air Force, and fortu-nate to be based in Orlando, Fla., close to the nation’s largest epicenter of modeling, simulation and training organizations.

AFAMS works closely with the Air Force major commands and supports those cus-tomers by identifying, coordinating and implementing solution options for every aspect of the Air Force Enterprise-level LVC-OT. Every year, AFAMS supports nu-merous service and joint exercises, such as Blue Flag, Red Flag, Austere Challenge, Key Resolve and many others. AFAMS is responsible for the implementation of pol-icy, guidance and for orchestrating the Air Force LVC foundations and integration sup-port as stated in AFPD 16-10, Modeling and Simulation and other Headquarters Air Force (HAF)-approved authoritative sources.

Q: Is LVC for operational training different from other types of LVC, and if so, what makes it different?

A: LVC simulation techniques have been under study by Air Force researchers since the early 1990s. The current intricate user needs and the increased advances in technology make LVC-OT the primary way to train across the Air Force’s full spectrum of missions. Enforcing compliance to more interoperable, related standards could lead to a “plug and play” environment. From AFAMS’s point of view, there’s no difference. We use the same foundational blocks to train our airmen through the array of op-erational to tactical-level training. Later on, as missions evolve, they will adapt the training to meet the needs of the warfighter and the ever-changing threat landscape.

Q: You are responsible for overseeing Air Force initiatives for enterprise solutions that will help build an efficient foundation to achieve readiness thru LVC. What are some of the current initiatives under way?

A: AFAMS’s top three priorities to assist in realizing the vision of Air Force LVC are:

• Cybersecurity. An Air Force leadership operational concern that must be incorporated into our training environment. This involves everything from personal information to operational data. Through its cybersecurity team, AFAMS performs independent security-risk assessments on operational training LVC systems. With more than 150 LVC training systems in the Air Force, our cybersecurity team is actively developing security control overlays for each system

to execute the information security process. We are now heavily engaged with our distributed training centers in the process of securing our LVC training systems and making them compliant with the new certification and accreditation process called the “risk management framework.” The goal is to develop a certification and accreditation users’ guide in the future that will be utilized for all Air Force LVC systems.

• EstablishmentofLVCstandards. The Air Force recognizes that it’s time to formulate a new approach and move to an enterprise-level process when crafting standards for LVC-OT. Currently, training organizations make standards implementation decisions based on MAJCOM-specific requirements, increasing costs and limiting interoperability. Because they are not synchronized across the enterprise when placed in a mission scenario that requires these disparate simulators to communicate and exchange simulations information, it presents technical challenges that impede the operational training of the event. These standards will provide a baseline to facilitate interoperability across systems being utilized within the enterprise.

• Finally,theimplementationofanLVC-enterpriseframeworkwecalltheAirForceLVC-OperationalTrainingReadinessTrainingCenters(RTCs). Since 2013, the Air Force A3 and AFAMS, with the chief of staff’s approval, have been continuously working to formalize a construct for the Air Force Distributed Training Centers. These are operationally managed within the MAJCOMS and also serve as the portal for connectivity of LVC activities with other geographically disparate locations across and outside the MAJCOMS. This initiative will help us standardize equipment and data to be more efficient in reusing authoritative data and eliminate duplicative technologies to meet readiness needs. Last year, AFAMS developed a program guidance letter (PGL), and in conjunction with AF/A3O-C is coordinating a

Located in Orlando, Fla., the Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation is the lead agent for centralized management of Air Force cross-functional and shared live, virtual and constructive operational training foundational capabilities. [Photo courtesy of the U.S. Air Force]


new Air Force instruction (AFI) that redefines current lines of authority and realigns them to effectively contribute to AF readiness across the LVC-OT enterprise. We expect to establish seven new RTCs once the PGL gets approved. These are enduring efforts behind our driving factor—readiness. A coordinated and integrated approach to LVC is the next evolution of the AF strategy to build the best possible training environment for the warfighter.

Q: How have your personal experiences as a combat pilot shaped your approach to LVC?

A: I define it as a frontline perspective. My operational experi-ences allow me to stay plugged in with those operators currently confronting asymmetrical threats and provide the warfighter the best training possible.

Q: How are you working with other Air Force commands to develop and implement standards for common access and interoperability within the LVC domains?

A: Last year, Lieutenant General Burton Fields, deputy chief of staff operations (AF/A3), tasked AFAMS to develop and coordi-nate the Air Force LVC-OT Technical Standards Profile, which provides a good first step to achieving “Readiness Thru LVC.”

These LVC-OT standards will assist acquisition and training managers to make informed decisions that influence interoper-ability and operational training, thus impacting readiness. This year, AFAMS partnered with participants of the Enterprise Data Service (EDS), formerly called the Rapid Data Generation pro-gram, to leverage their Common Data Production Environment. M&S EDS minimizes the time and cost required to produce data for modeling and simulation applications. It enables the discov-ery and reuse of data that has already been produced for an M&S application, and facilitates the integration of authoritative source data through Web services.

Q: How would you characterize the state of acceptance of the LVC concept within the Air Force, and what are the factors that encourage and hold back its adoption?

A: The implementation of the LVC construct for training con-tinues to gain “momentum” not only in the Air Force, but in all services. We realize that developing independent, stovepiped capabilities, non-integrated networks and duplicative data is not efficient. The Air Force is working towards an enterprise archi-tectural approach in which LVC simulations can be “plugged in” to support all AF mission sets, from complex to more routine training scenarios. The capabilities exist now. The challenges are many. The budget constraints and the increasing threats we face today requires a balance among these LVC capabilities to preserve operational readiness.

Q: In what ways are the current and anticipated budget constraints affecting the need for and feasibility of LVC programs?

A: During her keynote speech at the 2015 AFA Warfare Sympo-sium, Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James mentioned several examples of what sequestration can cause the Air Force,

specifically on the training environment. Divesting the KC-10 refueler fleet, cutting total force flying hours, weapon system sustainment, simulators and high-end training, such as red and green flag exercises, might need to be enforced, with serious consequences to the warfighter’s readiness training. The final goal is to sustain and enhance readiness by enabling effective, relevant, realistic and efficient training, and test in a secure, persistent and ultimately global live, virtual and constructive domain.

Q: How is your command organized, and what are some of the projects under way within your divisions?

A: AFAMS is a field operating agency in support of the Operations Directorate, HAF, Washington, D.C. The agency has two divisions:

LVC Foundations Support Division: Executes Air Force-level centralized management of cross-functional and shared Air Force LVC-OT foundations (infrastructure, standards, secu-rity, knowledge management and workforce development) to improve interoperability and prevent unnecessary duplication and redundancies across operational training enclaves. This division also provides HAF oversight of cross-functional and shared LVC-OT architecture and standards compliance for LVC operational training.

LVC Operations Engagement Division: Serves as the Air Force LVC-OT focal-point for facilitating the use of cross-functional and shared LVC foundational capabilities and resources in sup-port of Air Force distributed training and LVC-OT enabled events. This division provides global engagement and awareness through direct interface with key stakeholders (major commands, com-batant commands and unit level), identifying, capturing and ad-vocating Air Force LVC-OT requirements, initiatives and capa-bilities for Air Force service core functions. It also provides HAF oversight of cross-functional and shared LVC-OT architecture and standards compliance for LVC operational training.

AFAMS works closely with combatant commands, major commands, Air Force Reserve Command, Air National Guard, Air Force headquarters, direct reporting units and field operating agencies to provide the necessary development and implementa-tion standards for common access and interoperability within the LVC domains for efficient and secure global operations

Q: What role does industry play in your work, and what changes, if any, would you like to see in your industry partnerships?

A: AFAMS is located in Orlando’s Central Florida Research Park. This location is prime for us because we are surrounded by De-partment of Defense, joint, service, contractor and educational organizations focused on modeling and simulation. Proximity to these other agencies offers the Air Force the maximum leverage and advantage of the developing programs and technologies en-hancing the Air Force’s ability to provide ready forces.

Industry is an integral part of the triad known as Team Orlan-do. Industry is one leg that supports the proverbial three-legged stool (DoD, academia, industry), and without a good foundation, the LVC breaks. Collectively, we need to understand all of the challenges and constraints affecting each of us in order to realize the same end goal. It’s always a balancing act of DoD contractual regulation and business guidelines/strategies. O


As they become important tools for military training programs, mo-bile devices such as tablets and smart-phones are changing the way develop-ers create instructional software, and holding out the promise of real-time monitoring of and interaction with students as they learn.

Not only do these increasingly common and affordable devices offer new platforms for conveying content to trainees wherever they are, say ad-vocates, but they also can provide feed-back to help improve performance by both instructors and trainees.

“These devices are becoming situational awareness machines that can keep track of things that are happening in real time,” said How-ard Mall, vice president of engineering for Engineering and Computer Simulations (ECS). “Mobile should be increasingly used to immedi-ately collect information and provide rapid after-action reviews over large exercises in order to provide even better training.”

Analysts also expect that physiological and other types of sen-sors will continue to be a big part of innovative solutions involving mobile technology. “The ability to capture behavioral, cognitive, psy-chological and other data to improve training outcomes will continue to expand,” said Luke DeVore, director of business development for Design Interactive.

“Mobile technologies will enable the capture of this data and will also make it easier for trainers to incorporate this data across the

live-virtual-constructive continuum,” he said. “One challenge will be making sense of the data, or more specifically making sure that the data actually im-proves warfighter training by inform-ing better training design, delivery, remediation and feedback.”

To be sure, adoption of mobile de-vices has occurred on a limited basis in formal training programs as military trainers and developers work to sur-mount the information assurance (IA) security challenges that have slowed adoption of mobile devices for other military needs as well. But they are al-ready playing a vital informal role, not-ed Courtney Dean, senior scientist and A-Measure product lead for Aptima.

“Officially, it’s close to nonexis-tent,” said Dean. “But we’ve observed mobile tools being used on an ad-hoc basis. These are personal pieces of equipment owned by the students, who are using them to capture media data such as photos, which they can

discuss during performance reviews. They don’t have any formal stan-dards or tools embedded in them, but they take photos or capture video of what students are doing.”

moBile devices aRe Reshaping how militaRy tRaining softwaRe is developed and deliveRed to students.

Howard mall

[email protected]

luke DeVore

[email protected]

Courtney Dean

[email protected]

Training on the MoveBy haRRison donnelly

mt2 editoR


While still in its relatively early stages within the military, the potential for mobile device use is growing as the result of technology advances in consumer mar-kets. “The gaming and consumer markets are driving and evolving the mobile technology. The military mar-ket is just along for the ride. Ten years ago, the military market was convinced the only way to train maintain-ers was to stick them on hardware-based training de-vices,” said Scott Ariotti, director of global marketing at Disti Corp.

“Today, virtual-based training devices command the landscape,” he continued. “The military market has been evolving contract by contract and service by service to see that there is a better way. The military market needs to evolve its preconceived notions and policies in how to use this technology.”

Indeed, one imperative for developers going for-ward will be to design training software from the ground up to work on a variety of formats, including desktop PCs, tablets and smartphones.

“We think that when designing any type of soft-ware for training, it’s important to make the applica-tion platform-agnostic. The cost of developing train-ing software isn’t due to the fact that it’s on a tablet, mobile phone or PC. The cost lies in developing the cognitive task analysis (CTA) and mapping the CTA to learning objectives, and then designing the architecture, gameplay and training content. For us, it makes good business sense to make it

available on a range of platforms,” said Carol Wideman, CEO of Vcom3D.

“If you are thinking about delivering a training system or courseware, you should have a strategy to enable it on multiple platforms,” urged Mall. “If you use that strategy up front, you can make technology decisions that will enable you to adapt to the different delivery modes you need.”

moBile playBooK

Like a lot of companies, Design Interactive saw the shift from desktop to mobile and found a few niches within the mobile training domain, DeVore explained. These have included Playbook, a research and development effort through the Army Research Lab that provides a rapid authoring tool for small unit lessons learned.

“The goal is to pull from our warfighters’ experienc-es and provide a highly intuitive and engaging platform for them to animate, narrate, and analyze their experi-ences. It’s a peer-to-peer learning solution aligned with the Army Learning Model (ALM),” he said.

In a different direction, the company is also devel-oping a product called the Mobile Collaborative Anxiety Learning and Management system (MCALM), which is

a tool designed to help veterans living with post-traumatic stress dis-order. MCALM connects physiological sensors with the user’s mobile

Scott ariotti

[email protected]

Carol Wideman

[email protected]

army eases Mobile training access

one sign of the military services’ interest in expanding use of mo-

bile devices for training came recently with an army announcement

that soldiers can now use smartphones and computer tablets to ac-

cess the army’s primary website for training information. Previously,

they needed a computer with a Common access Card (CaC) to find

resources on the army training network (atn).

this spring, the army began allowing users to access atn with

a username and password. army Chief of staff general ray odierno

directed the implementation of username/password access to atn,

the army’s single point of entry for all things training, to ensure widest

access to authoritative training information.

“this is a big step forward for the army. as we create more apps

and websites for training and training management, we must include

the soldier and unit-level training managers at the operational point

of need,” said Colonel thomas J. trossen, director of the training

Management directorate (tMd), which is leading the change at atn.

all users of atn with a CaC have the option from the atn landing

page to sign up for a username and password through the defense

Manpower data Center. users originally needed a CaC card for se-

curity reasons even though the information on atn is unclassified,

explained Charlie ostrand, the technical branch chief for the army

training Management system.

nevertheless, tMd teams needed to make some changes to

atn. they segregated information that is “for official use only,” which

is only available to CaC card users. “some 93 percent of the informa-

tion on atn will be accessible with an internet connection, username

and password,” he said. “units in the field can have online access,

and commanders will not have to carry stacks of training documents.”

atn provides access to a number of training resources, such as

unit training Management, nCo Corner, Combined arms training

strategies, the digital training Management system (CaC users only)

and leader development materials.


device to identify anxiety triggers, provide real-time mitigation strate-gies/exercises, and create an event log for the mental health profes-sional to incorporate into treatment.

There are lots of benefits to mobile use, but they depend on the application of mobile technology, DeVore observed. “One clear benefit is the ability to provide warfighters access to information, training ma-terials and tutorials outside of the classroom and directly at the point of need. Another great and evolving benefit is the ability to socialize learning and to enable warfighters to share their expertise. This sort of informal, peer-to-peer learning is a big part of the ALM 2015.”

A major challenge, he continued, is that “the military services need to provide reasonable guidelines for the integration of mobile technol-ogies into training systems and networks to ensure that training and technology innovations are able to get out to the warfighter and are not hindered by IA and other constraints. But security is a constant and very real concern, so a balance needs to be struck between technologi-cal innovation and security.”

assessment tool

Aptima has focused its efforts in the mobile arena on performance assessment, developing a tool called SPOTLITE, which is designed to give instructors and observer-controllers a lot of flexibility in capturing meaningful performance results for trainees when they are performing their mission-essential tasks.

The tool makes sense, Dean said, because the vast majority of mili-tary domains have a coherent plan for how to assess emerging warf-ighters. They have a concept of what the mission-essential competen-cies are, and a notion of how to assess that. Those tasks are largely done with paper and pencil, however, and then transcribed into records.

“But if the mobile device is developed with the performance assess-ment tools within it, and you have digitally captured that data, both ac-curately and with no loss of data, mobile tools can provide some of the assessment instantaneously. So you can have an effective after-action review just seconds after the action occurred,” Dean noted.

Using SPOTLITE involves identifying the critical tasks and a set of performance measures that are relevant to the mission, and then putting them in a customized interface that meets the use case and best facilitates access to those measures in the circumstances that the trainee and instructor are under, he explained.

“Sometimes instructors and students are in a simulated environ-ment where they aren’t co-located, and the instructor is observing things through a master control room and monitors. At other times, the instructor is with trainees out in the field, possibly carrying a ruck-sack and sleeping in the woods. These different environments will de-mand different ways of interfacing with the tool in order to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. We customize the tool to the different use cases to make it a better experience for the instructor, because if it’s not being used, it’s just another weight in the rucksack,” Dean said.

“The biggest challenge we face is in developing the right system for the specific use case,” he added. “This has led to a lot of variations of the performance assessment tools. It’s valuable in that way, because each unit has a tool that best fits their case. But the challenge is in identify-ing what the particular unit needs to meet its unique circumstances.”

viRtual enviRonments

Disti offers a variety of pathways to enable training on mobile devices, such as the GL Studio ES toolkit, which allows developers

to create cockpit and instrumentation content on iOS or Android devices, either as native applications or as no-plugin WebGL con-tent. Customers use this capability to produce remote instruc-tor operator stations, cockpit familiarization trainers and cockpit procedure trainers.

In addition, the company recently productized VE Studio, a suite of tools used by its professional services team to build custom vir-tual environments for maintenance training applications. VE Stu-dio comprehensively manages virtual environment development, beginning with project requirement identification and analysis and continuing through source data collection, automatic code gen-eration, software build automation and automated regression test-ing. It offers templates for publishing content across desktops and mobile devices.

Disti is also a launch partner with Amazon Web Services for its AppStream application streaming service, which lets trainees stream resource-intensive applications from the cloud. “Any Web-connected device that has the bandwidth capacity to stream a movie has enough horsepower to run a graphically demanding maintenance training ap-plication interactively,” said Ariotti.

The company’s efforts are winning a response, with two of its last three major virtual maintenance training contracts contain-ing requirements for content on mobile devices. The latest is a vir-tual maintenance trainer for the Army UH-72A Lakota that includes a reach-back training capability deploying virtual training content on handheld mobile devices.


Disti is also grappling with the technological challenges involved in mobile training devices, and plans to submit a paper to I/ITSEC conference later this year that will examine the challenges and options for deploying maintenance training applications to mobile devices.

These graphically intense environments often levy hefty requirements on the type of computer capable of delivering the training experience, Ariotti noted. While using a native application ensures that trainees can access the training materials even when there is no Internet connection, mobile graphics processors and limited localized memory also restrict the level of fidel-ity of the virtual environment.

taBlet tRaining

Vcom3D develops all of its interactive games that are used on PCs to also work on tablets, either Android or iOS. For the military, it has developed a series called “Stat!” which includes a game for the emergency room. The tablet- and PC-based application enables learners to im-merse themselves in being members of an ER team, including techni-cians, physicians and nurses.

Vcom3D is also developing blended training that includes virtual training for developing decision-making skills as well as manikin or part-task trainers for practicing hands-on medical skills. “It is similar to live ranges—if you train on a simulator first, you are going to de-velop skills that you can apply in the live training sessions,” said Wide-man. “This reduces the overall cost of training and provides opportuni-ties for sustainment training after deployment. The same thing applies to medical simulation—the cost of purchasing and using mannequins is very expensive. If you train some tasks, especially cognitive training, on a tablet or PC, you will reduce training time, travel requirements, and total cost.

“In the near future, manikins will include sensors that create large amounts of data based on student performance. Software on tablets will receive the data and perform data analytics to capture medically significant information. This information is then input to a physiology model that updates the patient’s medical state and returns the informa-tion to the instrumented manikin. This data is also used for assessing student performance,” Wideman added.

As military agencies try to reduce the amount of staff needed to run trainers, mobile devices that can collect data and give individuals feedback are proving to be cost-saving, she added.

Sensors are the future, Wideman predicted. “Today, we use tab-lets that embed sensors such as accelerometers, GPS, gyroscopes. Software is incorporating these sensors to train warfighters. As we move forward, we’ll see more sensors in our mobile devices and our training environments.”

Another focus is learner-centric training, she continued. Vcom3D has developed a cloud-based social media framework for learning. “This platform includes crowdsourcing information so that warfighters can learn from each other. Information is voted up or down by the com-munity of interest, so that the most useful information or experience floats to the top. As a result, every soldier can be an instructor. We were funded by the Army Research Laboratory to research and develop this cloud-based platform. Initial use cases have been successfully tested,” Wideman said.

teachaBle moments

ECS, whose experience with mobile devices for military training goes back to a project in which it transferred some Navy course content to a long-ago Palm Pilot, has done native, Web and hybrid applications to deliver mobile content.

For example, the company just did some work for the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Co-Lab, which was a system called Per-sonal Ubiquitous Learning System with Adaptive Response (PULSAR). That system takes into account all of the sensor information available on how a person is using the phone, such as when they are actively us-ing it and where they travel.

“Based on that, it can recommend a teachable moment to deliver content based on learning goals. That application was something that we’re just wrapping up, and testing with some combat medic units to get it evaluated,” Mall said.

A few years ago, ECS worked with the Joint Knowledge Online website to put courses on mobile devices. The courseware was trans-ferred to the mobile platform so that it could be downloaded as a pack-age, installed on a phone and then used without being connected.

That project offered a glimpse of some of the issues that have to be addressed in order to maintain system security. “Among the things they did was to make sure that they had no personally identifiable in-formation, and that the server that collected the information was based on a unique ID, which didn’t get resolved until it got transferred to another system that was under an IA capability. So they were able to get credit for taking the courses. But they had to jump through a lot of hoops,” Mall said.

In PULSAR, ECS leveraged ADL’s Experience API, which is a standardized way of reporting learning experiences. “Everything that we collected was done that way, and then put into a learning record store, which allows a lot of analysis to be done across all the data,” he added. O



The SPOTLITE tool is designed to give instructors and observer-controllers flexibility in capturing meaningful performance results for trainees. [Image courtesy of Aptima]


The Army and the Air Force face chal-lenges ensuring that the pilots who remote-ly operate their unmanned aerial systems (UAS) complete their required training. Specifically, a March 2015 Army review showed that most pilots in certain Army units did not complete fundamental train-ing tasks in fiscal year 2014—a finding that GAO corroborated through discussions with pilots in focus groups and unit responses to questionnaires.

In addition, Army unit status reports do not require UAS pilot training information, and as a result, the Army does not know the full extent to which pilots have been trained and are therefore ready to be deployed. In addition, Air Force training records from a non-generalizable sample of seven UAS units showed that, on average, 35 percent of the pilots in these units completed the training for all of their required missions. Pilots in all of the seven focus groups GAO conducted with Air Force UAS pilots stated that they could not conduct training in units because their units had shortages of UAS pilots.

GAO found similar shortages of UAS pi-lots in April 2014, in particular, GAO found that the Air Force operated below its crew ratio, which is a metric used to determine the number of pilots needed in units. At that time, GAO made four recommendations in-cluding that the Air Force update its crew ratio. The Air Force concurred with these recommendations and has taken actions, or has actions under way. For example, an Air Force Headquarters official stated that, in February 2015, the Air Force completed the first phase of a three-phase personnel re-quirements study on the crew ratio and ex-pects to update the crew ratio in 2015. How-ever, at this time, the Air Force has not fully implemented any of the recommendations.

The Army and the Air Force are tak-ing actions to increase the number of UAS instructors, but the Army has not fully ad-dressed the risks associated with using less experienced instructors and the Air Force faces instructor shortages. In order to in-crease the number of its instructors in re-sponse to an increase in the number of UAS units, the Army waived course prerequisites for about 40 percent of the UAS pilots at-tending the course to become instructor pilots from the beginning of fiscal year 2013 through February 2015. The Army original-ly established these prerequisites—such as a minimum number of flight hours—for UAS pilots volunteering to become instructors to help ensure that instructors were fully trained and ready to instruct UAS pilots.

The Army has taken some steps to miti-gate the potential risks of using less profi-cient UAS instructors. For example, begin-ning in fiscal year 2015, the Army no longer grants waivers for course prerequisites re-lated to proficiency. However, the Army can continue to grant waivers for additional course prerequisites related to experience.

As a result, the Army risks that its UAS pilots may not be receiving the highest cali-ber of training needed to prepare them to successfully perform UAS missions. Fur-thermore, as of March 2015, the Air Force had staffed its UAS training squadrons at Holloman Air Force Base at 63 percent of its planned staffing levels. This shortage is a key reason that the Air Force has shortages of UAS pilots across the Air Force, according to an Air Force headquarters official. The Air Force is studying the personnel require-ments for its school and expects to report the results of this study by spring 2016.

This report examines, among other things, the extent to which the Army and the Air Force face challenges ensuring that

their UAS pilots complete required training and have taken steps to ensure they have sufficient numbers of UAS instructors.

Recommendations foR executive action

To provide greater visibility over the extent to which Army UAS units have com-pleted required training to leaders respon-sible for deployment decisions, the secretary of defense should direct the secretary of the Army to require unit status reports to in-clude information on the readiness levels of UAS pilots in UAS units.

To help ensure that Army UAS pilots re-ceive the highest caliber of training to pre-pare them to successfully accomplish UAS missions, the secretary of defense should di-rect the secretary of the Army to take addi-tional steps to mitigate potential risks posed by its waiver of course prerequisites for less experienced UAS pilots attending the course to become instructors, such as by provid-ing additional preparation for current and future instructors who do not meet one or more course prerequisites to enhance their ability to successfully provide training.

To increase opportunities to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of UAS pilot training across DoD, the secretary of defense should direct the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness to address how the services should coordinate with one another in the strategy on UAS pilot train-ing that the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness is cur-rently drafting. O

watchdog agency uRges stepped-up instRuction of dod unmanned aeRial system pilots.

(Editor’s Note: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) on May 14, 2015, released a report entitled, “Unmanned Aerial Sys-tems: Actions Needed to Improve DoD Pilot Training” (GAO-15-461). Following are edited excerpts from the report summary.)



organiZation ProFile

The National Center for Simulation (NCS), located in Orlando, Fla., the world’s epicenter for modeling, training and simulation, is a not-for-profit trade association with government, academic and industry members operating as an open consortium.

With a vision to be the internationally recognized leader in sup-porting and expanding the modeling and simulation community, NCS is committed to promoting M&S technology expansion, sup-porting education and workforce development and providing busi-ness development support to its members.

Initially organized as the Training and Simulation Technology Consortium in 1994, its mission was to support a White House tech-nology reinvestment program aimed at facilitating the transfer of proven military simulation technology into the private sector in or-der to create, preserve and enhance industry jobs.

Since then, NCS has retained that original focus to support the Central Florida simulation industry, but throughout the years has experienced steady growth both in mission objectives and membership.

With the modeling, simulation and training acquisition or-ganizations for the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as nine other federal government organizations all collocated in Orlando’s Research Park, NCS acts as the glue that brings its government, aca-demia and industry partners together to advance the state-of-the-art of simulation and training.

Today, NCS is leading the effort to diversify the industry, the major reason for its creation more than 20 years ago, in the areas of entertainment, digital media and gaming, education, transpor-tation, emergency management, manufacturing, cyber and health care simulation.

On September 16, NCS, in partnership with the Office of Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, will host the first Florida Simulation Summit. Focused on growing the diversity of current commercial users of modeling and simulation, this summit will give industry at-tendees the opportunity to be introduced or better acquainted with how M&S can be transferred and used in a wide array of industries, improving the way they train, build and learn.

“We are only limited in how we use modeling and simulation by our own imagination,” said Air Force Lieutenant General Tom Bap-tiste (Ret.), NCS president and CEO. “As a leader in forums such as this, NCS helps elevate and build the industry base, identify oppor-tunities for diversification and ensure a thriving simulation industry for the future.”

In 2012, NCS accepted the responsibility to showcase serious gaming and digital media by hosting a gaming technology confer-ence that had originally been a government-only event. GameTech provided the platform and raised the visibility of technologies such as virtual worlds, mobile applications, head-mounted displays and more. It brought in gaming giants such as Will Wright, creator of “The Sims,” Atari founder Nolan Bushnell and Google’s chief technology adviser Michael T. Jones, all of whom served as past conference keynotes.

One of the most successful and very promising areas in tech-nology transfer is in health care and medical simulation. For NCS’ home state of Florida, this business sector is an important and tar-geted area for simulation diversification.

The idea of medical simulation, although ever-advancing, is not new. In fact, NCS in May inducted Asmund Laerdal into the M&S Hall of Fame for his pioneering efforts in developing the Re-suci Anne manikin in the early 1950s. This early simulation was only the beginning of Laerdal’s medical simulation research, which has expanded worldwide to many areas of health care training and education.

Last year, NCS member Florida Hospital solidified its commit-ment to the future of medical simulation through investment in a simulation lab. In addition, the state’s newest medical school, at the University of Central Florida (UCF), has integrated simulation right from the program start under the direction and vision of Dean Deborah German.

woRKfoRce development

Since its early years, NCS has been passionate about inspiring students who are interested in pursuing an education and career in simulation.

“The future of our simulation workforce lies within the brilliant minds of our young high school and university students,” stated Hank Okraski, the chair of the NCS Education and Workforce Devel-opment Committee. “It is through their innovation and discoveries that our industry will take the next leap forward and offer technol-ogy solutions that will change the world.”

Okraski’s passion has been the spark in organizing this large and very active committee. It has worked tirelessly to develop a four-year M&S high school curriculum, which is undergoing certification at the Florida Department of Education. In parallel, the committee

the ncs pRomotes m&s technology expansion, suppoRts education and woRKfoRce development and pRovides Business development aid to memBeRs.




also developed a workforce accredited modeling and simulation certificate program for Florida high school students and teachers. This entry-level certification positions high school students for internships with simulation companies, and provides them with greater access to postsecond-ary STEM education.

Building upon two long standing NCS schol-arships—the Vince Amico scholarship at UCF and the Hank Okraski scholarship at Daytona State College—NCS expanded its scholarship program this year and awarded $5,000 in scholarships to students at five local high schools with dedicated technology programs and longstanding relation-ships with NCS.

“Our mission to elevate and advocate for the modeling and simulation industry is far-reach-ing,” said Baptiste. “We see the impact of simu-lation and training in our everyday interactions with government and industry as they produce technologies that are changing how we do things today. Our stu-dents who follow the modeling and simulation program may be the very ones who change the future of our industry.”

NCS plays a critical role as a member and industry representa-tive on the Team Orlando Board of Directors. As the industry rep-resentative, NCS participates in a number of events and forums designed to promote the M&S industry and the organizations that bring technology solutions to the forefront as potential solutions to simulation and training challenges.

In 2013, NCS and Team Orlando hosted its first Industry Ca-pability Day within the Research Park on the UCF campus. Since its establishment, five industry days have featured more than 50 small and large businesses, showcasing their technologies at this no-cost event.

In February, NCS participated in a small-business forum hosted by the small-business office representatives of the Army and Navy. Events such as these are important because they provide access that might otherwise be out of reach to some of the most creative technology firms.

“One of our most important roles within the community is the ability to connect our simulation industry to our local, state and national leadership,” Baptiste said. “We take that role very seriously.”

puBlic policy

As an advocate of simulation and training technology, and the economic impact the industry has on the local and national econo-my, NCS is front and center in educating the public and its leaders in Congress, the state legislature and the community.

In February, several NCS board members, along with Baptiste and George Cheros, NCS chief operating officer, traveled to Talla-hassee, Fla., to reinforce the story of how simulation and training impacts the state. Armed with that message, local leaders stepped forward to energize the legislature in providing funding for the in-creasing need for government office space in the Central Florida Research Park.

Over the years, the state of Florida has invested in the construc-tion of three UCF buildings to house both university and govern-ment workers. As the need for space continues to expand, the state is making decisions about future partnership facilities.

Mayor Jacobs continues to be a strong advocate for the M&S community, establishing the Blue Ribbon Commission to help ed-ucate business leaders about the technology, its economic impact and the opportunities for further diversification. As a member of the commission, NCS continues fulfilling its role to educate, and in turn giving commission members the information they need to become advocates, and spread the word about an industry that previously was one of Florida’s best-kept secrets.

In 2014, NCS established a Modeling & Simulation Hall of Fame to honor the history of the industry, and recognized 10 pioneers in the inaugural ceremony. The Hall of Fame wall is on permanent dis-play at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.

Along with Laerdal, the Hall of Fame class of 2015 inductees in-cluded Earle L. Denton, a lifelong advocate and promoter of simula-tion technology; Hank Okraski, leader and strong advocate for edu-cation and STEM; and James Shiflett, an Army visionary whose work resulted in simulation standards and the advancement of distributed simulation and team training.

NCS is the voice of modeling, simulation and training, and plays a critical role in advancing and building a strong simulation and training industry. Through its efforts, NCS is an important resource for changing and growing Florida’s economy and the technology that contributes to making both the military and commercial indus-tries number one in the world.

Information about NCS and how to become a member is avail-able at www.simulationinformation.com. O

Air Force Lieutenant General Tom Baptiste (Ret.) [Photo courtesy of NCS]


Throughout the years, Program Man-ager for Training Devices (PM TRADE) has developed standards that have helped realize cost savings and cost avoidance. Early in the 1980s, it was the work on the MILES laser code standard. In 2001, it was the Common Training Instrumentation Architecture, and in 2006 it was the Future Army System of Integrated Targets. Just two years ago, PM TRADE reached out once again to industry partners to come together to develop inter-face standards for the Tactical Engagement Simulation System (TESS).

On March 31, Rob Wolf, PM TRADE’s strategic requirements integrator, welcomed about 100 government and industry repre-sentatives to review the Live Training Trans-formation (LT2) TESS Working Group Final Products. It was two years ago that this group kicked off the TESS standards journey and a goal of interoperability. Many of them, or an-other representative from their company, had attended that first meeting.

“This is not possible without you,” Wolf told the group. “We talked about how this would be like turning a battleship because it would take a long time, and two years is a long time. But anything in the government takes patience and persistence with a vision.”

Wolf shared the evolution of PM TRADE’s TESS, which was separated into two catego-ries: the closed system architecture used for about three decades, and the migration to the component-based architecture, which began in 2013 and is the vision through 2020.

“We’re not only migrating for the compo-nents that we need to have now for the cur-rent MILES acquisitions, but to have those well-defined so we can start migrating into the embedded platform applications,” Wolf stated. “The longer-term vision is happening faster than we thought, and we’re already em-bedding applications for various weapon plat-forms. If we hadn’t started this two years ago, we’d be way behind the eight ball.”

For the acquisitions in the past, there was a closed system architecture. Every five years or so, when the contract was up for renewal, there would be another contractor, and for every vehicle the cycle would keep repeating

because that was the acquisition life span of the contract. The options would run out and then the cycle would begin again.

In the meantime, a lot of the components from various MILES contractors were pretty common and carried significant consistency across all platforms. With that in mind, the proprietary interfacing was cut, standards were opened and published to allow commu-nication and more specificity was added to the functionality of the individual components.

“Now we can begin to treat instrumenting weapon platforms like a desktop environment with plug-and-play new components, and be able to grow our training capability through technology insertion without modifying the baseline architecture.” Wolf said.

“If we didn’t define the component func-tionality and interface control documents for the wired and wireless networks, we’d have no seamless way of supporting or migrating to embedded applications,” he said.

Eventually, PM TRADE hopes to become an app manager, where the systems and the software training applications that are train-ing-related are on the platform and managed under the LT2 product line umbrella.

The journey started two years ago with a vision. Through many meetings and discus-sions, participants developed numerous LT2 TESS hardware component agreements that are the foundation architecture for the PM TRADE Vehicle Tactical Engagement Simula-tion System (VTESS) acquisition.

The government and industry team dem-onstrated the component architecture func-tionality, services control and wired and wire-less networking with multiple contractors’ MILES type components. The government team even provided industry with developer’s kits on a two-week checkout basis to assist them in developing and interfacing compo-nents with the network.

“There are a number of things that can be done with the component development kit,” Wolf said. “You can test and verify messaging to associate or disassociate vendor specific components, host and test master controller functionality and develop future technology insertion capabilities. The main thrust is that

our industry partners can integrate and verify their LT2 TESS components.”

Working together on the LT2 TESS stan-dards, industry and government achieved their initial objectives to create a functional component architecture to support future PM TRADE live training systems/digitized train-ing/combat training instrumentation systems acquisitions and technology insertions, while establishing an initial set of key components and interfaces for LT2 TESS.

They also:

• Developed an initial set of LT2 TESS Hardware Component Agreement (HCA) documents

• Established common power supply HCA for use across PM TRADE

• Matured Live Personal Area Network (LPAN) wire and wireless message stack

• Matured Live Training Engagement Composition (LTEC) Software services

• Demonstrated CA using LPAN, LTEC on products from multiple companies

• Provided industry and LTEC/LPAN CA development/verification tool

• Established the foundation documentation for the VTESS acquisition.

One of the participants, John Garcia, who retired last year as an SAIC vice president, has been in the industry providing PM TRADE range instrumentation products for more than 30 years.

“The PM TRADE Interface Standards Working Group, composed of government and industry partners, has made tremendous progress in putting together the MILES and PAN-related interface standards and compo-nents agreements,” Garcia said. “These inter-face standards enable the development of a MILES component-based architecture, which will provide interoperability between vendors’ components and a reduction in the overall procurement cost of the MILES systems.” O

By dolly RaiRigh glass

PM TRADE Reaches Another Standards Goal



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Commanderair education and training Command (invited)

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FEaTuRESaviation Maintenance

Ground Vehicle Simulation

Visual Displays


Jim TakatsPresident and CEO

TRU Simulation + Training

Q: Can you describe TRU Simulation + Training’s history and evolution?

A: TRU Simulation + Training was established when Textron Inc. acquired two legacy flight training system manufacturers: Mechtronix, founded in 1987 in Montreal, Canada, and OPINICUS, founded in 1988 in Lutz, Fla. In 2014, Textron combined the newly acquired companies with a portion of its then-Textron Systems AAI business to form TRU Simula-tion + Training. All three founding compa-nies have a formidable history of serving the aviation market’s need for advanced-technol-ogy, cost-effective pilot and aircraft mainte-nance training solutions—from developing and producing portable desktop devices and distance learning courseware, to fixed-base training devices and full-motion flight simu-lators, to maintenance courseware and train-ing devices, to providing maintenance train-ing instruction. The same year, TRU acquired ProFlight, a Federal Aviation Administration-approved part-142-certified pilot training center located in Carlsbad, Calif.

Q: What is your history of military and commercial aviation service?

A: In its 25-year history, Opinicus has been involved as both a prime and subcontractor in the military market, producing simulators for military air transport and rotary-wing platforms and specializing in prototype de-velopment, simulator conversions and up-grades. The Textron Systems AAI portion of the company is best known for its work in maintenance training systems for platforms such as the C-17, F-22 and F-35. The com-pany remains engaged in the ongoing sup-port of these programs, as well as the B-1 training systems.

On the commercial side, Mechtronix was principally recognized for its work in sup-plying aircraft OEMs and tier-one and two airlines with cost-effective and reliable flight training solutions, ranging from 2-D devices to Level D full-flight simulators for fixed-wing applications. Opinicus is best known for its proprietary flight training devices and full-motion simulators for both fixed-wing and rotorcraft.

What we’ve seen throughout time and what we are experiencing at TRU—and frankly across Textron—is that the cross-application of technologies from the defense and commercial worlds leads to best-of-breed solutions for all.

Q: How would you describe your company’s position in the market?

A: According to Flightglobal’s 2014 census, the civil flight simulation market has been characterized by three companies dominat-ing 85 percent of the market, and smaller players competing for a lesser share of the device manufacturing business. In the in-dependent simulator operator market, two dominant players command 20 percent of the market, with the remaining share divid-ed among numerous operators.

On the defense side, there is a larger number of major contenders and smaller players—all competing in the U.S. market—as well as international companies that dom-inate their respective markets. In the defense market, we’re seeing budgetary concerns and the availability of sophisticated tech-nologies drive the military to adopt greater use of simulators to prepare its troops in a more cost-effective way. So it’s an exciting time for us.

In both arenas, the arrival of TRU Simu-lation + Training threatens to shift the bal-ance with the influence of its Fortune 500 parent company and sister businesses—Bell Helicopter, Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft and

Textron Systems, to name a few, serv-ing the aviation market. Across TRU, we have retained the responsiveness to cus-tomer needs and to changes in technology that you expect from a young, unencum-bered company and coupled it with legacy knowledge and expertise to give the market something it is lacking: proven performance and flexibility.

Q: How are you expanding your commitment to the defense market?

A: The integration of the founding busi-nesses and structure of the new entity un-derscore TRU’s customer-service orienta-tion. TRU operates four niche divisions, two of which are focused on the defense indus-try. The TRU divisions are dedicated to air transport simulation, business and military simulation, military and civil maintenance training, and pilot training centers. Today, TRU is partnered with Textron Aviation and Bell Helicopter for a number of key pursuits requiring simulator-based training solu-tions, including the Scorpion and V-280 pro-grams. Also, TRU is collaborating as a mem-ber of Team Spartan in the competition for the Canadian Forces Fixed-Wing Search and Rescue program.

These programs allow TRU Simula-tion + Training to leverage its advanced technology platform in the rotorcraft and fixed-wing fields. One example is the Odys-sey H and its innovative dual 6-DOF motion platforms. Another example of our com-mitment to advancing the military’s goals is the investment we have made in develop-ing a cockpit simulator that demonstrates the V-280’s performance and an interactive multi-media instruction station that shows its ease of maintenance. Both were highly visited and well-received by military custom-ers attending the Army Aviation Association of America conference in Nashville, Tenn., this past spring.

Looking to the future, I am heartened by what I see as an entrepreneur’s dream—the ability to shape the company, and the mar-ket, through innovation and a unique way of doing business. O

[email protected]

inDUStry interVieW military training technology


For more information contact:Lindsay Silverberg, Associate Publisher at 301.670.5700 x139 or [email protected]

MILITARY TRAINING TECHNOLOGYIMPORTANT 2015 ISSUES

DON’T MISS OUT ON MILITARY TRAINING TECHNOLOGY’S BIG 3 ISSUES AT THE END OF 2015!

• September (20.5) Cover Q&A with Lt. Col. Walt Yates, Program Manager PM TRASYS for our 14th Annual Top Simulation & Training Companies Competition

• October (20.6) Cover Q&A with Sen. John McCain for our 20th Anniversary Issue

• December (20.7) Cover Q&A with Maj. Gen. Jonathan Maddux for our Annual I/ITSEC issue

Train to a Higher StandardThe Finmeccanica - Alenia Aermacchi Total Training System includes a complete range of products and services to meet the requirements of every phase of military pilot training, either for fighter or tactical transport aircraft. Finmeccanica - Alenia Aermacchi provides a comprehensive and integrated system designed to train Customer’s crews to fly, operate and sustain their own fleet. Total Training System includes the provision of Aircraft Platforms, Ground Based Training Systems as well as Training Courses for both Aircrews and Groundcrews. A professional team of instructors provides the full set of theoretical knowledge and “on-the job experience” required to manage in an efficient way the aircraft platform, exploiting in a safely manner all its operational features and capabilities.

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