Sponsored by Meggitt Training Systems
https://meggitttrainingsystems.com/
————————————————————————-
10 Apr 19. British Army looks for new SCOPIC simulated training resources. The British Army is seeking to expand its use of synthetic resources to simulate scarce assets during live training, a task currently provided by Cubic’s Synthetic Wrap (SW) as part of Project Micro-SCOPIC. Cubic was awarded a contract for this in 2016, and the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has now launched a competition for SCOPIC 2. SW enables the integration into live training of a range of combat support assets that otherwise would not be available, either because of their scarcity and expense or because peacetime safety constraints preclude their use. It integrates live instrumented activity into a virtual version of the real world, enabling synthetic effects and entities to be viewed in a virtual environment using emulated devices. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
10 Apr 19. Refurbished CDTF opens at Fort Leonard Wood. The US Army has opened its refurbished Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) School and Chemical Defense Training Facility (CDTF) at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri Ozarks. The CDTF is now fully operational after being closed for six months and is said to be the only facility of its kind within the US Department of Defense. Nearly 5,000 Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard, and allied nation military personnel are expected to be trained at the facility next year. The enhancements for CDTF included modifications that transformed the gray masonry walls and institutional feel with 3D graphics and lighting, sound, and furnishings.
JPEO-CBRND Joint Program executive officer Douglas Bryce, who managed the initiative, said: “JPEO-CBRND’s involvement in the CDTF is an investment in our warfighters and those of our international allies. This state-of-the-art facility and the capabilities it houses will ensure our soldiers, marines, sailors, and airmen have the critical skills and understanding they need to fight and win in a CBRN environment.”
In partnership with the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (CCDC CBC), the JPEO-CBRND and CBRN School created imagery for the updated CDTF.
CCDC CBC’s Interactive Software and Visual Media branch of the Advanced Design and Manufacturing Business Unit rendered new high-resolution 3D wall graphics for the facility.
Facility upgrades were designed and executed by MRIGlobal in collaboration with HHI Corporation.
Maneuver Support Center of Excellence developed revised training materials and procedures to leverage the expanded mission sets that are now available within the facility. (Source: army-technology.com)
10 Apr 19. Thailand and US navies begin Guardian Sea 2019 joint exercise. Thailand and the US have started the joint naval exercise Guardian Sea 2019 in the Andaman Sea to improve interoperability and boost anti-submarine warfare capabilities. The start of the eighth Guardian Sea was marked by an opening ceremony on the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) frigate HTMS Bhumibol Adulyadej. Assets to take part in the exercise include a US Navy Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine, underway replenishment oiler, along with two RTN frigates, a corvette, and Sea Hawk helicopter. These assets will perform several activities aimed at incorporating shared techniques in real-world, at-sea environments.
Destroyer Squadron 7 commodore captain Matt Jerbi said: “The US and Royal Thai Navy continues to work closely in anti-submarine warfare towards building upon our already-established combined capabilities.
“Guardian Sea 2019 is a premier exercise that demonstrates our commitment to each other in ensuring that we are ready to counter any threats together, both above and underwater.”
The RTN will also deploy a towed array sonar on Bhumibol Adulyadej as part of the exercise to create more advanced training objectives. The sonar is used to detect undersea contacts, including submarines.
Submarine Group Seven commander rear admiral Jimmy Pitts said: “This is the kind of training our sailors practice for at home and implement at sea. We’re excited for the opportunity to showcase the skills our crews have honed and sharing our best practices with our Thai Navy counterparts.”
The exercise will involve two phases. The first will be carried on shore and consists of subject matter expert exchanges, covering anti-submarine warfare. The navies will then move to the sea phase that culminates with tracking a submarine, while protecting a surface ship in a ‘free-play’ event.
Alongside Guardian Sea, the US and Thailand participate in other engagements and exercises, including Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT), Pacific Partnership, South East Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT), as well as Cobra Gold. The key objectives of these engagements are increasing information sharing and coordination, building mutual combat capabilities and enhancing regional cooperation. (Source: naval-technology.com)
09 Apr 19. Australian Naval task group joins AUSINDEX 2019. A Royal Australian Navy maritime task group has commenced AUSINDEX, a major biennial exercise with the Indian Navy as part of the developing strategic partnership between the two nations. The exercise was first held in India in 2015, with this year’s third iteration to focus on anti-submarine warfare, incorporating maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft and more than 1,200 Australian personnel.
Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said AUSINDEX 2019 would provide an opportunity for Australia and India to hone their anti-submarine warfare capabilities in support of a stable and secure Indian Ocean.
“By 2035, the Indo-Pacific region will see around half of the world’s submarines operating in its waters,” Minister Pyne said.
AUSINDEX is the cornerstone of a wider Indo-Pacific Endeavour deployment that will see the task force conduct port visits to Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
Minister Pyne explained, “Australia is committed to deepening our engagement with India and I’m pleased that our bilateral defence relationship continues to go from strength to strength. We have gone from 11 defence exercises, meetings and activities in 2014 to 38 in 2018.”
Fleet Commander, Rear Admiral Jonathan Mead, AM, said AUSINDEX 2019 would see Indian and Australian navies working through a set of increasingly complex activities and scenarios involving command and control, communications and maritime manoeuvre.
“The ultimate aim of the activity is to practice maintaining sea lines of communications in a complex submarine environment. AUSINDEX 2019 is far more complex than the previous two iterations and by enhancing our interoperability, including with allocated air assets, Australia and India will be better prepared to work together to address future threats to the regional order,” RADM Mead explained.
HMA Ships Canberra, Success, Newcastle and Parramatta, supported by the submarine HMAS Collins and a Royal Australian Air Force P8-A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, will participate in AUSINDEX 2019. Engagement with India through AUSINDEX is the cornerstone of Australia’s Indo-Pacific Endeavor series this year. Indo-Pacific Endeavour 19 is the Australian Defence Force’s major regional engagement activity and delivers on the promise of the 2016 Defence White Paper to strengthen Australia’s engagement and partnerships with regional security forces.
“This year we have drawn upon capabilities from our Indo-Pacific Endeavour Joint Task Force to demonstrate the importance of a fully integrated force to meet these future challenges,” RADM Mead added.
Engagement with India, one of Australia’s key strategic partners in the Indian Ocean region, will be the cornerstone for IPE19, with a number of high-level activities to be conducted to showcase the breadth and depth of bilateral relationship between the two nations.
Minister Pyne said in late-2018 that Australia’s relationship with India had expanded significantly since the signing of the Whole-of-Government Framework for Security Cooperation in November 2014, and he was dedicated to further strengthening this partnership. (Source: Defence Connect)
08 Apr 19. NATO Cyber Exercise. NATO’s largest annual live-fire cyber exercise, Locked Shield, begins next week and will bring together partner nations to test cooperation on protection individual national IT systems and critical infrastructure during a simulated cyber attack. The event will be held April 8-12 in Tallinn, Estonia, while the exercise’s Blue Teams will participate from their home nations. “[Locked Shields] will highlight the increased need for a better functional understanding between various experts and decision-making levels,” NATO officials wrote. The event is organized by NATO’s Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in cooperation with the U.S. European Command, the Estonian Defence Forces, the Finnish Defence Forces, National Security Research Institute of the Republic of Korea and TalTech. (Source: Defense Daily)
08 Apr 19. Six BAE Systems Australia technicians will travel to the US for the second time for further training to support the nation’s fleet of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. The technicians will receive on-the-job training at Luke Air Force Base with the Lockheed Martin contractor field team and, as part of the course, will assist with the completion of modifications on one of Australia’s F-35 aircraft.
Andrew Chapman, aircraft sustainment general manager for BAE Systems Australia, said that the group of six will feature a “mix of trades”, and will “assist with structural aspects that need minor modifications as they move to post-production stages”.
“The work that the team will do will ultimately flow across all the Royal Australian Air Force aircraft at Luke Air Base,” Chapman confirmed. “After the three weeks that the team of six spend over in the US, they will be implementing those predominantly structural modifications on the aircraft in Australia. This will be done in-country with the RAAF, which is perfect.”
A group of eight technicians received 13 weeks of training at Fort Worth in 2018, with that original group also featuring a mix of trades. That training was conducted by Lockheed Martin in the production environment, and BAE said that these training programs “will further improve their proficiency in supporting the Australia’s Joint Strike Fighter fleet”.
“Our focus is to ensure that the capability of the team aligns with the requirements of the RAAF as the F-35 aircraft arrive in Australia and are brought into service,” said BAE Systems Australia chief executive Gabby Costigan. “This team will lead our depot workforce and the training they receive will help keep us ahead of the curve as we build the capability of our workforce. They will train future staff as we ramp up our capability and capacity, working side-by-side with RAAF personnel at the Williamtown base.”
BAE Systems will support up to six dedicated F-35 maintenance bays when all of the nation’s 72 aircraft are delivered, with the bays to employ around 100 people.
US government’s F-35 Joint Program Office assigned component maintenance repair overhaul and upgrade (MRO&U) work to the company in February as part of a broader assignment for Australia in the Asia-Pacific region.
“There is very much an enterprise view being taken by RAAF, JSF division, Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems to make the program as a whole, globally, work. But also in this particular neck of the woods as the aircraft numbers build up, so it’s very much a collegiate activity that we’re undertaking to achieve the outcomes that Defence needs,” Chapman said.
The Australian companies or Australia-based subsidiaries that won a role in the program in February include:
- BAE Systems Australia – Avionics not tested on digital Lockheed Martin STAR automatic test equipment and canopy systems;
- RUAG Australia – Auxiliary power systems, hydraulics, landing gear and pumps;
- Northrop Grumman – Electro-optical and aircraft composites;
- NIOA – Munitions; and
- Survitec Group – Life support. (Source: Defence Connect)
————————————————————————-
Meggitt Training Systems, makers of FATS® and Caswell technologies, a division of Meggitt PLC, is the leading supplier of integrated live-fire and virtual weapons training systems. Following the acquisition of FATS® virtual training systems and Caswell International’s live-fire ranges and services, Meggitt Training Systems continues to grow its capabilities based on the legacy of these two industry leaders. Over 13,600 Meggitt live-fire ranges and 5,100 virtual systems are fielded internationally, providing judgmental, situational awareness and marksmanship training to the armed forces, law enforcement and security organizations. Meggitt Training Systems employs more than 400 people at its headquarters in Atlanta and at facilities in Orlando, Canada, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, UAE, Australia and Singapore. It can deploy service personnel anywhere in the world for instructor training, system installation and maintenance.
Learn more at https://meggitttrainingsystems.com/
————————————————————————-