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25 Apr 19. HTX Labs secures contract for USAF VR training programme. HTX Labs has received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I award for a new US Air Force (USAF) virtual reality (VR) training programme, to support the next generation of pilots. The SBIR award will ensure funding for the continued development of training simulations based on HTX Labs’ EMPACT VR platform.
HTX Labs co-founder and CEO Scott Schneider said: “We are honoured to be a SBIR Phase I Select company, and are excited to help the Air Force train the aviator of the future. The ability for a start-up to work with any branch of the military based on the SBIR process is a tremendous opportunity, and we’re looking forward to developing simulations that improve student responsiveness and accuracy to situations that are inherently dangerous.”
The simulations will be used by the USAF to enhance student understanding, retention and mastery of military procedures and protocols. Prior to the award, HTX has successfully deployed a VR training programme previously initiated for the USAF’s Pilot Training Next (PTN) programme. The SBIR Phase I award will provide a fast-track mechanism to facilitate direct interaction between any military branch and HTX on training simulations. The project involves the development of immersive technology that uses artificial intelligence, advanced biometrics and analytics to measure the effectiveness of a training programme.
The solution compares an aggregate of students or a single student against an expert or a group of experts performing the same work.
USAF PTN programme lead Paul “Slew” Vicars said: “HTX has provided us an immersive emergency procedure trainer that filled an essential gap in our pilot training programme. They are a responsive and attentive company that have been great to work with!”
According to HTX, the hands-on simulations will allow students to learn the necessary skills in a controlled environment and to experience a real-world situation.
During the PTN programme, student pilots will be tested on how they respond and initiate emergency procedures under the distress of challenging conditions they might encounter in the cockpit.
In January 2019, the USAF declared that it was replacing its older training aircraft with Boeing’s T-X Trainer aircraft, which can work with VR applications. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
25 Apr 19. Survitec has introduced its Inflatable Walls Training System (IWTS) to the European military and law enforcement communities for the first time since finalising a milestone licencing agreement. After significant uptake in the United States, IWTS was presented to European civil defence and security leaders at Enforce Tac in Nürnberg, Germany in March. Interest in the product was so great that Survitec is now taking the walls on a year-long European roadshow that will take in ten or more countries.
Based on Survitec’s industry-leading inflatable technology, IWTS is used to create temporary structures for use in training exercises to simulate the built environments that civil and defence forces operate in.
Since becoming the exclusive licensee for this product in 2018, Survitec has focussed its efforts on the US civil protection market with IWTS now being used in a number of police training facilities. Other recent significant contracts include the U.S. Air Force along with security forces across the USA, Europe and Asia Pacific.
The flatpack design and easy storage and transport of the walls makes IWTS ideally suited to military and law enforcement use as it can be deployed wherever a unit is based and reconfigured to create different layouts. In addition, the Inflatable Walls can withstand all non-lethal training ordnance allowing armed forces to convert their own weapons to ensure maximum realism with minimal user intervention and organisational cost. IWTS is the only inflatable “shoot house” system to be approved for use with General Dynamics Simunition® marking and non-marking ammunition, for force-on-force short range training.
IWTS has already gained traction for use in military scenarios, with walls currently in use in the British Army and Royal Air Force, Australian Army and Austrian army. Civil applications include police forces in Switzerland, Germany, Italy and Hong Kong.
David Stelling, IWTS Category Manager, Survitec said: “Being unfamiliar with the layout of a building or urban area that personnel are faced with in a real-world combat, active shooter or hostage situation is a real concern for the individuals involved. Developing tactics ahead of incursion are often addressed through the creation of a simulation of the threat area, using boards and bricks or other difficult-to-configure materials to create a layout or floor plan. This can be a time-consuming and expensive activity. Survitec’s IWTS offers a rapidly deployed and economic solution to the challenge of providing a reality-based environment in which to train.”
Every room, corridor, entrance, exit and window can be recreated so that when operators face the actual structure, they already have the appropriate knowledge to make the correct tactical decisions.
23 Apr 19. India’s HJT-36 Sitara conducts successful test flight after three-year hiatus. India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has restarted flight testing of its Hindustan Jet Trainer-36 (HJT-36) Sitara Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT), more than three years after abandoning the programme following technical problems with the platform. The state-owned company announced on 18 April that a test flight conducted a day earlier from its facilities in Bangalore was “flawless and its success is an important step towards [fast-tracking] the IJT programme”.
Industry sources told Jane’s that HAL had resolved the Sitara IJT’s critical stall and spin characteristics by redesigning the platform with assistance from US consultants Bihrle Applied Research.
They said HAL moved the IJT’s horizontal fins and rudder further down the fuselage, adding that mathematical modelling has indicated that the rejigged trainer should now have greater manoeuvrability.
According to the sources, HAL still needs to conduct about 200 more test flights before series-building the IJT to meet the Indian Air Force’s (IAF’s) requirement for 73 platforms.
The Sitara is intended to replace the HAL-designed and -built HJT-16 Kiran Mk I and Mk II IJTs that have been used to provide ‘intermediate’ instruction to IAF pilots as they graduate from basic trainer aircraft (BTA) to BAE Systems Hawk 132 advanced jet trainers (AJTs).
The Kiran IJTs are expected to retire in 2019-20 as serviceability of their ageing Bristol Siddeley Orpheus engines is proving problematic, IAF officers said.
The first two prototypes of the Sitara conducted their maiden test flight in 2003 and 2004 powered by Snecma Larzac engines with a 14.12 kN thrust, but failed to meet the IAF’s qualitative requirements.
In 2008 the Sitara power pack was replaced by Russian-made NPO Saturn AL-55I engines with a 16.9kN thrust. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
23 Apr 19. Coming soon: More complex, air-launched drone demonstrations. The U.S. Army will rapidly develop and refine concepts for air-launched unmanned aircraft through a series of demonstrations over the next several years with plans for quick integration into formations, the head of the Army’s Aviation Development Directorate told Defense News.
As part of an effort to refine an advanced manned-unmanned teaming for aircraft, the service has lined up a series of demonstrations to develop the capability of launching unmanned aircraft from larger manned or unmanned aircraft, Layne Merritt said in an interview at the Army Aviation Association of America’s annual summit.
The directorate run by Merritt is under the purview of Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Aviation and Missile Center.
The Army’s vision for the future fight is to have a mix of manned and unmanned aircraft in teams assigned to perform a variety of missions. Today’s drones are limited to mostly reconnaissance and surveillance missions and, in some cases, Hellfire missiles can be launched from them, but the service will greatly expand the role of UAS, to include long-range targeting, attack, as decoys to either take a missile of its track or fool the enemy, to carry gear, as electronic warfare weapons, and for resupply and casualty evacuation, Merritt said.
The Army envisions two main categories of air-launched effects: slow loitering UAS as well as fast, long-range versions.
Merritt’s shop partners with requirements writers and the battle lab at Fort Rucker, Alabama, to identify what’s available to help develop the advanced teaming concept, as well as to figure out how best to spend science and technology funds.
But when it comes to air-launched effects — or ALE — there’s nothing commercially available. So for Merritt, the effort presents an opportunity to drive industry development rather than the other way around.
“This is a new class of weapon system,” he said.
“The cool thing about the air-launched effects is that now, instead of standoff jamming or standoff effects, we can have stand-in effects,” he added. “Instead of being 100 kilometers away … we may be 100 meters away, and that’s going to change the type of payloads, but also may be more effective.”
In August 2018, the Army demonstrated the ability to launch an unmanned system — ALTIUS (the Air-Launched, Tube-Integrated Unmanned System) — from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, which helped the service understand what is required to launch from a rotary-wing platform.
The Army plans to once again demonstrate the concept during a ground robotic breach exercise at Yakima Air Base in Washington state next month.
But this fall, the Army will take it a step further and launch a UAS from a Black Hawk flying at a lower altitude — roughly 100 feet or less — Merritt said.
“We had to do it at high-altitude first so we could understand the separation characteristics of the platform and how we had to change for that,” Merritt said. “For example, most of the little UAS, the wings are stowed and they have a big spring and they pop open really fast, but if you are going to be launching under a rotor system, you don’t want this thing to be flying too soon.”
The spring in the Army’s test UAS can be controlled, he added, so it safely separates but flies before it falls to the ground.
The demonstrations help the Army understand how to design the vehicles, how to control the launch, from which direction it should launch the aircraft, and what kinds of maneuvering restrictions must be placed on the launch vehicle and on the unmanned aircraft, Merritt said.
Once the service executes a low-altitude launch demo, it will experiment with different payloads, Merritt said. Depending on what is successful, “the Army could make a decision to spin that off and launch those for a reconnaissance surveillance mission,” he added.
Over the course of three or four years, he noted, “we will have advanced and integrated several different payloads, and then we can really start filling in this new operational concept.”
At the end of fiscal 2020, Merritt said, the Army will conduct demonstrations of an unmanned “mothership” using multiple air-launched effects for a reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition (RSTA) role.
That would be followed an autonomous RSTA and attack demonstration in FY21 using not only ALE but also large UAS under GPS-denied environments, he added.
In later years — likely FY22 — the Army will include decoys and electronic warfare capabilities in more stressing environments, Merritt said.
Then in FY23, “we will be able to demonstrate breaching an integrated air defense system because we will have all the elements required to do that,” he said, as it will be critical to have the ability to suppress an enemy’s air defense.
Any time along the way, Merritt said, “if there is something that is militarily suitable, I think we will have a limited-user fielding within a year.”
There are already good optical sensors available in optimal form factors, Merritt said, so “launching is the thing we have to get over, and once we can do that, obviously it could be fielded.” (Source: Defense News)
23 Apr 19. Bolivia negotiates Pampa III deal. The Argentine government has offered to gift one FAdeA IA-63 Pampa III jet trainer to the Bolivian Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Boliviana – FAB) this year if La Paz agrees to deliver more natural gas than the minimum quantity stipulated by an agreement between the two countries.
The offer was made in light of the Argentine government’s interest in exporting the Pampa III and Bolivia’s aspiration to recapitalise its air force; the Lockheed T-33 jet trainers operated by the FAB were retired in 2017. On 22 April Argentine President Mauricio Macri met his Bolivian counterpart, Evo Morales, in El Palomar, the location of the 1st Air Brigade of the Argentine Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Argentina – FAA), to show him the Pampa III. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
22 Apr 19. US Army prepares to train, deploy with Microsoft HoloLens AR systems. The US Army has identified a range of uses for its new Microsoft HoloLens augmented reality (AR) systems in operational use and training, as the service leans towards computer-generated environments. Unlike virtual reality (VR), AR overlays digital or virtual creations onto the ‘real world’. For example, it could overlay information onto a soldier’s real-life view, whereas VR is entirely digital. A third category – mixed reality, or MR – involves a combination of real and virtual entities, in which the latter are ‘anchored’ to the former, enabling operators to interact with both. The army signed a deal to acquire the AR headsets in 2018 as part of the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) programme. A spokesperson for the IVAS programme said it is “first and foremost a tactical system that will provide soldiers with combined day/night vision enhancement and 24/7 squad situational awareness in all operating environments”. Soldiers will rehearse and train with the same systems that they use to fight, the spokesperson added.
AR technology has evolved significantly in several dimensions in recent years, the spokesperson said. Positional tracking technologies have dramatically improved, display systems have progressed to deliver more immersive digital content at higher resolutions, interaction models have advanced to support direct manipulation with hand and eye tracking, and cloud computing systems are enabling collaborative MR experiences that are persistent and cross-platform.
IVAS is often seen as an AR device, but the spokesperson said it would actually leverage AR, VR, and MR to accomplish particular mission sets. It will primarily be used in soldier operations as an AR system where its see-through display “enhances a soldier’s vision with low light level imagery, thermal imagery, and situational awareness data, such as blue force/red force icons and planned routes”. It will also be used in an MR mode for synthetic training, through which trainers can enhance the soldier’s environment to reflect the area in which they will operate and add virtual objects and personnel such as opposing forces, civilians, and hostages. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
22 Apr 19. Uruguayan Naval Aviation develops and builds Beechcraft T-34C-1 simulator. After months of development and modifications, the Uruguayan Naval Aviation unit publicly unveiled its own Beechcraft T-34C-1 Turbo Mentor simulator recently. The system was built using an old T-34A airframe, modified to perfectly simulate the cockpit of a T-34C-1.
The software can reproduce all flight conditions for the aircraft in all types of flying environments, including visual and instrumental, and can use the real-time weather conditions of the areas being simulated or have the instructor input variables to modify them. Sound effects are provided by a four-channel, high-definition system that includes external and internal sounds to maximise the ‘flying’ effect. Simulated movement is achieved by an electrically synchronised pneumatic system that replicates even the acceleration forces during instrument flight rules (IFR) simulation. Video is provided by three ultra-high definition 43-inch monitors, covering the pilots’ visual field, generating a fully immersive experience without any exterior references. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
23 Apr 19. US soldiers undergo marksmanship training in Puerto Rico. A contingent of more than 80 New York Army National Guard soldiers has participated in marksmanship training in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
The soldiers are assigned to Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment and are based at the Lexington Avenue Armory in New York City, US. A pair of C-130 Hercules operated by the New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing from Stratton Air National Guard Base in Scotia transported soldiers to Puerto Rico for a four-day assignment earlier this month. The soldiers reached Camp Santiago in Puerto Rico and underwent exercises to hone their combat skills. Camp Santiago is the primary training site for the Puerto Rico National Guard, comprising ranges and other training areas. The training exercise included a reflexive fire shoot and a stress shoot. Reflexive fire training is designed to reinforce the fundamentals of short-range marksmanship. As part of the reflexive fire, soldiers had to identify and engage targets at ranges from 5m to 25m while stationary and then while turning and walking.
Alpha Company platoon leader first lieutenant Matthew Canavan said: “For the reflexive fire, the soldiers use facing movements and controlled shots. Instead of taking single shots, they are shooting, moving, and communicating.
“We kept the squads and the fire teams organic with everyone who will be present at annual training, and we had them moving as a team.”
In order to replicate the stress involved in combat situations, soldiers were put through a series of activities during the stress shoot.
Canavan added: “The stress shoot involves getting a soldier’s heart rate up as it would be in combat. We took each squad and had them run a quarter mile and then had them conduct push-ups, flutter kicks, and burpees so we could tire out their muscles.”
The shooting exercise commenced once the soldiers were fatigued. The stress shoot involved engaging a variety of targets in quick succession from the standing, kneeling, and prone positions. (Source: army-technology.com)
23 Apr 19. Mine countermeasures exercise Artemis Trident concludes. Multinational mine countermeasures (MCM) exercise Artemis Trident conducted by the US 5th Fleet has been completed in the Arabian Gulf. France’s Marine Nationale, the British Royal Navy and the US Navy took part in the MCM drill off the coast of Bahrain. As part of the defensive exercise, the coalition forces participated in a scenario that was designed to provide safe passage to humanitarian relief vessels through a mined area.
US Navy Task Force 52 commodore captain Jeffrey Morganthaler said: “Mines threaten maritime traffic indiscriminately. Training together ensures we can collectively protect unfettered operations of naval and support vessels, as well as commercial shipping movements, throughout the maritime domain.”
The forces used multiple, integrated sensors to clear 70nm of channels and routes for simulated shipping.
The training scenario saw geographically dispersed forces practising choke point clearance and harbour breakout.
More than 700 personnel, ten ships, and five helicopters from the three nations participated in the exercise.
The US Navy was represented by the US Navy expeditionary sea base USS Lewis B Puller (ESB 3), fleet ocean tug USNS Catawba (T-ATF 168), Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship USS Sentry (MCM 3), Island-class coastal patrol boats USCGC Maui (WPB 1304) and USCGC Wrangell (WPB 1332).
The UK deployed RFA Cardigan Bay (L3009) and minehunters HMS Shoreham (M112) and HMS Ledbury (M30), while France sent minehunters FS L’Aigle (M647) and FS Sagittaire (M650).
During Artemis Trident, FS L’Aigle and HMS Ledbury simultaneously rafted with the RFA Cardigan Bay. Deployment of RFA Cardigan Bay helped enhance the endurance of the mine hunters. It showcased the ability of a multinational force to perform both sustainment and repairs during extended mine clearance operations. Another scenario in the exercise involved six of the ships taking part in collective self-defence to defend themselves from simulated air and surface threats.
Marine Nationale mine clearance diving officer lieutenant Pierre said: “The exercise has been a highlight in our current deployment, and it exemplifies how we are stronger together, in an area that is so complex.
“France deploys MCM vessels on a regular basis to the Arabian Gulf, to maintain expertise of the local environment, and I am looking forward to the next exercise.”
US 5th Fleet area of operations includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. (Source: naval-technology.com)
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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. 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/.
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