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08 Jan 20. RAF Force Protection complete Short Term Training Team in Nigeria. RAF Force Protection deployed a short term training team in Nigeria for a few weeks. RAF Force Protection consists of the Royal Air Force Police and the Royal Air Force Regiment who provided expert training to the Nigerian Air Force, teaching them various specialist skills and how to deal with various situations.
Week One
In the first week No. 5 Force Protection Wing completed week one of the Air Force Protection in the Complex Air Ground Environment (CAGE) package to the Nigerian Air Force Regiment and Police.
Teaching the students the vulnerability and criticality of Air Power; the complexity of the environment; the external and internal threats to an airbase; and how to mitigate those threats through a range of Active Defence, and Tactical Policing and Security measures.
Week one has focused on the principles of those activities and developing the range of skills that can be employed, from conflict management and stop and search for the Police, and counter threats for the Regiment.
Week Two
Week two enabled the Nigerian Air Force Police with learning about the protection of their critical assets and the role of Air Transport Security, both aspects being key to enabling successful and effective Air Operations.
For the Nigerian Air Force Regiment this has started with learning about the Ground Defence Area, and how they can dominate the area around their Air Bases to protect their assets and deny their adversaries the freedom of movement to conduct attacks
Half Marathon
No. 51 Squadron RAF Regiment Gunners, currently deployed in Nigeria delivering training to the Nigerian Air Force Regiment, ran a ½ Marathon to raise money for the RAF Benevolent Fund and Child Bereavement. Finishing on the highest peak on Nigerian Air Force Base Kaduna, known to the team as Lions Rock, it was a fitting end to good few weeks of training.
Complex Air Ground Environment (CAGE)
The Nigerian Air Force Regiment have started understanding the Complex Air Ground Environment (CAGE), the threats they may face and how to operate within this critical environment to enable the delivery of airpower. All training is being delivered by the Nigerian Regiment Training Centre Instructors, with members of No. 51 Squadron RAF Regiment providing oversight and mentorship
Graduation and Completion
No 4 RAF Police and Security Squadron completed the foundation package with the Nigerian Air Force Police, concentrating on General Police duties and Personal Safety Training No. 5 RAF Force Protection Wing also completed the Final Training Exercise with the Nigerian Air Force Regiment and Police. Conducted at Nigerian Air Force Kaduna, the exercise tested the Nigerian Regiment and Police across the fundamental areas of Airfield Defence and Security; preparing the students for the challenges they will face on current operations. The exercise draws to a close of training, graduating another 700 personnel, and arming them with the skills required to protect their airfields and critical infrastructure to enable the delivery of Nigerian airpower
The graduation ceremony took place, delivering Force Protection in the Complex Air Ground Environment training to the Nigerian Air Force Regiment and Police. The reviewing officer for the graduation was the Nigerian Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal S Abubakar. The graduation was also attended by Head of the British Defence Staff (West Africa), Air Commodore P Warwick CBE. (Source: Warfare.Today)
07 Jan 20. USAF base purchases new driver training simulator. The US Air Force (USAF) has purchased a simulator for Hill Air Force Base (AFB) civilians and military airmen in need of ground transportation training.
The new driver training simulator features three 55in monitors. It offers training on nearly 30 different vehicles, including fire trucks, police cars, buses, tractor-trailers, Humvees and mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles (MRAP).
With a capability to offer more than 150 preset scenarios, the $140,000 simulator can generate most driving conditions, as trainers control weather, road conditions, visibility and malfunction variables.
Hill AFB ground transportation section chief Stephen Baskiewicz said: “It’s a great training tool. It provides the most realistic experience I’ve seen in helping drivers learn how to operate specialised vehicles before operating the real deal.”
The simulator’s surround sound gives trainees an interactive experience that is similar to real-world driving.
Hill AFB vehicle operator training leader Chase Terry said: “The biggest thing this will do is get people used to a vehicle before getting in that vehicle.
“It’s crazy just how much they learn on this simulator and how proficient they become before even getting behind the wheel of a real vehicle.”
As estimated by Baskiewicz, the simulator will provide the base with savings of around $50,000 to $100,000 a year in preventive maintenance costs, fuel savings and accident-repair costs.
Hill AFB purchased the simulator with Squadron Innovation Funds, which directly support new ideas of airmen.
In October 2018, USAF maintainers on Hill AFB’s flight line started using a new handheld tablet to work on the F-35A Lightning II multi-role fighter aircraft. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
07 Jan 20. Leonardo’s M-40 Target Drone Tests Latest Mistral Missiles. Leonardo has concluded a series of flights with its M-40 target drone as part of a trials campaign in Italy. This saw the drones simulating modern airborne threats, allowing for the realistic demonstration of MBDA’s latest surface-to-air Mistral missile.
The M-40 is Leonardo’s latest entry in its Mirach target drone family and is able to mimic a variety of aircraft and missiles, including radar, infrared (IR) and visual threats. During the Mistral demonstration, the M-40 simulated enemy airborne platforms for the missile to target.
15 international delegations witnessed the trials, the centrepiece of which was the live firing of a Mistral missile at an M-40 drone. The missile intercepted the target, proving its capabilities and allowing MBDA to collect valuable data on the missile’s performance. In total, the M-40 drones carried out 6 flights between October the 28th and November the 6th.
A fleet of M-40 drones is in-service with the Italian Armed Forces, with Leonardo operating the targets on behalf of the Armed Forces on a managed service basis, providing trained crew and all necessary support. Other nations, including some of those attending the trial, have registered interest in a similar service model and the M-40 is also available for purchase as a standalone product.
Leonardo offers the M-40 alongside its Mirach 100/5 target drone, which has been used for over 20 years by a range of Armed Forces: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, UK, Algeria, Argentina and Israel have all used Mirach family drones to train. Today, that experience, coupled with modern technology, has allowed Leonardo to develop the M-40, which delivers medium-to-high performance at a price comparable with competitors’ entry-level drones. It is inexpensive to fly and offers 60 minutes of endurance, making it a cost-effective option for a wide range of training and proving requirements. Meanwhile, the Company continues to offer the twin-engine Mirach 100/5 for occasions when customers need to simulate the highest-performance threat systems. (Source: UAS VISION)
06 Jan 20. 752 OSS concludes live mission on AN/TYQ-23A weapons system. US Air Force’s 752nd Operations Support Squadron (OSS) has concluded its first live mission on the ground-based AN/TYQ-23A weapons system at Tinker Air Force Base (AFB). The AN/TYQ-23A Tactical Air Operations Module weapons system was delivered to 752nd OSS in September last year.
Using the weapons system, squadron members at Tinker AFB will be able to provide command and control to live and simulated aircraft from around the US.
Tinker AFB is one of only four active-duty bases to have the weapons systems, which there are only 18 of in the US Air Force inventory.
The squadron attended training on how to operate the equipment in order to prepare for the weapons system. Additionally, ten maintenance personnel were added and it underwent extensive renovations to support the necessary equipment and technology.
752nd OSS CRC systems integration technical advisor Brian Zbydniewski said: “The fact that we are now able to run missions shows how we, the control and reporting centre community, continue to adapt and overcome to achieve mission success.
“We took an old and outdated building and turned it into a state-of-the-art control facility where we can control missions using radios, radars and data links from all over the United States.”
The first live mission took place on 4 December in coordination with the 77th Fighter Squadron out of Shaw AFB. It started with connectivity and correlation checks to ensure the connection of the weapon system from Tinker AFB to the needed databases.
Upon connecting, the squadron could monitor an aerial refuelling of an F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 77th FS.
The 752nd OSS plans to use the new command and control weapons system to perform two simulated missions per week with two live missions a month.
Furthermore, the squadron will be able to coordinate with flying squadrons across the US, to include the E-3 Sentry, or AWACS, at Tinker AFB. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
04 Jan 20. Raytheon reveals new dismounted soldier training simulator. Raytheon has unveiled a new immersive military training product at I/ITSEC, the world’s largest modelling, simulation and training event to support the training of US Army soldiers.
The Synthetic Training Environment Soldier Virtual Trainer, or STE SVT, uses virtual reality to train squads of soldiers in multiple scenarios while using real and virtual weapons.
The STE is designed to provide a cognitive, collective, multi-echelon training and mission rehearsal capability for the operational, institutional and self-development training domains.
Bob Williams, vice president of global training solutions at Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services, said, “Raytheon tech helps specialists around the world prepare for the world’s most important missions.”
It brings together the virtual, constructive and gaming training environments into a single STE for Army Active and Reserve Components, as well as civilians. It will provide training services to ground, dismounted and aerial platforms and command post (CP) points of need (PoN).
The STE will interact with and augment live training, which is the primary training approach for the Army. This concept will allow the Army to provide a single STE that delivers a training service to the PoN.
“We are blending our understanding of training with emerging technologies – augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, cyber security and big data – to connect and secure military training like never before,” Williams explained.
The capability will train all Warfighting Functions and the human dimension across all echelons with Joint and Unified Action Partners in the context of Unified Land Operations.
The vision for the US Army’s STE is to create a common synthetic environment for soldiers to train together from anywhere in the world. Raytheon’s STE SVT answers that call and will completely change the way military training is done.
The current room-sized simulators will be replaced by portable laptop-powered AR/VR headsets that easily can be transported to soldiers for use anywhere at any time. (Source: Defence Connect)
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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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