Sponsored by Meggitt Training Systems
https://meggitttrainingsystems.com/
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23 Jul 20. Sensors & Software launches an online GPR learning platform – SensoftU. Sensors & Software is proud to announce the launch of SensoftU (www.sensoftU.com), an interactive online learning platform which takes our GPR training courses to a new level. Rather than just watching videos, SensoftU features interactive learning where users are engaged, interacting and answering questions throughout the entire course. This ensures quality learning and the retention of key concepts.
At the end of the course, there is a quiz. Upon passing the quiz, the user can print a certificate of completion right on the spot.
Companies can realize many benefits of online learning:
- Cost effective: Reduce travel costs to attend in-person training and minimize downtime while travelling to a live course.
- On-demand: Easily register & start training online anytime, allowing you to train employees on short notice, and have existing employees attend refresher courses.
- Convenience: Train anywhere, anytime, on any device.
- Flexibility: Learn at your own pace. Replay sections you want to review. Resume course from where you left off.
Whether you are training new employees, providing a refresher course for existing employees or taking a course to meet continuing education requirements, SensoftU is ready and waiting. (Source: PR Newswire)
22 Jul 20. Singapore requests future F-35 training location also host its F-16 jets. Singapore has told the U.S. Air Force it wants to co-locate its Arizona-based F-16 training detachment with its future F-35 training unit, with five locations in the U.S. shortlisted as potential sites for training international F-35 operators.
In a statement to Defense News, U.S. Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said the service “plans to establish an F-35 Foreign Military Sales training Center in the Continental United States which could accommodate up to 36 F-35 aircraft.”
“Based on negotiations with our foreign military sales customers as well as airspace and weather considerations, the Air Force is considering five candidate locations. Those include Buckley AFB, Colorado; Fort Smith Airport, Arkansas; Hulman Field, Indiana; Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas; and Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan,” she added.
In a statement announcing that Fort Smith Regional Airport was under consideration, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton said that Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett signed a memorandum July 6 to establish the training center.
He also revealed that Singapore — which is a Foreign Military Sales customer for the F-35B, having been cleared earlier this year to purchase four aircraft with an option for eight more — wants to co-locate its F-16 squadron, currently based at Luke Air Force Base, with its F-35s as a “long-term Foreign Military Sales location.”
The Air Force’s Stefanek explained that this is “to make room for additional USAF/Partner F-35s at Luke AFB,” and that once the new FMS F-35 training location is selected, that location will also be considered for Singapore’s F-16 training detachment.
Defense News understands that the future F-35 FMS training base would host some countries and their jets on a rotational basis, while others might maintain a permanent presence. The latter group would likely include land-scarce Singapore, which already maintains permanent aircraft training detachments in the U.S. in addition to the Luke AFB-based F-16s. The Asian nation is also setting up a rotating training presence in Guam for its fighter aircraft.
Most of the shortlisted bases currently host few or no permanent flying units, and none of them are currently earmarked to operate F-35s in the future. It will take significant capital to set up an F-35 FMS training facility because existing infrastructure will need modifications to support the fifth-generation stealth fighter’s operations.
Luke AFB, which is located at the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona, will reach its aircraft hosting capacity in the coming years. Its resident U.S. Air Force squadrons are set to convert from F-16s to the F-35A, and the base itself will continue to be the training location for F-35 international partner nations.
This means the two international F-16 training detachments currently on base — Singapore and Taiwan — will have to move. Taiwan’s F-16 jets were set to move to the nearby Arizona Air National Guard base in Tucson, but local media reported in August 2019 that the country is instead seeking to move to a base closer to the Pacific coast to better accommodate Taiwanese pilots training with U.S. Navy carrier strike groups. (Source: Defense News)
22 Jul 20. BAE Systems to support Australia’s Advanced Air Defence Simulator. BAE Systems is to support Australia’s Advanced Air Defence Simulator in Adelaide to train soldiers for the operation of RBS70 missile system. The Australian Department of Defence has awarded a contract extension to BAE Systems to help train and safeguard its troops.
Under the contract worth A$7m ($5m), the company will support the Australian Army’s Advanced Air Defence Simulator (AADS) for the next three years.
Located at Woodside Barracks in Adelaide, Australia, AADS offers training capability in the use of the ground to air missile systems such as the RBS70 surface-to-air missile system.
Currently, BAE Systems is working with Saab Australia in Adelaide for the integration of the weapons simulator and command and control system.
Bohemia Interactive Simulations in Williamtown, New South Wales (NSW), is providing simulation software and Xenon Systems in Melbourne will supply computer hardware.
In addition, Barco in Sydney, Australia, will supply projectors as part of the project.
BAE System has employed eight staff at its South Australian site and in Ryde, NSW.
Australian Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price said: “The contract extension will provide continued support to 16 Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, with state-of-the-art training facilities.
“The Advanced Air Defence Simulator delivers an immersive and interactive training solution to army’s use of the RBS70 weapon systems, which are designed to protect Australian soldiers.
“The contract extension with BAE Systems Australia represents continued investment in Australian industry and the continuity of highly technical jobs and expertise.” (Source: army-technology.com)
22 Jul 20. Amidst Covid-19 focus, major military exercises return. Whilst focus is inevitably on the impact of COVID-19 on militaries and defence industries around the world, ongoing security issues see major exercises return. The recommencement of significant drills, such as Russia’s 150,000-personnel snap exercises announced by President Putin to rehearse protection of Russia’s South-West, is a timely reminder of the ongoing continuity in defence imperatives independent of COVID-19 circumstances. With the cancellation of “Exercise Cold Response 20” in early March the first major sign of increased Western focus on COVID-19, powers recommencing these activities is an indicative milestone.
With Taiwan conducting live-fire drills against a simulated Chinese attack in the same area where China conducted maneuverers recently, and India conducting live-fire demonstrations in the border area of recent conflict with China, military exercises are signalling positions and demonstrating resolve under the tense and demanding environment imposed by COVID-19. With national tensions, economic austerity, and COVID-19 related issues around the world, these efforts are taking on a new dimension, providing a means for demonstrating resolve and resilience despite contracting economies and unfolding health crises.
Though the return of these exercises initially seems a minor issue, they are an indication of the respective states’ ambition to demonstrate strength through the COVID-19 crisis. The concern is around the potential for escalation, for similar reasons. The Russian example has already seen a Ukrainian response announced, and the Indian case is unlikely to go without response by China.
With the return of major exercises, we expect to see increased tensions and flare-ups, also likely to shelter defence spending from budget cuts imposed by economic contractions. Whilst defence spending will be lower than it would have been if it weren’t for COVID-19’s economic fallout, the increased tensions will see the defence sector insulated from the scale of contraction we expect to see across other industries. The speedy return of military exercises serves as a timely reminder of this fact. (Source: army-technology.com)
21 Jul 20. Coronavirus complicates South Korea, U.S. military exercises. South Korea and the United States are trying to agree on the scale, scope and timing of annual military exercises with the novel coronavirus threatening to disrupt the travel of U.S. troops, South Korean officials said on Tuesday. South Korean Defence Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and U.S. Defence Secretary Mark Esper had a telephone call on Tuesday but could not decide on details of the exercises, which usually begin in early August, officials said.
U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) has reported nearly 50 cases of the coronavirus among its troops, employees and their families in the past three weeks, including 10 on Monday. All were confirmed upon arrival or while in two-week mandatory quarantine.
“We’ll watch developments to determine the scale, date and methods of the exercises,” said a South Korean official who declined to be identified citing the diplomatic sensitivity of the issue.
“We have to do what is necessary, but safety is also key to maintaining defence readiness posture,” the official said, suggesting the exercises could involve more simulations and less field training.
The spike in coronavirus cases linked to U.S. forces has raised concern in South Korea. The city of Pyeongtaek, home to a big U.S. base, has asked the South Korean government to ensure that all U.S. soldiers get tested before their arrival.
The possible disruption of the exercises comes at a sensitive time.
U.S. President Donald Trump has questioned the value of the drills and in 2018 even suggested to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that he would end them.
There are about 28,000 U.S. troops in South Korea.
Jeong and Esper did not discuss any withdrawal of U.S. soldiers, the South Korean official said, dismissing as “groundless” a recent Wall Street Journal report that the Pentagon had offered the White House options to reduce the U.S. military presence in South Korea. (Source: Reuters)
22 Jul 20. Infantry cohort lauds urban and non-lethal ammunition (NLTA) training. The Australian Army has lifted the lid on the latest challenge thrown at the Regimental Officer Basic Course cohort, as they sought formal recognition in their respective fields at the School of Infantry.
As part of the course carried out at Singleton’s Lone Pine Barracks (NSW), the graduating class were expected to undergo realistic urban warfare training, relying on cutting-edge Blue Bolt non-lethal ammunition.
Working in partnership with Army Headquarters, School of Infantry has been able to qualify around 90 personnel who can now cross-pollinate into battalions and build an instructor base.
Further test and evaluation trials are scheduled for September and, based on their success, will then be rolled out across Army.
Colonel David McCammon, Commandant of the Combined Arms Training Centre (CATC), said the implementation of realistic and challenging training was the right way to prepare future leaders.
“CATC is focused on delivering training that strengthens a soldier’s combat mindset,” said COL McCammon.
“While the training is tough, it mirrors the demands of leading soldiers on a battlefield.Training such as this ensures that our soldiers are ready to fight and win the land battle, now and under the demands of future warfare.”
NLTA training also proved popular with the graduating class. According to Lieutenant Ethan Strunks, NLTA training provides many advantages.
“What blanks can’t simulate, like taking a casualty in the battlefield, NLTA can. This gives us the opportunity to fight force-on-force rather than just against targets,” LT Strunks said.
The Combined Arms Training Centre (CATC) is an Australian Army training establishment that is part of Forces Command. The centre was established in 1998–1999, in the mould of the Army Logistic Training Centre, to group the individual schools of the Army’s combat corps – armour, artillery, engineers and infantry – under a single, coordinated command.
Two of the CATC’s constituent schools – the School of Artillery and the School of Armour are are co-located with HQ CATC at Puckapunyal, while the School of Infantry is located at Lone Pine Barracks at Singleton, New South Wales, and the School of Military Engineering is located at Holsworthy Barracks in the Liverpool Military Area. (Source: Defence Connect)
17 Jul 20. US Navy, VRgineering working on ‘human eye’ resolution for VR flight training. US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is teaming up with Czech-based virtual reality (VR) firm VRgineers on a new flight training and simulation programme based on digital imagery that will be all but indistinguishable from the real world.
The ISLE research and development programme is based on the company’s current flagship XTAL VR flight simulator, which is already in service on NAVAIR and US Air Force training installations across the United States. The VR headset-based XTAL system is platform agnostic and used on training operations for fixed-wing, rotary-wing, and certain ground combat vehicles. However, the ISLE programme company officials are working with their navy counterparts will be focused primarily on aerial platforms, VRgineers CEO Marek Polcak said.
“The XTAL itself delivers the best visuals if you compare it to anything else on the market. But with NAVAIR we are trying to achieve human eye resolution, literally,” Polcak said on 4 June. “When you put on the headset, you will see and be able to read 1:1 as you would if it were real life. That is the goal. With that, you can train and simulate anything,” he added. (Source: Jane’s)
20 Jul 20. US Navy and JMSDF commence MIWEX 2JA in Japan. The US Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) have commenced Mine Warfare Exercise (MIWEX) 2JA 2020 off the coast of northern Japan. MIWEX 2JA marks the 39th mine sweeping exercise between Japan and the US. It is being conducted as part of an annual series of exercises between navies of the allied nations. The exercise will see JMSDF’s Mine Division 3 work with the US Navy’s Mine Countermeasures Squadron (MCS) 7. During the training, units will learn how to communicate and operate in a collective environment and increase proficiency in mine hunting operations.
Furthermore, the participating units will practice unit-level mine warfare tactics, including sweeping, hunting, and mine detection.
Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 7 commander rear admiral Fred Kacher said: “Working with our JMSDF allies to keep our mine countermeasure skills sharp is absolutely essential. Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.
“Maintaining open sea lanes for both military and civilian shipping in this important region is paramount for the free flow of trade and this exercise provides the experience our teams need to keep waterways safe for mariners throughout the Indo-Pacific.”
JMSDF assets taking part in the drill are Uraga-class JS Uraga (MST-463) and JS Bungo (MST-464) mine sweeper tenders, JS Awaji (MSC-304), JS Hirado (MSC-305), and more. Aircraft include P1 and P-3C.
The US units that are participating in the exercise include USS Patriot (MCM 7), USS Pioneer (MCM 9), and personnel from MCS 7.
Deployed to Sasebo, Japan, COMCMRON 7 comprises of Patriot, Pioneer, USS Warrior (MCM 10), USS Chief (MCM 14) and Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 14, Detachment 2A. (Source: naval-technology.com)
20 Jul 20. IDF Commences Training in Elbit Systems’ New Brigade and Battlegroup Mission Training Center. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) recently initiated a series of brigade level exercises in Elbit Systems’ new Brigade and Battlegroup Mission Training Center (B2MTC). The new training center immerses commanders, headquarters staff and two subordinate command levels in high-fidelity combat situations in actual battle zone territory. B2MTC presents commanders and their staff with a realistic operational picture, enables them to operate a range of assets, compels them to respond to real-time changes and requires them to cope with tactical communications that are realistically impacted by various effects.
Military operations are becoming increasingly complex, while large-scale exercise opportunities occur less frequently due to cost, logistics and environmental constraints. Elbit Systems’ new trainer provides Armed Forces with a flexible and scalable solution to train commanders and their staff, together with combat support elements, for contemporary multi-domain warfare.
Supporting large-scale geo-specific terrain, dynamic weather and thousands of virtual entities, the B2MTC offers a uniquely engaging training experience for more than a hundred of trainees at a time. The system emulates the realistic flow of information between levels of command and from a range of intelligence, target acquisition and fire functions, enabling complex, joint combat scenarios to be exercised. In-service tactical communication is simulated, with performance realistically impacted by cyber, bandwidth, terrain, weather and other effects. The exercise director can introduce dynamic, on-the-fly changes into the simulation, allowing commanders to test their ability to react and adapt to the challenges of battle. The after action review and debrief mode offers synchronized playback of the entire exercise, providing trainees with meaningful insight into the consequences of decisions and actions.
17 Jul 20. USAF Airmen to participate in Red Flag-Alaska 20-3 exercise. Airmen of the US Air Force (USAF) are set to participate in Red Flag-Alaska 20-3 exercise, which has been designed to provide personnel with realistic training in a simulated combat environment. Sponsored by Pacific Air Forces, the exercises will be conducted over the US Department of Defense’s (DoD) Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex (JPARC).
The 67,000 square mile area JPARC provides a realistic training environment commanders leverage for full spectrum engagements, ranging from individual skills to complex, large-scale joint engagements.
This exercise is scheduled to commence next month and will be conducted for 16 days.
The majority of participating aircraft will be based at and will take-off from Eielson Air Force Base (AFB) and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
During the exercise, service members are expected to fly, maintain and support aircraft from various units.
Red Flag-Alaska is a series of Pacific Air Forces commander-directed exercises that are aimed at providing joint offensive counter-air, interdiction, close air support and large force employment training in a regulated combat environment.
Despite restrictions related to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, airmen participating in Red Flag-Alaska will continue to support US commitment to the security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
A similar exercise called COPE THUNDER was conducted in 1975 at Clark Air Base in the Philippines.
In March last year, the USAF conducted high-intensity air-to-air combat exercise Red Flag 19-2 at Nellis AFB in Nevada, US.
The two-week exercise was hosted north of Las Vegas within the Nevada Test and Training Range. Approximately 80 aircraft took part in the exercise Red Flag 19-2 from multiple nations. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
20 Jul 20. USAF’s B-1Bs conduct bilateral training in Indo-Pacific region. Two US Air Force (USAF) B-1B Lancers have conducted bilateral bomber task force operations in the Indo-Pacific region from the Andersen Air Force Base (AFB), Guam.
To support the Pacific Air Forces’ training, the bombers from the 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, 28th Wing, Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota were deployed.
The training was conducted with allies, partners and joint forces to reinforce the rules-based international order in the region.
Prior to their arrival in Guam, the B-1s Lancers conducted bilateral intercept training with the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force’s (JASDF) F-15Js over the Sea of Japan.
Intercept training was conducted to enhance readiness and interoperability.
JASDF 204th Fighter Squadron commander lieutenant colonel Shirota Takamichi said: “Koku-Jieitai has steadily and successfully enhanced bilateral response capability and tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) through the training.
“We remain committed to bilateral training in order to strengthen alliance capabilities, as well as interoperability to deter and counter threats.”
In May, Andersen AFB hosted B-1s during multiple sequenced bilateral missions conducted by the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, 7th Bomb Wing, Dyess AFB, Texas.
The US regularly conducts bomber task force operations globally to support collective defence and to integrate with Geographic Combatant Command operations and activities.
The multi-mission B-1 has the ability to rapidly deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons against any adversary.
USAF 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron commander lieutenant colonel Lincoln Coleman said: “Our team has been actively preparing for BTF operations to ensure we’re ready and capable of meeting any requirement across the globe.
“We are excited for the opportunity to integrate with our partners and allies in the Pacific theatre and increase our joint lethality.” (Source: airforce-technology.com)
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Meggitt introduces the next generation of immersive training — the FATS® 180MIL.
Delivering 180° high definition projection and 5.1 surround sound, the FATS 180MIL increases training realism, heightening awareness and proper use of force responses. Three borderless screens fit into almost any space with at least a 10’ tall ceiling, providing a 150” X 84” (16:9 aspect ratio) borderless projection surface. It also includes:
- Military Validation – The same high-fidelity ballistic engine validated by the US Army, USMC and other military customers.
o Provides accurate ballistic characteristics in flight.
o Supports and enforces the proper fundamentals of marksmanship.
- Immersive Training – Supports both 3D Marksmanship and Judgmental training.
- Courseware – Delivered with full array of training courseware.
- Hit Detection System – Three digital cameras interface directly with Off-CPU real-time (OCR) processor used by FATS® 100 system for easy upgrade path.
- Projectors – Ultra short throw projectors provide freedom of movement, displaying stunning visuals in 180°environment.
- Low-Light Subsystem (optional) – Practice in simulated low-light conditions with hand-held and weapon-mounted flashlights.
- Rack – Uses same transportable rack as the FATS 100 system.
- Realistic Sounds – Self-powered audio system plays scenarios in 5.1 surround sound. Using directional sound effects board, the instructor can incorporate unsettling sounds from any direction, including barking dog, crying baby, gunshots and more to elevate situational awareness.
- Supports up to 60 simulated weapons, including FATS weapons and ammunition types. Up to 4 simulated weapons can be assigned to a single user.
With the FATS 180MIL, users feel they’re in the action, facing decision-making pressures while maintaining situational awareness.
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