NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—The Air Force believes virtual constructive and live training is more important than ever due to decreased budgets and aircraft, so the head of the service’s Air Education and Training Command (AETC) is focusing on getting state-of-the-art capability into the fleet.
AETC chief Lt. Gen. Darryl Roberson said Sept. 15 fidelity of simulation and ground-based training environments is one of the key parameters the service is looking for in next-generation training and simulation. Fidelity, Roberson told reporters at the Air Force Association’s (AFA) Air and Space conference, is simulating an environment that airmen may fly in real life, as opposed to “joystick games” of the old days.
Roberson said fidelity is simulating weather, runways or any other part of an environment an airman may face. Attack formations enemy air forces may use is part of fidelity, Roberson said, as is simulating attacks from weapons like such as surface-to-air missiles.
“It’s incredibly hard to replicate” high-end games like enemy attack formations, Roberson said. “But through virtual constructive simulation and integration with live (training), we’re able to make it seem like you’re in that environment.”
All eyes are on the Air Force as it is in the process of acquiring its next-generation training and simulation program known as T-X, a program estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars. The service in March released requirements to industry with a goal of awarding a contract for 350 T-Xs in the fall of 2017 to replace the 431 T-38s. The Air Force did not return a request for comment on the status of the T-X program by press time Monday.
Roberson said the Air Force will emphasize fidelity of simulation and ground based training when it procures T-X. It is doing this by pursuing an open dialogue with industry, which Roberson said is different from past procurements. This open dialogue, he said, will hopefully allow the Air Force to more clearly refine requirements for what the service really needs.
While Roberson said it is very difficult to replicate visually, and sensor-wise, the dynamics of environment in a way that replicate real life, he is confident industry can achieve these capabilities. He said most simulators, in the past, were for practicing emergencies, but because of today’s limited budgetary resources, the Air Force can’t put up “huge packages” to train in scenarios it sees developing in parts of the world.
“So we have to be able to replicate that in a simulator and make it real enough that the pilot gets valuable training,” Roberson said.
Lockheed Martin [LMT] is pushing the boundaries of simulation capabilities in the world of augmented and virtual reality technologies that are worn like glasses or goggles. The company is part of an industry team working with the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to transform any location into a dynamic training ground through the Augmented Immersive Team Trainer (AITT), Lockheed Martin said in a statement.
The AITT system works by injecting virtual images—of indirect-fire effects, aircraft, simulated people, and others—onto a real-world view of a student’s surroundings. What’s different is that AITT can move virtual objects in the wearer’s natural field of view, where many other glasess-type systems simply place a static imagine in the scene.
The Marine Corps said in May that the AITT program, now it its fifth year, will wrap up this fall with a final large-scale demonstration at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va. The program will then transition to the Marine Corps Program Manager for Training Systems for further testing and development.