cueSim News Archive

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cueSim delivers 2 Tornado GR4 VANguard simulators for Trial Red Skies

The coalition mission training exercise Trial Red Skies took place during the week 28th Feb - 4th March 2005 at Bedford, UK. The trial utilised 2 new Tornado GR4 simulators, built and installed by cueSim specifically for use in the trial.

Red Skies was sponsored by DEC(TA), and led by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), as part of the wider Mission Training through Distributed Simulation (UK MTDS) programme and looked at the transfer of training for aircrew, operating in a networked synthetic environment, prior to their participation in the live flying equivalent in March 05: Ex Red Flag. The trial involved operational UK Tornado GR4 aircrew, E-3D aircrew and USAF F-16C aircrew.

The 2 Tornado GR4 VANguard simulators supplied by cueSim are the first UK type representative cockpits to be used in the UK MTDS programme. The cockpits will allow the assessment of training benefit associated with cockpit fidelity in a mission training exercise. The simulators were built to cueSim's standard VANguard philosophy of maximizing commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology and combining this with modular hardware design and utilization of cueSim's fully featured RTAVS real-time software framework. All the relevant GR4 systems were modelled, with pilots displays being generated on standard LCD panels with representative overlays/bezels containing additional switches and dials. The outside world view was provided by a large field of view, multi-channel, front projected part spherical screen. All the visual channels were frame-synchronized, as well as being edge blended and geometry corrected, for display on a dome.

Ebb Smith, Dstl Policy & Capability Studies, responsible for running the trial, commented, "I would just like to express my thanks to the cueSim team for the incredible effort put in to support Trial Red Skies. Time scales were incredibly short yet the two new build cockpits & domes, plus the Nellis range database, were delivered on time, to cost and of a very high quality."

cueSim's Technical Director Steve Jackson said, "cueSim had only six months to design, build, deliver and integrate these simulators, as the virtual exercise had to be run before the real Red Flag exercise. This was a tough order; the fact that we succeeded is a testament not only to our design philosophy and experience, but also to the quality and dedication of the staff we employ."

Four crews from 13 sqn were able to participate in the full mission cycle; planning, briefing, flying and debriefing. The manned package element consisted of 4 Tornado GR4 (UK Air-to-Ground), 4 x F-16C (US Swing role) and a 3-crew station E-3D (operated by UK Air C2 OEU crew from AFRL, Mesa). The rest of the package and other coalition assets, plus the majority of air and ground threats, were provided as Computer Generated Forces controlled and directed by a military White Force, to ensure tactical and doctrinal integrity. cueSim provided all four of the GR4 simulators, with the 2 new type representative simulators and two existing generic simulators, and a large proportion of the CGF, including all the Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) assets.

VANguard represents the family of products and support facilities cueSim can use to provide a turn-key solution to any collective or mission training need. VANguard is fully extensible: from low cost mission stations through to high-end full motion mission simulators, and readily allows for future cost effective upgrades as more powerful and faster PC-based components become available. VANguard utilises cueSims Real Time All Vehicle Simulator (RTAVS) software harness, which has been specifically developed as a low cost, high performance PC-based system capable of being integrated with a wide range of new and legacy systems. The simulator software architecture has been developed for military and civil applications with built-in support for distributed, collaborative air operations training exercises.