Boeing's Work Advances Training Initiatives with Coalition Partners

U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Matt Woodfield “flies” n INTEGRATED DEFENSE SYSTEMS an F-15C trainer at the Boeing-operated Mission Training Center at Langley Air Force Base, Va. Through work such as this, Boeing is a leader in Air Force Distributed Mission Operations initiatives. OTO N PH O S FERGU BOB Uniting the forces fired, and no wear and tear on the aircraft— is known as the U.K. Mission Training Boeing’s work advances meaning training costs are reduced. Pilots through Distributed Simulation Capabil- can fly over hostile “territory” without being ity Concept Demonstrator (U.K. MTDS training initiatives put in harm’s way and can review their mis- CCD). This program is assisting the United with coalition partners sions in a comprehensive debrief. Kingdom in defining its future distributed- As a pacesetter in U.S. Air Force DMO mission training requirements. Boeing and initiatives, Boeing is applying this knowl- QinetiQ, a United Kingdom–based defense- BY STACEY RITTER edge to programs for U.S. coalition team- technology and security company, are lead- mates. Training trials recently began on a ing Team ACTIVE, a group of contractors hen the U.S. Air Force announced U.K. Ministry of Defence program that under a three-year contract to the MoD to its vision for joint, full-combat- parallels DMO. This milestone represents provide the U.K. MTDS CCD. Wmission training capabilities for Boeing’s latest achievement in defining, To better understand these requirements, the F-15C in the mid-1990s, Boeing lev- developing and deploying distributed, joint Team ACTIVE opened a demonstration fa- eraged its extensive experience with net- and coalition training solutions for military cility in July within the Air Battlespace worked training to deliver a Distributed customers—a market where Boeing is a Training Center at RAF Waddington in Mission Operations solution. leader (see box on Page 47, bottom right). the United Kingdom. The facility provides DMO is a simulated training environment an extensive exercise-management center in which pilots use network-connected, high- with computer-generated military forces, a fidelity trainers around the world to “fly” a Defining requirements role-playing capability, situational aware- mission. There’s no fuel burned, no ordnance The Ministry of Defence program ness and VIP viewing area; team-perfor- 46 December 2006/January 2007 BOEING FRONTIERS n INTEGRATED DEFENSE SYSTEMS Inside Exercise Battle Buzzard Exercise Battle Buzzard was the first training trial under the U.K. Mission Training through Distrib- uted Simulation Capability Concept Demonstrator program. Trials began in October. The five-day event involved U.K.- and U.S.-based crews using simulators in their respective countries and “fly- ing” in a common, simulated airspace against a common opposing force. Day 1: System familiarization. Pilots became OTO N PH acclimated to their respective simulators and O S planning, briefing and debriefing facilities. ERGU Day 2: Trial began in earnest. The mission: B F O Provide air support for coalition ground forces. B Coordination among the forward air controllers and U.S. and U.K. forces in adjacent geographic areas were key close-air-support training issues. Days 3 and 4: F-16 and Tornado GR4 pilots flew At the F-15C Mission Training Center at Langley Air Force Base, Va., U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. close air support. The pilots rotated to a new Matt Woodfield (left) and Bob Johnson, an instructor for Boeing Aerospace Operations, sit geographic region each day, dealing with new at a brief/debrief station to review a training mission Woodfield conducted in a simulator. targets and unanticipated threats. Day 5: Additional complexity was added by increasing ground or air elements. Clearly, close four F-16s, two A-10s, an Airborne Warning Not only is Boeing supporting training coordination among ad hoc coalition teams was and Control System aircraft and a Joint Tac- research initiatives through U.K. MTDS necessary for success. tical Air Controller. The mission: provide CCD, it also plays a significant role in the The five days of training provided significant chal- air support for coalition ground forces while U.S., Canada, Australia and U.K. coalition lenges for even the most experienced pilots and maintaining air superiority and demonstrat- mission training research being conducted crucial practice in coordination of coalition forces. ing the ability to respond to time-sensitive at the U.S. Air Force Research Lab. In this targets. Target designation was provided by role, Boeing, with other contractors, works both air and ground controllers. Training in partnership with AFRL to provide coali- objectives included enhancing coordination tion mission training support. mance assessment; forward-air controllers; among forward air controllers and between “As contractors, we support both the en- distributed planning, briefing and debrief- U.S. and U.K. forces. gineering work of connecting the simulators ing; and Tornado aircraft air-to-ground “What our joint and coalition training together and the behavioral research that mission training simulators. and engineering research is doing is help- measures the potential training effects of ex- Trials using front line aircrew began in ing to identify what to train, how best to ercises where the participants are separated October. The first, known as Exercise Battle train, and how often various players need by such large distances,” said Sara Elizabeth Buzzard, was a five-day exercise involving to connect in a DMO environment to pre- Gehr, a Boeing Human Factors Design spe- U.K. trainees at RAF Waddington and U.S.- pare for actual operations,” said Winston cialist on the Mesa team. “The knowledge based crews at the Mesa, Ariz., Air Force “Wink” Bennett, senior scientist for Train- gained from this research will help our war- Research Lab. Participants manned simula- ing Systems and Performance Assessment fighters to train as they fight—as a part of an tions in their respective countries but “flew” for the Warfighter Readiness Research Di- international coalition team.” n in a common, simulated airspace against a vision at the Air Force Research Lab. [email protected] common opposing force (see box above). “This trial was the first of seven events that will help define the requirements for any future U.K. MTDS program,” said A track record in training Steve Monson, Boeing manager of MTDS CCD. “The trials will assist us in defining Boeing has leveraged its extensive experience with networked training to support the U.S. Air Force’s the training value for the participants, de- expansion of its Distributed Mission Operations initiatives. The company also has worked with military termining the right level of fidelity for the customers worldwide to support similar programs. Here are some of the DMO programs Boeing supports. equipment used in team and collective train- • Boeing has delivered and currently operates F-15C DMO Mission Training Centers (MTCs) for the ing, and establishing a roadmap for persis- U.S. Air Force at Eglin, Langley and Elmendorf Air Force bases, Kadena Air Base in Japan and at the tent U.S. and U.K. coalition training.” air base Royal Air Force Lakenheath in the United Kingdom. • Boeing is the prime contractor for the Air Force’s F-15E MTC contract. The company is responsible for MANY TRAINING OBJECTIVES the design, development, construction and integration of MTCs at Mountain Home, Elmendorf and Seymour The trials linked four Tornado GR4 air- Johnson Air Force bases, and at RAF Lakenheath. First deliveries are expected in early 2007. craft and two forward air controller training • As a provider of major components for the Air Force’s F-16 MTCs, Boeing delivers DMO-capable simulators at RAF Waddington with train- systems for the Royal Saudi Air Force and the Finnish Air Force. It also builds similar DMO compo- ing simulators at the Mesa research lab for nents for Apache Longbow aircrew trainers for the United Kingdom. 47.

Load more