European Simulation Interoperability Workshop 26 June 2002 London

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European Simulation Interoperability Workshop 26
June 2002London
Aircrew Mission Training via Distributed
Simulation -A Review of NATO Initiatives

• Barry Tomlinson
• Chairman, NATO MTDS Task Group(SAS-034/MSG-001)
• Future Systems Technology DivisionQinetiQ
  LtdBedford UK(bntomlinson_at_mail.qinetiq.com)

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Outline

• Concept of MTDS
• Why are NATO the Nations interested in Aircrew
  Mission Training via Distributed Simulation?
• The NATO initiatives
• Military Applications Study on MTDS (SAS-013)
• MTDS Task Group (SAS-034/MSG-001)
• MTDS Symposium (SAS-038)
• Future prospects for MTDS in NATO

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NATO Research Technology Organisation
NATO
Conference of National Armaments Directors
Military Committee
MC
CNAD
Research Technology Organisation (Board,
Agency)
RTO RTB
Panels
. . .
SAS
SCI
NATO Modelling Simulation Group
SAS-013 Study
SAS-034 TG
SAS-038 Symp
MSG-001
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What is Distributed Simulation?
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Why is NATO interested in MTDS?

• NATO tasks and air operations are changing
• Factors Forcing Change
• Increasing pressure to reduce training costs
• Peace-time restrictions airspace and lack of
  adequate ranges
• Weapons system performance capabilities and
  security (weapon release, use of chaff/flare, EW)
• Mission complexity and rules of engagement (ROE)
• Environmental and safety restrictions
• Long term deployments and the impact upon aircrew
  retention
• Weapon system life and aircraft fatigue
• Unrepresentative training environment - no real
  threats
• Hence interest in potential of MTDS gt
  Mission Training via Distributed Simulation
  (recommended label in NATO)

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New Generation Smart Simulators

• Have improved, especially in visual quality,
  representation of the operational environment,
  and computer generated forces
• Can provide a virtual battlespace - any
  real-world geography with photo-realistic
  imagery, if data and imagery available
• Can create a realistic threat environment through
  computer generated forces threats can fire back
• Further improvement needed in technology but
  usable now
• Costs have reduced, therefore can afford
  multi-ship configurations for collective training
  and COMAO
• Training systems for advanced mission training
  MTDS need more than just simulators
• secure networks, with standard message protocols
• shared geophysical environment and weather
• shared tactical environment (threats and own
  force)

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National Initiatives

• Nations investing in advanced distributed
  simulation for aircrew mission training include
• US DMT programme - two F-15C sites operational,
  and AWACS F-16 on order
• GE, IT, SP, UK - Eurofighter training system
• UK Tornado GR4, Support and Attack Helicopters
• FR - Combat Training Centre (Mont de Marsan)
• BE, DK, NL, NO, PO - F-16 MLU simulators
• CA - CF-18 Advanced Distributed Combat Training
  System, Advanced Distributed Mission Simulation
  concept
• Research in UK, US and elsewhere

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Initial Military Application Study
Task To assess the potential of advanced
distributed simulation to complement live flying
training in order to enhance NATO capability to
conduct combined air operations

• Study Team, Led by UK
• 8 Nations - Belgium, France, Germany, Italy,
  Netherlands, Turkey, UK, USA
• Aircrew from 5 Nations
• Training and simulation experts from
  Government Laboratories and Agencies, and
  from Industry

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Some Key Themes of the SAS-013 Study

• What is the training need?
• How is NATO training for combined air operations
  accomplished today?
• What is possible today via advanced distributed
  simulation and how might simulation technology
  evolve?
• How might the potential for exploiting MTDS be
  realised in NATO?
• What are the next steps?

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Training Needs

• SAS-013 Study focused on aircrew collective
  training for NATO Composite Air Operations
  (COMAO)
• Applies at Squadron level, with Combat Ready
  crews
• Few opportunities for live coalition training
• NATO Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP) - 6 per
  year
• NATO Air Meet (NAM) - 1 per year
• Changing skills - information management
• Collective, or inter-team, skills are higher
  level skills communication, co-ordination,
  planning, decision making, and situation
  assessment exercised in a complex multinational
  environment

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Air Operations - Requirements

• Multi-national and coalition
• many participants and many roles working together
• Becoming more complex - system of systems -
  aircraft are nodes. Future air platforms (eg
  Eurofighter) - systems needing management rather
  than aircraft needing flying
• Aircrew need opportunities to prepare for this.
• Live flying training increasingly limited (even
  Red Flag)
• Need for a Distributed Synthetic Environment for
  Aircrew Coalition Training - to provide complex
  tactical context
• All about achievement of operational readiness
  and capability (rather than about more
  traditional ideas of individual skill training).
  Issues are technical and human
• Ensuring teams function together
• Ensuring capabilities integrated, to deliver
  mission success

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Collective Training
Collective training involves two or more
teams, where each team fulfils different
roles, training in an environment defined by a
common set of training objectives SAS-013
Definition
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Principal Findings from SAS-013 Study

• MTDS offers great potential to enhance NATOs
  operational effectiveness in composite air
  operations (COMAOs)
• Live flying training, in isolation, cannot fully
  prepare NATO aircrew for future (COMAO). There is
  a training gap.
• Mission Training via Distributed Simulation
  (MTDS) can begin to fill this gap - viable now.
• MTDS and live flying are complementary.
• MTDS can extend the scope of training to the
  wider operations community.

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MTDS potential in NATO

• Provide multi-national training opportunities in
  large force employment, with high-value assets
  (AWACS)
• Practise co-ordination, procedures, tactics
• Explore what ifs - more effective operations
• More focused use of flying training time
• Involve wider air operations community - CAOC,
  Intel
• Mission rehearsal
• Assess future systems and concepts
• Develop and try out Doctrine and Tactics
• Assess proposed force capabilities prior to
  operations
• Nations willing to participate in air operations
  could well be expected to join MTDS first

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MTDS Task Group(SAS-034/MSG-001)"Mission
Training via Distributed Simulation - Concept
Development and Demonstration

• Goals
• Create a prototype NATO synthetic MTDS
  environment, conduct a Multi-National COMAO
  exercise and assess its potential to support
  training to enhance NATO's operational
  effectiveness in multi-national air operations
• Increase awareness of MTDS capabilities and
  potential amongst the NATO military community,
  and lay foundations for the exploitation in NATO
  of MTDS
• Propose further actions needed to implement and
  exploit MTDS in NATO and the nations

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MTDS Task Group

• Customer support from NATO Air Force Armaments
  Group, liaison via NAFAG Air Group I
• Three year programme May 2001 - April 2004
• Members
• Canada, France, Italy, The Netherlands, UK, USA
• NATO AEW Force, NC3A
• Simulation Industry
• Main activity - create distributed training
  environment and conduct simulated air exercise

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MTDS Exercise First WAVE Warfighter Alliance
in a Virtual Environment" (SAS-034/MSG-001)

• Will operate at NATO Secret
• Exercise training objectives include
• To plan and integrate a Multi-National Composite
  Air operation (COMAO) in a high threat scenario
• To employ EW resources in support of offensive
  and defensive air operations
• Exercise technical objectives include
• Use of the High Level Architecture (HLA)
• Employment of HLA Federation Development Process
  (FEDEP)
• Identification of interoperability
  infrastructure issues

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Exercise Format

• Composite Air Operation
• Focused on aircrew training potential, with
  suitable levels of C2 (AWACS, CAOC)
• Air Tasking Order (ATO) then Plan-Brief-Fly-Debrie
  f cycle over 3-4 days
• Key point - much more than just a Federation of
  simulations - Distributed Training Environment
• HLA/FEDEP not enough

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Thales ACE GR4, UK (Lossiemouth)
Exercise Director
RCAF, CA (Bagotville)
NLR, NL (Amsterdam)
RNLAF, NL (TBD)
RCAF, CA (Mirabel)
CAE, CA (Montreal)
QinetiQ, UK (Bedford)
TNO, NL (The Hague)
European ATM Cloud
RCAF, CA (Cornwall)
DRDC-T, CA (Toronto)
USAF, NV (Nellis)
North American ATM Cloud
Transatlantic Trunk
TRW, FL (Orlando)
USAF, VA (Langley)
USAF, NM (Kirtland)
First WAVE Network
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Challenges

• Real-time secure data network
• ATM Infrastructure, with help from TRW,
  Operations Integration contractor for US DMT
  programme
• Interoperability
• Mäk Technologies HLA/RTI software (Press Release
  ITEC)
• Broader issues re interactions (compatible
  models)
• Distributed Training Environment much more than
  just a Federation of simulations (HLA/RTI not
  enough)
• Potential show stopper Security
• Technology (encryption), Access to encryption
  devices (Government Labs v Industry),
  Accreditation process, Releasability of data (
  willingness)
• Task Group keen to learn from others experience
  eg DiMuNDS2000 and NIREUS

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MTDS - A Vision for NATO

• Nations already starting down the road towards
  MTDS via research, demonstrations acquisition
  of training systems
• NATO Air Force Armaments Group (NAFAG) supports
  the concept that NATO and the Nations should
  exploit aircrew Mission Training via Distributed
  Simulation
• Ex First WAVE - first demo of MTDS in action in
  NATO
• Further multi-national exercises needed to build
  experience and address interoperability
• Evolutionary programme needs to start now
  Concept Demonstration gt Implementation
  gt Exploitation

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Way Ahead for MTDS in NATO
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
2008 2009 2010
First WAVE MTDS Exercise Demonstration
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Concluding Remarks

• Aircrew Mission Training via Distributed
  Simulation offers great potential to enhance
  NATOs operational effectiveness in composite air
  operations
• MTDS Task Group will conduct Ex First WAVE as
  first step towards exploitation of MTDS in NATO
• Many technical and organisational challenges

Future operations will need smart simulation -
MTDS
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Aircrew Mission Training via Distributed
Simulation
Questions, please?
Further Information Barry Tomlinson bntomlinson_at_m
ail.qinetiq.com 44 1234 22 5377
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SAS-013 Study Team Membership Organisations

• Aermacchi (IT)
• Alenia Aeronautica (IT)
• Belgian Air Force (BE)
• BWB Bundesamt fur Wehrtechnik und Beschaffung
  (GE)
• DASA DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (GE)
• Dassault-Aviation (FR)
• DERA Defence Evaluation Research Agency (UK)
• French Air Force (FR)
• HAVELSAN (TU)

• IABG (GE)
• NLR National Aerospace Laboratory (NL)
• RAF Air Warfare Centre (UK)
• Thomson Training Simulation Ltd (UK)
• TNO Physics Electronics Laboratory (NL)
• Turkish Air Force (TU)
• US Air Force Research Laboratory (USA)
• USAF Training System Product Group (USA)
• USAF Warrior Preparation Center (USA)

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NATO Nations Experience in Distributed Virtual
Simulation

• Multi-Distributed Training Testbed, MDT2 (US) 96
• TRACE - Transatlantic Research in Air Combat
  Engagement (US/GE)
• EUCLID RTP 11.3 demonstration, 1997(GE, UK, NL,
  TU)Complex Air Warfare Training System
• STOW97 (US/UK) Nov 97
• Air Defence Synthetic Environment (UK) Feb 98
• Roadrunner 98 (US) Nov 98
• ULT - JOIND (NL) 2000 - (Unit Level Trainer -
  Joint Operations Integrated Network Demonstrator)
• Ebb Flow trial (UK) Feb 2000
• SYCOE trial (UK) Jan 2001

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NATO Web Sites(Can all be reached from NATO Home
Page)

• NATO Official Homepagehttp//www.nato.int/
• NATO Training Group http//www.nato.int/structur/
  ntg/afsg.htm
• Research Technology Organisation (RTO/RTA)
  http//www.rta.nato.int/
• NATO Air Force Armaments Group (NAFAG)
  http//www.nato.int/structur/AC/224/home.htm
• NAFAG Air Group I http//www.nato.int/structur/AC
  /224/ag1/ag1.htm
• NATO Tactical Leadership Programme
  (TLP)http//www.tlp.be/index.html

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Some potential Exercise Objectives

• To plan and integrate a Multi-National Composite
  Air operation (COMAO) in a high threat scenario
• To brief a COMAO package generated from separate
  locations
• To practise daytime COMAO procedures employing
  fighter escort/sweep, AAR, SEAD, RECCE and AEW in
  a hostile EW environment
• To exercise procedures for defensive operations
  with Fighter Areas of Responsibility (FAORs)
• To employ EW resources in support of offensive
  and defensive air operations
• To engender efficient team-working skills between
  Nations and differing elements of the COMAO
  package
• To provide comprehensive mission debriefs

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Some Issues in Exercise Management

• Exercise two parts - Trainee experiences
  embedded in wider context, all managed by
  Training Staff (White Force)
• Exercise Management has many components,
  including
• identifying objectives (training, mission
  rehearsal)
• defining and developing appropriate operational
  scenario and events
• preparing daily needs - ATO, Intel brief etc
• enabling participants to follow usual plan -
  brief - fly - debrief cycle
• managing the mission tempo and the events, role
  playing
• collecting data
• data analysis and replay, for each formation and
  for overall package
• Need methods tools to support all these
  elements
• Need better understanding of impact of
  distributed simulation - remote sites in UK
  other nations - on creating and running a
  Distributed Synthetic Environment for Aircrew
  Coalition Training

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NATO Research Technology Organisation (RTO)

• 6 Panels / 1 Group
• AVT Applied Vehicle Technology Panel
• IST Information Systems Technology Panel
• SET Sensors Electronics Technology Panel
• HFM Human Factors and Medicine Panel
• SCI Systems Concepts Integration Panel
• SAS Studies, Analysis Simulation Panel
• MSG Modelling and Simulation Group

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Challenges in Distributed Simulation

• Infrastructure - Real-time secure data network to
  exchange information among players
• Data Security - policy (willingness to share) and
  technical (encryption methods)
• Standard Data protocols
• Common shared representation of the operational
  environment, geographical (terrain, atmosphere)
  and tactical (threats etc) to suit human and
  sensors
• Appropriate modelling of interactions - targets,
  weapons, threats gt Interoperability
• Ways to create and manage the exercise, including
  Data capture and Brief/Debrief facilities
• Technology will become increasingly capable - but
  there are still critical technology areas