New capability brings live JTAC training closer to the real thing

  • Published
  • By Noel Getlin
  • Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation
JOINT READINESS TRAINING CENTER FORT POLK, La. (AFNS) --  A new capability to broadcast a combined live, virtual and constructive, or LVC, picture using distributed models and simulations brings live training for joint terminal attack controllers closer to training like they fight.

The new capability was developed by members of the Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation in Orlando, Fla. The distributed radio frequency broadcast mode technical support was provided by engineers from the Joint Technology Center-Systems Integration Laboratory at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., and the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk.  Exercise Green Flag East 11-1 was used as a test bed.

This development is significant for several reasons, officials said.

First, it allows JTACs to receive an encrypted LVC video broadcast to untethered Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receivers, known as ROVERs, in the field during training exercises. Until now, JTACs' ROVERs had to be plugged in at an Army Tactical Operations Center at a forward operating base during training to receive live or virtual intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance footage from MQA-1 Predators, MQ-9 Reapers and other ISR platforms.

Another major achievement is the ability to integrate live components in an LVC environment.

"We developed this capability to provide an LVC broadcast to JTACs because they weren't getting their Tactics, Techniques and Procedures training prior to deployment," said Ron McDaniel, the AFAMS project lead. "Our connection to the JTAC is the first to provide full battlefield situational awareness. And we got an LVC picture to a live asset, the JTAC in the field."

The LVC feed is a synthetic virtual database construct of terrain at the Fort Polk range populated with a view of the synthetic battlespace. It also includes the Close Air Support town, which was built on the range to resemble an Iraqi or Afghan town, in the database.

Meanwhile, simulation operators at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., flew remotely piloted vehicles, such as Predators and Reapers, in the Air Force Synthetic Environment for Reconnaissance and Surveillance virtual simulation using a constructive environment built in Air, Space and Cyber Constructive Environment-Information Operations Suite. JTACs will be able to communicate with the virtual unmanned aircraft operators to coordinate their flights in order to get the images needed.

On the range, role players populate the CAS town representing townspeople, leaders and opposing forces. They, along with U.S. troops and insurgents on the range, wear instrumented vests that allow their positions to be tracked via GPS coordinates. These live movements are integrated into the virtual and constructive environment allowing the pilots and the JTACs to see the people's movements on the video feeds in near real time.

"It brings a level of realism to the training and specifically to CAS town," said Lt. Col. Paul Kirmis, commander of the 548th Combat Training Squadron at Fort Polk. "Whether it's an Army ground commander sitting in his Humvee with a (One System Remote Video Terminal) or it's a JTAC on an outpost looking at a ROVER ... he is able to pull up a picture that matches the Predator."

The implications down the road for the new capability are endless, especially with the radio frequency feeds. Officials with the 548th CTS hope to get the capability permanently in place by summer 2011.

"Once this is online and we have enough towers outfitted to broadcast this signal, we can start putting in more aircraft," said Colonel Kirmis. "While we don't always have a real or surrogate Predator for an exercise, with this capability we can have a (virtual) Predator any time we want one."

The role of AFAMS specialists in the project includes oversight and planning, logistics support, acquiring funding and program management. They also brought in the new, smaller ROVER5 into the exercise, something most JTACs haven't seen or used yet. They also are working to ensure Air Force models and simulations can be integrated and are interoperable so that other Air Force simulators can plug into existing simulators.

"That's where you can go next generation with this," Colonel Kirmis said, "...through tying in platforms so that a B-52 (Stratofortress) crew at Barksdale (AFB, La.) or an F-16 (Fighting Falcon pilot) at Shaw (AFB, S.C.) gets training in this exercise without having to spend the money to travel here."

The colonel summed up the need to continue to develop LVC environments at a time when Air Force officials have made deep budget cuts.

"(Due to budget cuts) we can't afford all the things that we used to have to train," he said. "So we're going to have to learn to do it more smartly without losing that training that we need."