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© Thyssenkrupp
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
The future of armed forces training is on the cusp of a major revolution
By JAY MENON
odern military operat- more intuitive ship training with Management System, which is used
ing environment is ever digital twins of its battle ships and to operate the automation soft-
M changing and increasing in submarines. ware. The tactical simulator trains
complexity. As warfare and sys- “In case of an emergency during all areas of combat management
tems become more complex, so do submarine operations, such as the issues.
requirements for military training. failure of the platform management “Basically, you can run a boat with
Recognising the need to be able to system, a crew is under immense these two simulators.
sense and understand the com- stress and time pressure. In such sit-
plexities, militaries across the world uations, it is essential that necessary But ViSTIS is the extension into the
are trying to orchestrate integrated procedures have previously been crews on board,” Braß noted. The
responses at an increasing tempo, internalized and can be carried out crews are integrated into ViSTIS
and fully indulge in immersive train- without wasting precious time,” said through avatars. Typical exercises
ing environments, that replicate the Stephan Braß, Head of Training include situations such as the
multiplicities of current and future & Information Systems Group failure of the automation system,
conflict zones. when the boat has to be operated
Manager Training Technologies at analogously and on site. But every-
Towards this, governments and thyssenkrupp Marine Systems. day procedures on board are also
defence forces are increasingly part of the training. With ViSTIS,
looking at high performance and New demands on ship training are a detailed simulation of the boat’s
cost-effective alternatives such as also reflected among thyssenkrupp interior allows the crew to train
the use of simulation and synthetic Marine Systems’ customers. “Today as realistically as possible and to
environments to prepare their we no longer have to convince them internalize where instruments are
personnel for analysis, training and to use ViSTIS (Virtual Ship Training located.
mission rehearsal, and operational and Information System). On the
decision-making. contrary, virtual training systems Recently, the UK Royal Air Force
are increasingly being requested in
Singapore’s Ministry of Defence tenders,” said Braß, reflecting the (RAF) announced the opening of a
new distributed synthetic multi-do-
(MINDEF) is studying how closely development. main integration training system,
simulations can mimic reality to christened Gladiator.
its advantage. It’s using Artificial Before ViSTIS was established,
Intelligence (AI) to train soldiers in training was already conducted with “Gladiator will enable our forces to
a simulated environment without simulators. Today, there are two trial, test, and practise their tactics
having to actually deploy tanks or different simulators: the naval simu- in a secure environment, linked
be on the battlefield. Singapore lator and the tactical simulator. The across all operational domains. It
Navy is also imparting virtual former usually consists of a steering is an invaluable training tool for
training to their seamen using station and includes the Platform the next generation of warfighters
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