Vanguard Magazine

TRAINING T "And you can keep refi ning it as each rotation goes into theatre, adjusting if that tree gets knocked down," Lakatos adds. "The ability to put into a scenario for a mission the actual environment that you're going to be operating in, how would you create that in the real world? To be able to insert the latest lessons learned from crews that have experienced it so the new guys are getting the latest information – I can't stress enough how important this project is to the army." The greatest savings, however, might be time: time traveling to training, time that might have been lost to weather or vehicle break- down, and time away from family. It could also reduce instructor workload, freeing up more time for one-on-one instruction. "You're taking an 18-19 year-old, whose never driven a heavy vehicle, and you're giving him a massive fi ghting vehicle in the million dollar range and he's trying to adjust not only to regular driving conditions but also to an up armoured vehicle with a shift- ing centre of gravity, and he has to understand those characteris- tics before going into deployment. You want that person to be as skilled and as competent as possible before you put nine guys into the back plus his crew commander and his gunner. With simula- tion you can replicate all of that – explosives, people screaming and shouting, things moving around, trying to manoeuvre in and out of diffi cult locations – you're training the guy to understand his vehicle performance characteristics to the point he is almost one with that vehicle." Perfect storm Simulation technology isn't new, of course. Numerous countries have introduced simulator facilities to help their armies provide hi-fi delity training and mission rehearsal. What separates Canada at the moment is fortuitous timing. Many countries have had to integrate new systems with legacy structures, always problematic when dealing with software. With the Canadian army in the process of replacing all of its combat vehicle fl eet, it's a rare alignment of the planets, Lakatos admits. "We're coming at this with a clean slate because our systems are all being replaced at this point. So we'll have a leap forward over everybody else. We will have the latest technology with the latest versions, on a computer network that is probably economically a "To be able to insert the latest lessons learned from crews that have experienced it so the new guys are getting the latest information – I can't stress enough how important this project is to the army." — Major Mike Lakatos lot cheaper to run than one that has legacy systems." The LVCTS will have full replicas of all combat vehicles, in- cluding motion, sound and 360 degree out-of-hatch views. The project is also drawing heavily on the experiences of the air force and the navy, as well as lessons from allies. Everything from the confi guration of the buildings to cultural changes are being ex- amined. "How to design the buildings, how to improve training, even how to help skeptics understand the value of simulators," Lakatos said, "we are taking their lessons learned and how to im- prove upon them." That also means understanding the Canadian Forces' larger net- worked training requirements. Though the LVCTS network will initially be confi ned to the fi ve facilities, it will eventually have to link between the facilities and other army, air force and navy training sites. "That is something that has to be refi ned over the next year and a half, because there are a lot of complexities to it," Lakatos. Allies and sister services aren't the only ones paying close atten- tion. The defence industry is also monitoring the program. Com- panies such as CAE, Thales Canada and Meggitt Training Systems Canada have all delivered training services to the CF. Rheinmetall Canada, which is already modernizing 42 Leopard 2A4 main bat- tle tanks, has called LVCTS "one of the largest virtual training system projects in the world." The project is currently at the options and analysis phase. Laka- tos hopes to have Treasury Board funding secured by later this year to then begin the defi nition phase in the spring, followed by a request for proposal within two and a half years. Meanwhile, there has already been considerable discussion with industry – an industry day and a second letter of interest will likely be issued this fall – to ensure understanding of capability requirements and "what we want for the concept," he said. "It is hand and step with industry at this point." Several companies will be bidding to be prime, but Lakatos be- lieves there may be an even greater payoff for the companies and communities that surround the fi ve simulation facilities. "You've got the latest technology inside high tech buildings, and the rest of the world looking at what we are doing. Whoever wins the contract, there will be lots of local hiring and lots of spin off to the local tech industry. It's an exciting project for both the army and Canadian industry." www.vanguardcanada.com OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2012 19

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