Operational Data to Stimulate Simulation Systems and Enhance Training
(Room S320B)
30 Nov 17
9:30 AM
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10:00 AM
For years, the use of simulation by smaller countries has been marked by the saying, “it is very expensive to be poor.” In contrast to the larger coalition partners or the budgets of a potential adversary, smaller countries have fractional military budgets; this makes it difficult to acquire the same assets as larger partners. When it comes to training, the utility of simulation is acknowledged, but spending, particularly in smaller countries, is often appropriately prioritized elsewhere. This leads to an approach where simulation is expected to alleviate training constraints, but must do it from a fixed amount of limited funds. Though this approach results in an inherent drawback based on the amount of resources used to setup and execute the training as well as to connect virtual / constructive simulation models to existing Command and Control (C2) systems. This requires trained technicians, and trained support personnel, all of which can exceed the number of personnel in the training audience.
This support staff-heavy model can be changed. This paper will describe techniques to utilize existing data previously generated by the training audience to enhance their training potential, while actually minimizing the amount of support personnel required for a training instance. It will additionally describe a recent use case where the Danish Army, during a military demonstration and assessment, tested the first steps in merging the C2 real world with simulation, going from live to virtual and back. Although not fully scaled, it showed how to merge live and virtual in a cost effective way. Executed successfully and at a larger scale, similar techniques will lead to a future where information flows freely between tactical C2 systems and virtual/constructive simulation models. This will create better, more affordable, solution-focused training that will benefit future soldiers in a practical and measurable way.