Gaming technology to transform military training, says BAE

BAE Systems’ brand new cockpit development and training facility are using the latest gaming technologies in conjunction with advanced military aircraft simulators and FI™ engineering to transform military training.

The £2.3 million Training and Simulation Integration Facility (TSIF) at Warton, Lancashire has been developed in collaboration with Williams Advanced Engineering and involves simulation capabilities for a number of aircraft types including BAE Systems’ Hawk, Typhoon and future concept aircraft, co-located and combined under one roof. Pilots, customers and engineers are provided by the TSIF with an innovative and immersive environment to analyse, evaluate and experiment with the next generation of military cockpits and future training solutions.

The different technologies demonstrated to show what future capabilities could look like include a Next-Generation Training Cockpit, an Augmented Reality Environment, a Classroom of the Future, and a Networked Synthetic Environment.

Steve Timms, Managing Director of Defence Information, Training and Services at BAE Systems, said: “This new facility represents a fresh blueprint for the future training of pilots and engineers. Such an innovative application of virtual reality and simulation technologies offers a wealth of advanced, more affordable techniques for the training of teams on the maintenance and design of advanced fast jets – and this is just the beginning of possible applications for that technology in the sector.”