By: Tim Murray, ILS and Training Manager

As militaries around the world adapt to an increasingly data-driven and interconnected digital battlespace, it is essential that training and simulation keep pace. This requires the careful and planned integration of technology, data analytics, and training pedagogy to support the ongoing development of soldiers, sailors, aircrew, trainers, and support personnel. 

Beyond the intentional inclusion of emergent technology, training infrastructure, and skilled instructors, it also requires that the technological and human aspects of training be flexible enough to adapt to changes in training needs within the lifecycle of a training ecosystem. This is comprised of synthetic and physical training assets, standards, training materials, qualifications, and training infrastructure. Training should be as fluid as operations and must be rapidly adaptable and extensible in order to meet ever-evolving national and international needs.

Global events, particularly COVID-19, have changed the nature of training, accelerated the adoption of technologies such as Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, and have clearly highlighted the benefits of distributed and remote training. These technologies provide high levels of student engagement and retention, support distributed and remote training, greatly decrease infrastructure and travel costs, and allow for the continuance of training while deployed. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence will allow for the collection and analysis of student performance data and enable trainers to quickly identify student trends, stream students effectively, and identify high performing students and those who might require additional training.

Training models must be transformative, but not disruptive. Operations do not stop for training to catch up and training must accommodate current needs, while adapting quickly to accommodate new learning objectives.

Militaries know their needs and their people and industry has a responsibility to support the transition to new capabilities within the construct of in-place standards and training systems. Training must evolve from within. This model supports predictable force generation within current training constructs while also enabling the iterative insertion of enhanced training capability, engendering continual improvement, and supporting the seamless transition to new training models and technologies.

General Dynamics Mission Systems–Canada has over 70 years of experience working with militaries across all domains and has long been tracking and working with these emergent technologies. We are collaborating with Canadian universities on the development of augmented reality and machine learning projects underpinning training development and simulation in the long term. Our trainers are ex-operators with unique insights and knowledge drawn from their operational experience. User experience experts with knowledge in virtual modelling and training interface development and engineers with proven experience delivering simulation capability support these trainers. We are very conscious of the need to find a balance between adopting new training capabilities, while also maintaining and building on already in-place training systems and knowledge.

With training solutions currently in operation – both domestically for the CH-148 Cyclone, CP-140 Aurora, and CH-147 Chinook and internationally – we are a trusted partner in sustainment and mission readiness. We identify training needs, develop learning objectives, build training systems, deliver training to operators and maintainers, and support and iterate the capability once fielded. Our trainers and Field Support Representatives provide on-site global support and real-time targeted training as part of our airborne, Land C4ISR, and naval programs.

We pride ourselves on supporting our customers as a partner to ensure that our solutions not only remain operationally relevant and supportable through-life, but also that training remains aligned with fielded mission system capability. A key element of this support cycle includes ensuring that training and support systems remain supportable and relevant and that end users have the training, publications, and field support required to be effective. This support may come in the form of enhanced or field training, support for scenario development, direct training to operational crews or maintainers, training of military trainers, or support in the transition from new capability to steady-state training.

At General Dynamics Mission Systems–Canada, training is a core element of system design, and training systems and materials are developed in concert with the core engineering and software design of any platform or headquarters system. As a discipline focused on the human element of operation and maintenance, training needs and training subject matter experts guide system design as an advocate for the operator or maintainer. Foundational to this is the understanding that complex military systems are more often operated by crews than by individuals. Enabling crews to be successful by approaching system design as a System of Systems activity that includes training and support as a system enables militaries to “train as you fight.”

Synthetic training brings considerable benefits including support for distributed training where crews can train together without being limited by geographic location. We have worked with Canada to support interoperability between the CP-140 Operational Mission Simulator and operational Aurora aircraft. This blending of the synthetic and the physical further builds on our design objective where commonality of interfaces and parts between platforms allows for greater flexibility in resource allocation and less platform specific training time. This includes a common baseline for our Land C4ISR systems as well as our Data Management System which is the core of the mission systems on the CH-148 Cyclone and the CP-140 Aurora.

Effective training requires a strong partnership between governments and industry and an understanding that training is a foundational element of design that needs to be built into any project from day one. New training capabilities need to be deployed without disruption to existing training systems so that in place systems, policies, and practices can be incrementally uplifted and modified to align with the needs of the modern combat environment. This includes the training of people, modernization of courseware, uplift of supporting infrastructure, digitization of assets, and modernization of learning management systems.

Our objective is to support our customers with purpose built training and simulation solutions, conduct comprehensive and timely training at home or in the field, and support these solutions through-life to ensure systems and people remain operationally capable regardless of what the future brings.