The Weapons Training Simulation System (commonly known as
the WTSS) has been in place with the ADF since 1999. Since that time, the
system has undergone a number of enhancements and the number of lanes available
has expanded throughout bases all over the nation.
“At the moment, as part of H&NA (Hardened and Networked
Army) and the enhanced land force they are building a number of new WTSS
facilities,” Leon Helmrich sales and business development manager at Meggitt
Training Systems explained at ADM at the
Land Warfare Conference last year.
The expansion is happening at:
- Edinburgh, a 24-lane facility;
- Kapooka, a 24-lane facility;
- Singleton, another 12-lane facility alongside an existing 12-lane facility;
- Townsville, a 24-lane facility and;
- Enogerra, 24-lane facility.
“The WTSS that they are building are a little different from
the current ones in that they are fitted for but not with a movement platform
in each screen,” Helmrich said. “For each 12 lane facility you have three
positions where a moving platform can be placed later on.”
Additionally, these new WTSS facilities will have indirect
fire-trainer software enabled which means that people can practice their
all-arms target grid – they can call for fire from mortars artillery naval gun
fire support and also aircraft both ships and rotary wing or even B52 bombers
if they wish
“They can train in a virtual environment with all that
equipment.”
JTAC
For JTACs the Australian Defence Force has the IFFACT
(Indirect Fire Forward Air Control Trainer) and the only difference there is
that that has an additional control laptop which is a light-flight simulator.
“The intent for that is to bring a pilot in for that – a
proper pilot – and he or she flies the aircraft whilst the JTAC or the joint
fires observer actually talks through the mission to each other,” Helmrich
said.
“And whilst the pilot is flying through that terrain if the
JTAC hasn’t identified the target correctly or marked it correctly or described
it in the manner that is appropriate the pilot may not see it, so the pilot can
then speak to the JTAC and say “look, I can’t see what you are talking about. I
can’t drop my ordnance here because it may be in the wrong spot or dangerous”.
It really is a great training tool.”
There is also an upgrade path for the system, depending on
the requirements (and budget) of the ADF under the phase 3 of HNA is the
introduction of mortars. The new WTSS is going to have some modifications made
to it to make training easier.
“At quite a few hundred dollars per round of ammunition, the
ability to have mortars at a WTSS site – and they are all being built around
the HNA theories – to be able to just get out of your barracks, walk down the
WTSS, have the MFC or the Forward Observer in the WTSS site and looking at the
screen and calls in a fire mission, radios information into the command post,
command post then makes the calculations, passes it to the Mortar line and the
Mortar-men drop their bombs which is then transposed onto the screen. This is
such a great closed loop training system. Well that’s part of Phase 3 and that
will be at those new sites with the exception of Kapooka.”
WTSS is able to save money in ammunition, transport,
rations, time – users don’t even have to clean the barrels after they fire them.
The ADF are also looking at putting in a 50 calibre machine guns into the WTSS
environment. Some are already in place at Special Forces Sites at the moment,
but not the expanded sites, Helmrich said. Again, this will come down to
requirements and budget in Phase 3, where the tender has been released.
“The other thing you are looking at is Blue Fire and it is
what we call our Bluetooth technology for our weapons systems,” Helmrich said.
“Instead of having the weapon joined to our system by a big- tether which
provides the air, it provides the communications, everything is done via
Bluetooth.”
This includes communications, the air in the rifle or gun is
provided by the special air-pressure vessel (which looks and feels like a
magazine) and is filled in a micro-second from the charging device, pop it on –
and it’s same weight approximately as a full magazine.
Helmrich also expects to see a refresh of the WTSS facilities
and technology in either the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016, but this is not set in
stone.
The possibility that the ADF will be looking to integrate
other systems for example VBS2 (Virtual Battle Space 2) which is in use with a
number of other platforms may also be an option.
“There is every chance in the world that they may consider
that they want the WTSS to be compatible with other systems,” Helmrich told
ADM. “Our new systems we are developing at the moment at Meggitt will be
agnostic as far as if the customer wants a particular type of game engine.”