Defense Technology International - March 2008 - (Page 24)

DISPATCHES GLOBAL FANCY THAT European battlelabs test new technologies with simulations JORIS JANSSEN LOK•THE HAGUE SAAB PHOTOS uropean armed forces are often hamstrung by tight defense budgets that leave little room for the breadth of testing necessary to prove a new technology or operational concept. Defense contractors there are addressing the problem by creating distributed, networked simulation centers to conduct concept development and experimentation (CDE) activities in partnership with military customers. The centers are high-tech labs in which simulation tools and virtual reality are used to play war games so concepts and new technologies can be realistically assessed. This helps the military and security forces to reﬁne their requirements and develop tactics, while giving industry a clear understanding of what their customers need. For the military and industry alike, developing and testing every new technology along with its associated tactical and procedural concepts under realistic conditions in the ﬁeld, at sea or in the air is impractical and cost-prohibitive. O -the-shelf technology for simulation and gaming, however, has made major advances in recent years. It now serves as a key enabler for battlelabs that replace the battlefield with soft24 E Engineers at Saab’s Capability Development Center evaluate terrain used in a simulation. ware-generated environments. These can be conﬁgured to meet the needs of any CDE project, according to industry sources. Even worst-case confrontations with hostile forces, in all types of climate and terrain, can be simulated. Using a battlelab, the feasibility of an innovation can be determined before the change is made. Military or security forces determine through a CDE process if the change is in fact a good investment from a procedural or operator point of view. European militaries have no choice but to be as e ective, e cient and expedient as possible when spending their budgets, says Rob ten Eikelder of Thales Land and Joint Systems. The costs of operations are mounting and, at the same time, armed forces must continue to go forward with the (often painful) transformation process that began after the Cold War. “CDE helps our customers use the synthetic battlespace to deﬁne the best way forward to achieve network-enabled capabilities within the conﬁnes of bud- gets and in the shortest time possible,” he explains. Thales claims it was the ﬁrst European company to establish a large-scale battlelab organization based on virtual reality technologies. It started the business four years ago. The contractor is rapidly building out its network of technology innovation centers (TIC) that are grouped under its Battleﬁeld Transformation Center (BTC) organization in Colombes, France, led by Martin van Schaik. Major BTC sites (composed of a TIC as well as local support o ces) are in France, the U.K., the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Germany, Norway, Spain and Switzerland. The BTC concept is based on a generic design that can be adapted to the local requirements of subsidiaries and customers, according to van Schaik. “We are striving to limit the number of duplications as much as possible and to make sure that all sites continue to be interoperable so they can work together in a coherent, networked fashion.” There are some centers of specialization—the BTC-TIC in Hengelo, the Netherlands, for example, focuses on naval combat systems. But generally there is no task specialization among the sites. “BTC provides the know-how and understanding that we can use to succeed in the market for integrated defense and security solutions,” says van Schaik. “We see it as a powerful enabler. With these battlelabs, we demonstrate that we can do more than just develop a piece of communications or sensor equipment—we can show that our systems have a powerful e ect in the context of network-centric operations.” Another CDE supplier is EADS, which is expanding its Network-Centric Operations Simulation (NetCOS) experimentation centers, both in applications and geographically. Last June, it opened a center in Spain, joining those in France, Germany, the U.K., and a mobile center in France. Soeren Fischer, vice president of EADS System Design Center in Germany, says the centers provide a multinational federation for distributed simulation of existing and future systems. He envisions a center in the U.S. “when it becomes worthwhile.” Fischer describes NetCOS as a “super computer” using off-the-shelf components. Its plug-and-play capability allows setup of a testbed in a week. NetCOS’ scenario editor, natural environment modeling, computer-generated forces and real-time 3D rendering have been used to create testbeds as marketAviationWeek.com/dti DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL MARCH 2008 http://www.aviationweek.com/dti

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Defense Technology International - March 2008

Defense Technology International - March 2008 Contents Sweden Cancels SEP; Israel Launches Imaging Satellite; Geotextiles Secure Ammo Dump U.S. Navy Taps Neural Architecture Software to Assure Job Satisfaction Shrapnel-Like Pieces of Reactive Materials Increase Explosive Force of Bombs Technology is Rapidly Closing the Gap Between Sensors and Shooters Italian Army Program Aims to Develop a Fully Networked Land Force Political and Military Uncertainties Plague U.S. Defense Budget Democrats Put Pentagon on Notice Over Spending and Policy at DTAR Conference Russian Combat Vehicle Protects Tank Formations from Anti-Armor Weapons European Battlelabs Use Simulation to Verify Technologies and Stretch Defense Funds Malaysia Accelerates Fleet Modernization to meet Long-Term Goals U.S. Navy Says Composite Raiding Boat May Reduce Injuries From Wave Shocks Seeing Isn’t Believing When it Comes to Deciphering Funds for Secret Projects Advances in Sensors and Propulsion Make Torpedoes Ever More Lethal FAA is in No Rush to Approve Rules that Let UAVs Fly in Civil Airspace USS Truman Carrier Strike Group Patrols a Rough Neighborhood 24/7 U.S. says Sino-Russian Space Disarmament Plan is Riddled with Pitfalls Hyperspeed Projectile; “Sound Cloak” Hides Subs; Improving Nuclear Forensics Dutch Air Commodore Theo ten Haaf Analyzes the Impact of Rotary-Wing Operations One Soldier’s War is a Behind-the-Headlines Look at Russia’s Campaigns in Chechnya Black Budgets are Huge and Growing, and Often Conceal Amazing Failures

Defense Technology International - March 2008

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