Friday 14th August 2020
The new platform uses the latest advances in gaming innovation to improve training for personnel making it more realistic, intuitive and immersive, while lowering the costs.
SimCentric, a veteran-run software company, has been awarded £300,000 by Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) to develop and demo the simulator. After initial successful demo with the Parachute Regiment and officers at the Infantry Training Centre, Catterick, further tests have been carried out with the RAF Regiment.
A virtual simulator will be part of the armed forces wider training programme and will be used to support and enhance real life training exercises.
Former British Army Air Corps Officer Tom Constable is now Director of Innovation at SimCentric:
‘’As a veteran and current Reservist, I’m proud to help train the armed forces of the future. I joined the British Army in 2006 and later served in Afghanistan. This gave me a passion for building technology that will reduce the risk to our armed forces and improve the quality of training, with the ultimate aim of saving lives’’
Training Wing, based at RAF Honington, are looking into ways to enhance and modernise Training. Using Virtual Reality is one of many projects they are working on. The software allows Training Wing a way to recreate the environments that we operate in with zero disruption to air operations. The technology is accelerating all the time, having an understanding of its current capability’s and providing our input at these stages of development to make it fit our need is crucial, in order for us keeping up with the ever-progressing technology in the learning environments of today.
Sgt RE Minshall Training Wing Training Support Squadron
“Over the trial it has allowed me to gain further understanding of how we can incorporate VR into training. With the given opportunity to have input from the instructors on the trial, it will make for a system that is fit for our needs. I am looking forward to seeing this become incorporated into out training in the future. I can see its many of benefits being used to enhance the training that Trg Wg provides to all phases”.
Continually pushing the boundaries of innovation, the Force Protection Force and RAF Regiment are exploiting next generation technology to create a seamless air-ground battlespace to protect the RAF at home and deployed. Twitter – Working with SimCentric, Training Wing are assisting in the development of the simulator software to our specific training requirements. The kit can be used by over 30 personnel at the same time, uses intuitive gesture control designed to match real actions on the battlefield. #NextGenFP for #NextGenRAF
Top image: A RAF Regiment instructor in a prone firing position trialing SimCentric’s SAF-TAC Virtual Reality software at the RAF Regiment Training wing at RAF Honington on the 3rd August 2020.
