Human Effectiveness Directorate Studies Effects of Live Vs. Simulator JTAC Training

  • Published
  • By Elizabeth Long
  • 711 Human Performance Wing
The Air Force Research Laboratory, 711th Human Performance Wing, Human Effectiveness Directorate's Warfighter Readiness Research Division in Mesa, Ariz. believes it has found one of the most ideal testing sites for its Joint Terminal Attack Controller virtual training dome - the Grayling Air Gunnery Range in Alpena, Mich.

The JTAC virtual training dome has a four-meter spherical screen that gives the JTAC a 160- to 170-degree horizontal field of view. It allows for real-time visual and electronic interaction in a synthetic hostile environment.

The Grayling Range trains more than 200 JTACs and Joint Fires Observers from the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines and coalition nations each year using live and simulated training. The 711 HPW/RHA recently installed the JTAC dome at Grayling to potentially study training using live controls versus training that incorporates both live controls and simulation. Researchers want to determine how the dome can best be utilized so that JTACs can be trained more swiftly and effectively.

"We want to see how our immersive environments from an engineering perspective can be developed and improved," explained Lieutenant Matt Lisa, Lead Engineer, Warfighter Training Systems in the 711 HPW/RHA's Immersive Environments Branch. "With this testbed at Grayling, we can see how they are going to benefit from this type of training and develop and recommend training programs that will help JTACs perform at their best."

"We are looking at the fidelity of the simulators and the amount of time that you have to be in the simulator and compare that to live controls or a higher fidelity simulator," said Major Richard Prieve, Chief of Continuous Learning in the 711 HPW/RHA's Continuous Learning Branch. "Then we can perform cost benefit assessments of how often JTACs can be in a lower or higher fidelity simulator and what affects skill decay. How often do JTACs have to come back and take a training session to stay fully proficient?"

In one of the proposed tests, a control group of JTACs performs two weeks of training using live controls on a range, talking to a pilot in an actual aircraft, dropping a real bomb on a real target. Another group of JTACs will train on both simulation controls and live controls so researchers can determine which one of the two groups has gained more knowledge and increased their skills.

The 711 HPW/RHA is also exploring new gaming technologies to increase training realism and JTAC skill enhancement.

"We are looking at off-the-shelf flight simulation games," said Lieutenant Lisa. "A pilot can sit down and fly a virtual aircraft for the JTAC in the dome. That is another reason we like Grayling as a testbed, because the range has rated pilots that can help us test the man-in-the-loop aircraft station by flying the simulated planes the way they would in real life."

"We are happy to be a testbed for the JTAC dome," remarked Major Matt Trumble, Range Control Officer at the Grayling Air Gunnery Range. "We had a much lower fidelity system in place a few years ago. We have huge numbers of foreign air controllers or JTACs that come here to train with the airplanes. We provide training on simulators when there are no planes or the weather is bad. Since they are traveling long distances to train here, we want to avoid any downtime."

Major Prieve said researchers can identify simulators that can be used for certain aspects of Mission Essential Competency (MEC) training.

"You do not need the highest fidelity simulator for each MEC," Major Prieve explained. "Some of the MECs can be conducted using a desktop computer trainer, some may require a full-fidelity simulator and for others the JTAC will have to be in a live environment. Ultimately, we want to determine how JTACs can best learn."

"The research basically would look at a virtual training dome versus flat screen simulation versus virtual reality," said Lieutenant Lisa. "While we are making great strides with virtual reality, it is not a fully effective tool for us yet so the two options that are really available to us are flat screen simulation or the dome. With the flat screen, you only get 2-D visuals; it does not offer a peripheral vision feature like that of the dome."

The testbed will go a long way in keeping warfighters ready to roll on a moment's notice with training research that gives warfighters foundational training, and the experience of war without the risks or the costs.

"The work of the 711 HPW/RHA makes the warfighter more effective now, and in the long term, we will make their training even more efficient," said Lieutenant Lisa.