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| Live, virtual and constructive capabilities can simulate and incorporate virtual and constructive entities into live development, testing and training exercises for a fraction of the cost. (U.S. Navy illustration) |
On Nov. 25, 2014, three F/A-18s lifted off the runway at Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) and located eight, Russian SU-27 planes via radar in China Lake's airspace.
The F/A-18 radars and radar warning receivers picked up the movements and speeds of the approaching aircraft - successfully completing the live, virtual and constructive (LVC) test.
Although no actual adversary planes ever entered China Lake airspace, the F/A-18 aircrew would never know the difference. According to F/A-18 Training Systems Technical Program Office Lead Dale Colangelo, presenting this information was no easy feat. Colangelo and a group of NAWCWD engineers worked with the F/A-18E/F & EA-18G Advanced Weapons Laboratory and Boeing to develop the capability that inserts constructive entities into the F/A-18's crew station. The result was the transmission of constructive targets over Link-16.
Link-16 allows data to be packaged and sent into flying F/A-18s through a data link network. It provides real-time information and can be used to transmit simulated attacks generated by a ground station. This capability enables an instructor to pose a customizable variety of pre-programmed threats against the training aircrew.
"The progress is huge," said Colangelo. "We are starting on a potential path where our aircrew can train against enemy air threats for a fraction of the cost. This type of technology could eventually be used to train aircrew anywhere around the world."
Colangelo expressed the importance of incorporating entities into live runs. They save time, fuel and are a more effective training method since the constructive entity can take the form of any type of enemy air threat.
Link-16 currently supports up to eight virtual and constructive entities, which intuitively carry out flight routes and tactics through any type of geographic environment.
Background/Related
- Embedded LVC Training:A Distributed Training Architecture for Live Platforms
- Live, virtual, and constructive community talks real plans at NAWCWD | NAVAIR - U.S. Navy Naval Air Systems Command - Navy and Marine Corps Aviation Research, Development, Acquisition, Test and Evaluation
- Lockheed Successfully Links Live, Virtual F-16 For Training Exercises | Defense News | defensenews.com
- Live, Virtual & Constructive Simulation for Real Time Rapid Prototyping, Experimentation and Testing using Network Centric Operations - AIAA08_LVC-13-fEB-09.pdf
- ONR Training Technologies: Delivering to the Fleet and Force-Allard.pdf
- AFAMS - 12-Dennis Slides.pdf
- Patent US5421728 - In-flight radar warning receiver training system - Google Patents
- Patente US5549477 - Integrated aircraft survivability equipment in-flight simulation - Google Patentes
Any chance that could be hacked during live combat to portray additional threats (distractions), while actual enemy planes take ours down?
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