Simulators are increasingly being used for more than just new pilot flight training; they are now tools for the development of tactics and rehearsing complex mission scenarios. Photo: Lockheed Martin Australia.
One of the limitations of some new combat aircraft is that some are only built as single-seat aeroplanes. Thus, a pilot’s first flight in some of the most advanced 5th generation fighters is a solo flight.
But with the fidelity of simulators and other ground-based training devices rapidly advancing, it is now possible to qualify a new pilot on a new aeroplane without them ever having to leave the ground.
Such is the case with the Royal Australian Air Force’s Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighter. There are three models of the F-35, and more than 1100 aircraft are now in service with nearly 20 air arms around the world. But there are no two-seat F-35s and there likely never will be.
The RAAF operates 72 F-35As making it the second largest operator of the jet behind the US, and has three squadrons based at RAAF Base Williamtown near Newcastle, and one at RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory.
The F-35 simulator is an amazing piece of technology, one that fully immerses the pilot in a cockpit inside a dome of high-fidelity graphics, and provides handling feedback that is a true representation of the real aircraft. Other aircraft, terrain, threats and sensor feeds can be inserted to very high levels that simulate real-world scenarios and locations.
But simulators are no longer used just to teach a pilot how to fly the aircraft. They are now increasingly being used to develop a pilot’s flying and tactical skills long after their first flight, and to reduce the wear and tear on the actual aircraft.
A more recent feature of these new generation of simulators is an ability to network multiple devices to allow pilots to train for flying in formation, or conducting missions with other crews without the scenarios having to be ‘contrived’ by a computer or a trainer operating a console.
The RAAF has already successfully tested this concept, having previously connected simulators at Amberley near Brisbane to US Air Force simulators in the US to demonstrate an ability to train air-to-air refuellers and for transport missions.
RAAF F-35A fighters over Tindal in the Northern Territory. Photo: ADF.
Fighter simulators in the same building have also been connected to practice air combat scenarios, while ground-based training devices for command-and-control aircraft such as the RAAF’s E-7A Wedgetail have also demonstrated an ability to connect with fighter simulators.
But now, in a first for a foreign operator of the F-35, the RAAF has connected its four F-35 simulators at Williamstown with two located 3000 kilometres away at Tindal via Lockheed Martin’s distributed mission training (DMT) network.
The company says that by providing large-force training capabilities, DMT allows pilots to practice complex scenarios and to build skills for real-world missions.
It says that within the F-35 full mission simulator, pilots can engage in realistic and immersive training exercises over a secure network. This provides a safe and efficient learning environment to try new exercises and techniques, and allows for more repetitions of an exercise in a single training session.
Lockheed Martin’s vice president of F-35 Training and Logistics Raashi Quattlebaum said DMT not only connected simulators, it connected the pilots.
“By training together in a virtual environment, F-35 pilots can build the skills and confidence they need to dominate the skies and execute their missions,” he said.
The company’s Australian F-35 Program Director Australia Rob Weitzman said establishing the DMT network between Williamtown and Tindal provided the RAAF with an advanced training capability designed to enhance the readiness of its pilots while reducing the sustainment costs of its F-35As.
“Lockheed Martin has established our most significant F-35 sustainment presence outside the US in Australia, and we are proud to work with the Department of Defence and our local industry partners to deliver this record-breaking training capability milestone.”
