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BAE Systems' Visual Threat Recognition and Avoidance Trainer (VTRAT), already in use by the U.S. Air Force, is available to be tailored for U.S. Army customers, the company announced at the Association of the United States Army's 2011 exposition in Washington, D.C.
The VTRAT, an individual trainer for initial or refresher training, combines tutoring methods with interactive computer scenarios to train aircrews to identify and defend against hostile anti-aircraft engagements. The Air Force uses VTRAT to train crews for 16 types of aircraft and more than 80 aircrew observation positions.
There are 61 VTRAT systems in use throughout the Air Force, and one was recently delivered to the Royal Australian Air Force, said Tim Hoy, VTRAT program manager for BAE Systems.
Now, Hoy said, BAE hopes to bring this capability to the Army to prevent lags in communication time between the crew and pilot and help reduce the number of aircraft shot down, such as the August helicopter crash in Afghanistan that killed 22 Navy SEALS.
"This trainer is specifically designed to shrink that communication envelope to the minimum possible," Hoy said. "It is designed for the spotter to detect, analyze, make the appropriate call, and for the pilot to begin evasive maneuvers."
VTRAT's lesson plans and course curriculum can be easily tailored to the Army's needs, Hoy said. New threats can be incorporated into the system within 30 days, he said, and changes to call signals can be incorporated within a couple of days to prevent negative training and miscommunication.
