VSTEP to develop bridge simulators for UAE naval training center

CAE awarded VSTEP a contract for a suite of custom-built ship bridge simulators for the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Naval Training Centre.

"This is a major strategic win for VSTEP and clearly demonstrates our capabilities to provide adaptive and fully integrated simulators in the Defence industry," said Pjotr van Schothorst, VSTEP’s co-founder and CEO.

In mid-2016, CAE was contracted by UAE’s General Headquarters for a comprehensive training center to support individual, team, whole ship and mission training for the UAE Armed Forces, a deal worth approximately $114 million. The company was previously contracted to develop a Naval Warfare Training System for Sweden at the Naval Warfare Centre in Karlskrona, which was delivered in 2016.

The facility will feature a suite of simulation-based training systems as well as maritime aircraft sensor stations. Among the features is a full-bridge simulator.

“CAE’s choice of VSTEP as their provider of ship-bridge simulators for the UAE Naval Training Centre proves that our new simulation platform NAUTIS 3, which we are about to introduce on the market, has the quality and flexibility needed for the training needs of the most demanding clients,” said Schothorst.

NAUTIS 3 will make up the basis of the simulator and will be reconfigurable to different ships for specific training, while also leveraging High-Level Architecture to integration with other training devices, including CAE’s Naval Combat System Simulators and Engine Room Simulators.

“We are pleased to select VSTEP as the provider of bridge simulators that will play a key role in the overall naval training enterprise that will help the UAE Navy achieve a high level of fleet operational readiness,” said Ian Bell, CAE vice president and general manager, Middle East/Asia-Pacific.

The UAE Naval Training Centre will be located in Taweelah and is expected to finish by early 2019.