With the increasing digitisation of the battlefield and greater automation, the crew of armoured fighting vehicles must be trained in ever more complex scenarios. MS&T Guest Writer Dr. Trevor Dobbins explores the role of simulation and the move from analogue to digital. 

A primer on the visual, motion, audible and haptic cues necessary for immersive environments by David Hambling.

The Link “Blue Box”, the first effective flight trainer, was created in the late 1920s when aircraft had been flying for more than 20 years. This is a strong hint that an effective simulacrum may be harder to build than the real thing.

Our senses, sharpened by millions of years of evolution, cannot be fooled easily, making it difficult to give a realistic impression of flying high while still rooted firmly to the ground. Effective simulation requires visual, motion and audible cues, all fully integrated. Even minor flaws may result in simulator sickness, rendering the simulation useless. Other errors risk mis-training and making the simulation worse than useless. Standards for simulation are therefore necessarily high.

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Paul A. Bross reports from the Future Military Pilot Training Conference (FMPT).

LVC has tremendous untapped potential but something needs to change. Phil Jasper writes.

How game-based training and assessment helps the IDF grow better future leaders. Ran Rimon writes.

Jan Matthiesen and Markus Schuppert describe the German Navy’s approach to fully integrated virtual total ship training.

Dr. Anne Niccoli, Captain Dante Vinciguerra, and Master Chief Kevin Leask tell the story of three initiatives at the US Coast Guard Leadership Development Center (LDC) in New London, CT to infuse critical thinking: a senior enlisted course, a command preparation course, and a service-wide leadership resource portal.

COMBATER After decades of in-house maintenance and development, the Brazilian Army decided a new COTS solution would provide significant benefits and ROI. The result is COMBATER, a constructive simulation system that is meeting their expectations. Lt Col Sergio Martins Rocha, Brazilian Army, tells the story.

Transformation and reequipping the Brazilian armed forces, following the publication of the National Defense Strategy in 2008, has led to the rationalization of the training process and encouraged the use of simulators in training the military. Colonel Paulo Eduardo and Lieutenant Colonel Sérgio Simas Lopes Peres describe the situation.