US advanced military simulation and training software firm Bohemia Interactive Solutions (BISim) has inked a contract with Cole Engineering Services (CESI) to build next-generation extended reality (XR) training courses for the US Army, it was announced on Wednesday.
CESI’s Training Simulation Software/Training Management Tools (TSS/TMT) contract aims to employ Bohemia’s main solutions: VBS4, VBS Blue IG, and VBS World Server.
The three solutions are integral to BISim’s features, with VBS Blue IG providing 3D whole-earth imaging for high-fidelity visuals and its World Server technologies offering the TSS/TMT programme on-demand training and reherarsal “anywhere in the world”, the company explained.
The development comes as the US Army aims to modernise its capabilities with virtual combat training technologies by 2025, BIS stated.
The US Army’s Synthetic Training Environment (STE) facilitates realistic mission command training for units and combat leaders, allowing them to rehearse war simulations from any location in the world.
The Army’s TSS/TMT also allows unites “live, virtual and constructive capabilities” via a simple user inteface, where military leaders, instructors, and others can create virtual combat situations with “thousands of AI-powered allies” to battle virtual or instructor-controlled adversaries, it was found.
Military personnel can reproduce and repeat training missions to boost combat readiness using the trainers, which feature STE’s One World Terrain mapping data.
Soldiers can also communicate and interact at soldier stations or STE’s Reconfigurable Virtual Collective Trainers, allowing rapid setups and exercise reviews using intelligent metrics to boost trainer efficacy.
The Orlando, Florida-based firm’s trainer will be the world’s most advanced and detailed system, building on the work and efforts of the US Army’s STE Cross Functional Team, CESI, and BISim, among others.
According to BISim, its VBS Blue IG solution has backed the US Army’s One World Terrain (OWT) project, and the firm’s latest contract is the ninth such award from the Army’s STE project.
BISim Chief Executive, Arthur Alexion, said:
“BISim has invested tens of millions of dollars in upgrading and modularizing our technology in anticipation of STE-type requirements, and VBS4 already supports all of the Army’s Games for Training capabilities, representing over one hundred U.S. Army-specific training uses. We are excited to bring BISim’s products and technical expertise in support of prime contractor CESI to jointly deliver the U.S. Army’s next generation of virtual combat training technology in 2025”
The award comes just months after the National Spectrum Consortium (NSC) awarded CESI $31.3 million to develop the US Army’s VR/AR 5G networks.
By Light, CESI’s parent company, has been directing numerous contractors to build a prototype network at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in Washington, XR Today reported in June.
