Squad-Level Combat Simulator Unveiled by Raytheon

[Daok Kwon, Senior Researcher at Defense Technology Quality Institute] Raytheon has unveiled the Synthetic Training Environment Soldier Virtual Trainer, a small unit combat synthetic battlefield training simulator that allows training in environments similar to actual battlefields. The revealed simulator enables combatants to conduct not only individual combat but also simulate Close Air Support (CAS4) requests in a virtual environment akin to real combat, allowing for more realistic training.

The U.S. Army has long expressed continuous demand for simulators similar to tank driving simulators and helicopter piloting simulators. The simulator unveiled by Raytheon meets these demands to a satisfactory level, enabling the military to conduct live-fire exercises within synthetic environments and to deploy training scenarios involving urban operations or combat forms.

The product displayed at the exhibition demonstrated a virtual training system where two soldiers observe from an observation post, but it was stated that in the future, the system can be expanded and developed into a squad-level virtual training system to meet military demands, and it will also support simulations related to team and squad-level tactical response training.

The newly unveiled simulator consists of a virtual reality headset with high-resolution graphics and simulated weapons, with small position and posture tracking sensors attached to the user’s back, allowing smooth reflection of combat movements such as “prone shooting” and “crouch shooting” within the synthetic environment.

These position and posture tracking sensors are planned to be embedded within the headset, which is expected to improve training convenience by eliminating the need to attach separate sensors.

Currently, the U.S. Army is advancing the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS5) project, which includes developing an AR headset based on Microsoft’s HoloLens technology. IVAS provides aiming points and maritime target information.

The simulator unveiled by Raytheon is also believed to be related to IVAS. The expansion of VR and AR-based headset technology commercialization broadens the scope of Virtual Simulation (Simulator), which had been mainly limited to electronic and aircraft simulations in the M&S field, extending its application to individual combat training. This overcomes the military and technical limitations that have relied primarily on Live Simulation, which is highly significant.

For strengthening individual combat capabilities through the Warrior Platform promoted by the Army, the development of the education and training sector, one of the combat development support elements, is an indispensable factor.

Virtual reality technology is a core enabling technology to support this. Considering the development trends of the U.S. military, our military also needs to focus efforts and interest on acquiring simulators to master tactical maneuvers in various battlefield environments that individual combatants will face.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.