JTAC trainer offers 360-degree views

[unhappycamper]

Staff Sgt. Dennis Krouse of the 9th Air Support Operations Squadron calls for F-16 close-air support on enemy positions inside the immersive virtual environment of the Joint Terminal Attack Control Training and Rehearsal System developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Human Effectiveness Directorate, Warfighter Readiness Research Division.


JTAC trainer offers 360-degree views
Staff report
Posted : Thursday Jan 31, 2008 6:44:05 EST

Welcome to the thundering dome. A new simulator for training the airmen who call in airstrikes surrounds them with 360-degree views of the sky and battlefield.

The Joint Terminal Attack Controller Virtual Trainer dome officially opened for business Jan. 17 at the JTAC schoolhouse at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

Prototypes editions of the simulator have been displayed at several Air Force and training conferences.

During a November simulation conference in Orlando, Fla., Staff Sgt. Dennis Krouse, a JTAC and Iraq vet stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, had high praise for the trainer. “It's as close to real as it gets without having to step in harm's way," Krouse said.

At Nellis, Lt. Col. John Harris, deputy commander of the 57th Operations Group, welcomed the addition of the simulator.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/01/airforce_thundering_dome_080131w/



uhc comment: The GAO reports this costs only $3,143,462 --> http://www.gao.gov/decisions/bidpro/299014.htm