Fixed-Wing Part Task Mission Trainer

MVRsimulation's fixed-wing Part Task Mission Trainer (PTMT) was designed and built under an internal development program. The PTMT provides a low-cost, quick-deploy cockpit training solution to fill the gap in current in-use mission tactics training toolkits for military fixed-wing pilots. The system aims to maximize suspension of disbelief for trainee pilots as they practice mission tactics and coordination as part of joint training operations in networked environments. It can also operate as a standalone training solution.

Pilots are immersed in the cockpit subsection with notional aircraft hardware and custom configurable flight control touchscreens for conducting air-to-air or air-to-ground training scenarios. The PTMT can be configured for training for current 3rd- and 4th-generation combat aircraft currently used by NATO nations by easily changing the position of the specially-designed, patented*, flight control stick between side-stick and center-stick positions. 

With this cost-effective, easy-to-assemble/break down modular plug-and-play system, pilots can practice to improve skillsets such as gun runs and strafes, building muscle memory without requiring use of an actual airframe. A pilot in the PTMT can manage complex air-to-air scenarios -- taking virtual control of any constructive player at any time, triggering scripted behaviors, and employing aircraft systems that directly mimic the capabilities of their real world counterparts, all while interacting with controls in the same manner as they would in an actual aircraft. The simulator is currently in service in the NATO Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP) at Los Llanos Air Base, Albacete, Spain.

Scenarios are run on Battlespace Simulations’ (BSI’s) Modern Air Combat Environment (MACE). MVRsimulation’s Virtual Reality Scene Generator (VRSG) software provides the real-time 3D out-the-window view, sensor views, 3D terrain, and models. BSI’s full suite of tools enables multi-mission virtual role playing in the air-to-air arena, to include tactical displays that are integrated with HOTAS controls and emulate real world tactical systems. This coupling of MACE with VRSG provides the degree of immersion ideally suited to training from solo part-task mission objectives to large-scale, distributed live-virtual-constructive (LVC) rehearsal of major combat operations.

To take advantage of the eye-tracking technology in Varjo headsets, MVRsimulation has developed the means to have VRSG visualize the gaze of the pilot. During a training mission, if a pilot in the PTMT is wearing a Varjo headset, VRSG can track the pilot’s head position and orientation, track the gaze vector using the Varjo device’s pupil tracking functionality, and then visualize the gaze of each eye independently as a color-coded 3D cone. VRSG can export this data via DIS as a PDU log, which makes the eye-tracking playback valuable for after-action visualization.

Working closely with a US Air Force customer and their NATO partners, MVRsimulation has built the elements of a fully integrated cockpit shell that approximates the real-life physical experience of being seated in a cockpit, with touch screen displays for pilot interaction and an OTW view that can be used with a mixed-reality head-mounted display, curved display, or partial dome display. To support both 3^rd and 4^th generation jet aircraft, MVRsimulation developed a unique adjustable mount for a flight control joystick to enable rapid side- or center-stick reconfiguration.