Frontline simulation

RAF pilots will train alongside British Army forward air controllers and artillery personnel prior to frontline deployment, through a new Ministry of Defence contract.

The £26m Distributed Synthetic Air-Land Training (DSALT) contract, awarded to Qinetiq and Boeing, will cover the provision and running of a bespoke multi-million pound training facility at RAF Waddington over the next four years.

Qinetiq, the project lead, and Boeing will together provide around 44 weeks' access to specialist synthetic training facilities each year.

The primary users will be HQ-level fire planning cells and fire support teams who will be on the front line for artillery batteries.

The other users will include RAF pilots who will operate alongside the frontline teams in the region.

The MoD hopes that by working together they will safely experience the complexities of controlling aircraft, artillery and other assets in fast-moving situations.

‘With recent technological advancements, we are now able to deliver synthetic training that realistically simulates actual engagement situations, and until now troops probably only experienced many of these when they reached the front line,’ explained Jon Saltmarsh, Qinetiq’s programme director for the project.