Pre-deployment simulator

A Qinetiq-led team that includes the British Army, Boeing and Inzpire has developed a pre-deployment training simulator to prepare UK forces before deployment in Afghanistan.

The Distributed Synthetic Air Land Training (DSALT) unit is based at the RAF Waddington and will allow soldiers to experience the complexities of controlling aircraft, artillery and other resources in difficult situations.

The facility allows ground forces to practice talking with aircrew flying simulated missions within operational constraints.

Boeing and Qinetiq are currently working together to improve the facility from a concept demonstrator into a reliable training system.

The DSALT unit is part of the Air Battlespace Training Centre, a joint project between the RAF and the defence industry to improve the training of frontline forces.