The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has contracted BAE Systems to upgrade its VBS4 whole-earth virtual desktop trainer to the latest configuration.
The agreement will see enterprise-wide license and supplementary services to maintain tactical and mission rehearsals for the military.
Part of the award is the production of an enhanced digital presentation of the New Zealand Light Armoured Vehicle and the extension of sustainment for BAE’s TerraTools terrain-generating software tool.
Work for the project will be facilitated by BAE’s New South Wales-based subsidiary Bohemia Interactive Australia (BIA).
“We are grateful for the trust the NZDF has placed in VBS for the last 15 years,” BIA Managing Director Ryan Stephenson stated.
“The NZ Army’s Command and Control Systems School are real power users of simulation tools and have developed considerable expertise in leveraging simulation as a multiplier to produce training effects for their service men and women. We are proud to continue supporting them in their work.”
The recent contract follows the NZDF’s integration of the VBS4 into its command and control training program in June 2024.
BIA then announced the latest VBS4 build one month later, which incorporated improved artificial intelligence capabilities and geo terrain editing, additional missile and rocket trails, global airfield downloads, weapons, and improvised drone munition features.