The UK has launched an interactive platform to accelerate training for the Royal Air Force’s CH-47 Chinook helicopter sustainment teams.
The capability, called the Virtual Maintenance Trainer (VMT), is equipped with software technology coupled with large touch-screen displays to support in-class sessions and individual preparations for field work.
It projects a “highly realistic and dynamic” 3D model of the Chinook hull and a library of known issues that can be diagnosed and resolved by students during lessons.
Alongside cooperative learning, the simulator can be used on laptops, offering personnel an option to review at their own pace.
‘Cutting Edge Investment’
Employing the VMT will result in faster Chinook maintenance role qualifications while delivering “greater knowledge and confidence” to future specialists once they complete their respective courses, Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) noted.
“Provision of this cutting edge Virtual Maintenance Trainer demonstrates a real investment in our personnel, leveraging technology to transform how the [Royal Air Force] trains its technicians, both in traditional classroom settings and remotely, to support Chinook operations,” DE&S Rotary Wing & Uncrewed Air Systems Director Mark Langrill said.
“The system harnesses leading edge software to create a resource that will significantly enhance engineering training for years to come, with a clear upgrade path to ensure it replicates the real aircraft and remains relevant.”
‘Step Change’
The contract to supply the VMT was awarded to Boeing Defence UK in 2023 for 7 million pounds ($9.3 million) with a two-year lead time to acceptance into service.
The solution is now stationed at RAF Odiham in Hampshire. It is supervised by the Chinook Maintenance School, the British military’s dedicated training center for CH-47 heavy-lift operators to be deployed on tactical humanitarian missions in local and overseas domains.
“The British armed forces has one of the highest calibre of pilots, aircrew and maintenance technicians in the world, and Boeing is proud to play a leading and enduring role in their training cycle,” Boeing Defence UK Vertical Lift Director Leanne Legge stated at the VMT’s inauguration.
“To deliver this step change in capability will ensure continued excellence in UK Chinook aircraft maintenance technicians for decades to come.”
