The US Army has awarded BAE Systems’ simulation unit OneArc a contract to integrate its embedded training system onto a platoon of combat vehicles at Fort Hood, Texas.
The effort is part of the army’s Force Development, Innovation and Assessment program and will test the first commercially available embedded trainer installed in a US Army combat vehicle.
During the FDIA event, army crews will use the Embedded Collective Training (ECT) system to train on precision gunnery progression tasks needed for platform qualification. The initiative will also assess weapon-system training, crew-level qualification, and the use of embedded training on a fielded combat platform.
BAE said embedded training has historically lagged behind the introduction of new combat platforms, sometimes arriving years after a vehicle enters service. Units have instead had to rely on live-fire ranges or standalone simulators, which can be costly and difficult to schedule.
“For a force under pressure to modernize on compressed timelines, the shift from training as only a pre-deployment activity to training as a built-in capability is central to what FDIA is designed to prove out,” BAE Systems OneArc President Rahul Thakkar said.
Why Embedded Training Matters
Embedded training gives soldiers a way to practice using the equipment they operate without requiring every training session to take place on a live-fire range or in a separate simulator.
“Crews need the ability to train wherever the mission requires, without being tied to fixed simulator facilities,” Sergeant First Class Patrick Muir, 1st Cavalry Division Standardization Master Gunner, said.
The army has been developing synthetic and embedded training capabilities for years. Its requirements for the Next Generation Combat Vehicle, for example, called for embedded training systems that could interoperate with the Synthetic Training Environment.
More recently, soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division tested the ECT at Fort Hood. Army footage showed crews using the system to simulate Bradley Fighting Vehicle gunnery tables from inside their vehicles at a range or in a motor pool.