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Virtual-at-Sea-Training System
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Virtual-at-Sea-Training System
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For over 60 years naval forces of the Atlantic Fleet have relied on the training ranges at Vieques, Puerto Rico for naval gunfire training. The ability to assess accuracy was dependent upon scoring rounds that impacted the range. But with a changing political environment at Vieques and an exacerbating training accident in 1999 the Navy has turned to technology to enhance its gunfire training—both improving training and lessening the need for land mass targets.
| The Virtual-at-Sea-Training system
(VAST) is a sophisticated integration of computer technology and acoustics
to conduct nondestructive gunfire training and part of the Navy’s plan to increase the accuracy of feedback
as well as bring a sense of autonomy to their training locations. According
to the Office of Naval Research "VAST represents a paradigm
shift in operational training that transcends the immediate problem of
training ranges." With the freedom to move training locations the
prospects for naval training by Atlantic Fleet ships in the Gulf of Mexico
is increased.
VAST is essentially a portable "range" consisting of an array of special acoustical buoys that are arranged to form a target area. The ship fires its ordnance into this target area which is able to acoustically sense the weapon impact in the water and triangulate its position. Sensors in the buoys are linked to the Global Positioning System to provide accurate assessments. But the ship’s crew is not simply firing at an open ocean; the crew has a virtual target to train their sights on. This realistic presentation can replicate the landmass of an actual target. |
The VAST system is still undergoing assessment and so far the results are promising. In November the Atlantic Fleet participated in a cooperative test of VAST with the 46th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base and two Naval Surface Warfare Center Divisions. The tests were to further evaluate the system as a training resource and hopefully open up testing to an array of weapons and gun systems in the open sea. "While the results are preliminary, the data looks promising. We're encouraged by the capability this system brings to our testing efforts and to our pilots. It's exciting to think that we'll be able to use this portable system, and convert these wide open spaces to valuable testing areas," said Col. Dennis Sager, Commander of Eglin’s 46th Test Wing.
The first test was conducted on November 13th with several bombs dropped on a target 3 miles off shore of the Eglin Reservation on Okaloosa Island. The proximity to shore was to verify via land based camera systems the impact points of 18 inert bombs dropped by an A-10 aircraft of the 46th Test Wing. Based on the success of the first test the next day the USS Ticonderoga cruiser fired its 5-inch guns into the target field 50 miles from shore. "Initial indications would suggest that the VAST system was able to successfully score precisely where the ordnance rounds actually landed," according an Atlantic Fleet press release, "a significant milestone in ensuring effective at-sea combat training."
In an October interview with Reuters Admiral Natter, Commander of the Atlantic Fleet acknowledges that while the VAST system was already in development the prospect of losing Vieques gave it a boost. "This, we think, is very good technology. It's the smart thing to do and the cost-effective thing to do."
See related article about Navy moving training.
| Scott Jackson MindLace Media scott@mindlace.com 850-217-7994 |
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