{"id":55310,"date":"2020-08-25T20:41:47","date_gmt":"2020-08-25T20:41:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/08\/25\/for-air-force-pilots-the-toughest-training-flights-are-going-virtual\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:00:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:00:49","slug":"for-air-force-pilots-the-toughest-training-flights-are-going-virtual","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2020\/08\/25\/for-air-force-pilots-the-toughest-training-flights-are-going-virtual\/","title":{"rendered":"For US Air Force pilots, the toughest training flights are going virtual"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. \u2014 A new simulator campus at Nellis Air Force Base could be key for the U.S. Air Force as it grapples with the question of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/itsec\/2019\/12\/04\/cubic-seeks-2020-contract-to-integrate-the-f-35-with-a-cutting-edge-training-tool\/\" target=\"_blank\">how it can train pilots against complex threats <\/a>like Russia and China <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/itsec\/2016\/12\/05\/air-force-seeks-virtual-elements-in-flight-exercises-to-heighten-realism-complexity\/\" target=\"_blank\">at a budget-friendly cost<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Aug. 17, the Air Force opened the doors of the Virtual Test and Training Center, or VTTC, a new, $38 million building where pilots will practice advanced tactics in a simulated environment that replicates war against a near-peer nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen you think about great power competition and where we might have to fight \u2014 shipping out to fight a China or Russia, particularly \u2014 there is no live training venue for the joint force, certainly for the Air Force, that\u2019s big enough, that has the threat density that can replicate what China or Russia can do,\u201d said Maj. Gen. Chuck Corcoran, who leads the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While live exercises will remain an important component of pilot training, the VTTC will give the Air Force a way to simulate a vast battlespace populated by high-end threats. Users will be able to network with other pilots on the system \u2014 who fly F-16s, F-22s, F-35s and F-15Es, with perhaps more to come \u2014 and fly complex missions against virtual enemies that are impossible to emulate in live training exercises like Red Flag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The VTTC building, which Defense News toured during an Aug. 21 visit to the base, is currently empty. But it won\u2019t stay that way for long, said Lt. Col. Chris Duncan, an F-35 operational test pilot and commander of Detachment 1, 29th Training Systems Squadron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">F-15E Strike Eagle simulators are slated to be delivered to the center in October and will go online in April 2021. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2019\/10\/18\/the-f-35-may-hit-full-rate-production-more-than-a-year-late\/\" target=\"_blank\">joint simulation environment<\/a> \u2014 a government-owned virtual training environment currently under development at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, and when finished will emulate high-end threats \u2014 is set to be fielded at the VTTC in October 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTypically aircraft simulators have taught pilots how to fly them and basic employment,\u201d Duncan said. \u201cWe\u2019re not worried about those things. We\u2019re assuming they already know that.\u201d Instead, the training will focus on more robust mission sets, including advanced training for Air Force Weapons School students, operational testing of new platforms and large-scale war games, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force is deliberating how best it can expand the VTTC\u2019s capabilities over time on a limited budget. Among the factors under consideration is whether to buy additional simulators, such as ones for the new F-15EX. It may roll out the Nellis Mission Operations Network, on which the VTTC will run, to other bases such as Whitman Air Force Base in Missouri \u2014 the home to the service\u2019s only stealth bomber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is also discussion about how to integrate the simulators on the network with live aircraft flying on the Nevada Test and Training Range, which would allow the VTTC to project synthetic threats to jets practicing midair tactics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Historically, the Air Force has been hard-pressed to fund advanced simulation efforts. The ultimate success of the VTTC may ultimately come down to whether there is enough money to continue funding simulators for additional aircraft and to keep upgrading hardware and software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Duncan said the Air Force is already keeping that point in mind. Instead of simulators that provide a completely accurate cockpit experience, the service is looking to save money by prioritizing simulators that can provide the experience of advanced missions, even if the simulator imagery or cockpit experience isn\u2019t completely realistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But he underscored the cost-effectiveness of virtual training when compared to its live counterpart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe payoff, the bang for the buck,\u201d Duncan said, \u201cit far surpasses what we can do in live flying.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new virtual training environment will help Air Force pilots prepare for war against countries like Russia and 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