Tactical trainer would teach F-35 pilots decision-making skills.

• Author: Insinna, Valerie
• Position: SIMULATION

* A new tactical trainer for fifth-generation aircraft would allow F-35 pilots to practice how to react in deadly situations that would be impossible to recreate in live exercises.

Orlando-based game developer GameSirn showcased the new simulation, called the Tactical Training Rehearsal Environment, during the Interservice/ Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference.

In one scenario demonstrated at the conference, the user acted as an F-35 pilot defending Taiwan's airspace. Four enemy aircraft attacked the player as two others dropped bombs.

The pilot had to decide which adversaries to engage and how, said Andrew Tosh, GameSim's founder and president. Unlike "twitch-based" training where a user is judged on the ability to correctly aim and fire at an adversary, the pilot's choices are evaluated. Like a role-playing video game, the user selects an action from a menu of options that specifies, for example, at which aircraft to fire and with what weapon.

"You're not going to learn how to fly an F-35 on this kind of trainer, but you're going to learn how to make good decisions," he said.

The trainer is based on Lockheed Martin's Prepar3d, an off-the-shelf software for creating training exercises. GameSirn is programming the enemy's artificial intelligence and developing scenarios...