High-tech training system targets urban combat drills.

• Author: Tiron, Roxana
• Position: Urban warfare training system - Brief Article

A training system for urban-warfare exercises developed by a Swedish firm relies on radio-frequency technology to make military drills more realistic, the company claims.

The Urban Warfare Training System (UWTS) is being marketed to the U.S. Army as a possible alternative or complement to the widely-used laser-rag training technology, called Miles (Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System).

In UWTS, all soldiers, firearms, hand grenades and other elements involved in urban warfare are equipped with electronic tags and transponders, so every action is recorded and tracked in real time.

"The stationary sensor antennae identify, locate and collect other data from each data-bearing chip in the exercise," said Mattias Willersjo, project manager at NSC Training Systems AB. "This is accomplished by deploying antennae throughout the areas that are intended for training and fitting each participant--and each object needing identification--with electronic chips or tags which are activated by the deployed antennae.

Upon entering an antenna's sensitive area, the transponder chip broadcasts a unique identification code, he explained. "Other data is also transmitted, thus allowing precise visualization of the entire exercise area," Willersjo added.

The idea of using sensors in urban training is certainly not new, said Glenn Kohlhase, a U.S. Army project officer at Fort Benning, Ga. Miles was the Army's first attempt to use a laser-to-sensor system in the late 1970s. However, he added that sensors and lasers have become smaller and lighter in recent years. The U.S. Army is acquiring an upgraded Miles XXI, made by Lockheed Martin Corp., which received a $4.2 million contract in early 2002. Miles XXI is a family of infantry, vehicle, anti-tank and independent target systems laser-based tactical engagement simulators that furnish real-time feedback on the result of combat actions.

"Say that a soldier was hit, but you don't know who shot at him," Kohlhase said. The new sensors keep accurate track of all engagements and their outcome. Therefore, a soldier, "pays much more attention to aiming and gets a much stronger training," he said. The data from the sensors also help conduct post-exercise reviews, he added.

Miles and other comparable systems, Kohlhase said, "provide a more realistic training environment and can point out strengths and weaknesses."

Willersjo noted that UWTS is "completely different" from the Miles XXI system, because instead of working...