Executive Summary

Historically, military aviation flight simulators take years and often tens of millions of dollars to develop and deliver. The U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) navigated this challenge using visual system solutions that fully correlate in time and space, with accurate 3D geo-specific terrain and feature representations in real-time.

Aechelon Technology’s image generators use computational fluid dynamics to enable simulated aircraft interactions with real-world, 3D geo-specific databases, providing realistic brownout, aero-turbulence, and air refueling mission simulations. This enabled the USMC to advance aviation training with portable, efficient high-precision, Mixed Reality/Virtual Reality training solutions.

Expanded Summary

Military aviation simulators require time-consuming development processes and high startup costs. Aechelon’s visual system solutions address these challenges by incorporating accurate 3D geo-specific terrain and feature representations, allowing for more realistic training environments. This includes simulating interactions with real-world terrain databases, such as brownout, aero-turbulence, and air refueling mission simulations.

Our image generators are designed to support multiple sensor simulations, including night vision, electro-optical, infra-red sensor pods, and integrated helmet-mounted cueing sensor fusion systems. This enables flight trainers to provide a comprehensive simulation of modern warfare, including the use of unmanned aerial systems.

Aechelon’s solutions are compatible with a wide range of USMC aviation training systems, such as MV-22, AH-1/UH-1, CH-46, CH-53E/K, KC-130J, and AV-8. These solutions support both individual and networked training missions, catering to various operational aviation simulation and training systems, including full mission flight simulators, flight training devices, operational weapon trainers, aircrew procedures trainers, and deployable mission rehearsal trainers.

Furthermore, Aechelon combines advanced GPU-based rendering technology with state-of-the-art digital projection systems, providing portable and efficient high-precision Mixed Reality and Virtual Reality training solutions. This innovative approach ensures that trainees can experience immersive, realistic environments, ultimately improving their overall preparedness for real-world scenarios.

Problem/Challenge

• Historically, military aviation flight simulators have taken years and tens of millions of dollars to develop and deliver.
• Networking multiple simulators in a virtual training environment requires highly correlated 3D virtual terrain and a considerable investment in data to enable multi-ship mission tasks to be performed.
• Visual system solutions must support more than the visible spectrum, requiring accurately modeled multi-domain sensors—e.g., night vision, electro-optical & infra-red sensor pods, and integrated helmet-mounted cueing sensor fusion systems.
• Unmanned aerial systems have further increased the number of sensors required to be simulated—making the simulation of a realistic theater of war even more challenging.

Solution/Impact

• Aechelon provides visual system solutions that fully correlate in time and space in real-time, with accurate 3D geo-specific terrain and feature representations.
• Our image generators use computational fluid dynamics to enable simulated aircraft interactions with real-world 3D geo-specific databases, providing realistic brownout, aero-turbulence, and air refueling mission simulations.
• We develop and provide networked real-time image and data generators featuring all-domain sensor simulations and high-fidelity, worldwide geo-specific databases for the majority of USMC aviation training systems, including MV-22, AH-1/UH-1, CH-46, CH-53E/K, KC-130J, and AV-8.
• We support both own-ship and networked training missions and a full range and scale of available operational aviation simulation and training systems, ranging from full mission flight simulators, flight training devices, and operational weapon trainers, to aircrew procedures trainers and deployable mission rehearsal trainers.
• Aechelon has combined its advanced GPU-based rendering technology with state-of-the-art digital projection systems to provide portable, efficient high-precision Mixed Reality/Virtual Reality training solutions.