Sunnyvale, CA (11/29/2000)
A single terrain database is, for the first time, supporting simultaneous out the window visual, Radar, FLIR and NVG simulations on a trainer. Aechelon Technology of Sunnyvale, California and Camber Corporation of Dallas, Texas have successfully integrated their database techniques and features for visual simulation and sensor simulation.
The AV-8B Trainer
The unique system was provided on the U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Radar Night Attack Weapons System Trainer (RNAWST) based in Yuma, Arizona. The RNAWST provides training for U.S. Marine Corps pilots in the Radar Night Attack AV-8B Plus configured aircraft. The trainer includes Air-to-Ground and Air-to-Air Weapons Delivery Modes of the AN/APG-65 Radar with Digital Radar Landmass Simulation (DRLMS), Night Vision Goggles (NVG), Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) and Defensive Electronic Countermeasures.
The Advantages
In the past, simulators with multiple sensor simulations required a different database for each of the sensor simulations. This of course created a requirement for large data storage, compounded database management tasks, and multiplied correlation errors between the different sensors and their databases, thus increasing the complexity of the task of training in tactical conditions on simulators.
Aechelon databases and the Camber Radar Toolkit support geo-specific database requirements. They are based on the use of photographic texture maps derived from satellite imagery, applied to a 3-Dimensional terrain and populated with airports, buildings, and natural features. The Aechelon and Camber software automatically derives the feature and material classifications needed by the sensor systems from the source data. This database technology supports high resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Doppler Beam Sharpening (DBS) radar modes with resolutions as small as one foot.
Camber is a long time supplier of radar simulations that use their Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) Radar Toolkit. Their simulations have previously been delivered on various trainers for the AV-8B, F-14, P-3, F-16, C-130, MH-60, MH-53, MH-47, A-4, F-5 and others.
For more information about Aechelon’s C-Radiant architecture, visit their website at https://aechelon.com/cradiant.html.