Theme: Training and Simulation MT 2/2022 · 15 Gary Waterfall is Senior Defence Advisor to Clarion Events, organisers of IT2EC 2022. (Clarion Events) MilTech: The unmissable conference session? GW: NATO has been investigating the use of modern technology to support its education and training enhancement programmes. After many experiments and failures over the years, technology’s implementation into the NATO infrastructure has reached a measurable point. We have a couple of sessions that will put this work under the spotlight, including a panel session on Wednesday 27 April featuring Lars Jansson, Project Engineer, FMV; Captain Peter Lindskog, Developer of Simulation Systems for Military Training, Swedish Armed Forces; Dr Robert Siegfried, Chair of the NATO Modelling & Simulation Group; Wolfhard Schmidt, Branch Head at M&S, NATO; and Bharat Patel from the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). They will discuss the Viking 22 Exercise: Leveraging Modelling and Simulation as a Service (MSaaS) Technology and Process. Then, Wing Commander Ruari Henderson-Begg; Dr Robert Siegfried, Chair of the NATO Modelling and Simulation Group; Commander Jörg Feldhusen, NATO CoE Confined and Shallow Waters, German Navy; and Colonel Mark Madden, Branch Head, Modelling & Simulation/Training Technology (MSTT) Branch, ACT, NATO, will also join forces on Thursday 28 April to discuss Distributed Synthetic Training: Roadmap towards a Future NATO Capability. Another one not to miss will be the Day One opening keynote, which will be delivered by Air Vice Marshall Ian Gale, Director-General of UK StratCom. He will then be joined in a panel discussion by Major General Richard Oppelaar, Commandant General of the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps, to open the conference and interrogate the latest trends in military training capabilities. MilTech: Exhibition floor highlight? GW: A must-see this year is the DisTec show floor experience, which will showcase the disruptive technology solutions re-shaping the future of training in military and civil domains, including 6G, AI/Machine Learning, Augmented Reality, Autonomous Systems, Biological Augmentation, Virtual Reality, and wearable and holographic technologies. Here is where we get into cross-industry, cutting-edge technological advances, particularly in relation to military training – it is a brilliant forum for feeding the spark of innovation that IT²EC is known for, and certainly one not to miss. [As Gary astutely points out, a great deal has happened since the training and simulation community last came together in Europe. One unavoidable topic of conversation – and, one dares predict, the subject of a number of hastily-prepared presentations – will be what the ongoing conflict in Ukraine holds for us in the form of lessons. General Frank McKenzie, in his last media briefing prior to retiring as commander of US CENTCOM last month, suggested that the one thing Russian forces lack is the ‘middle management’ level of NCO and staff officer – the folks who ensure things actually get done. By comparison, the West spends a great deal of time, effort and cold, nard cash on assuring the development of junior leaders competent and confident enough to execute independently. Quantity certainly possesses a quality all of its own: but it is becoming apparent that experience, innovation, passion and sheer intestinal fortitude have qualities all of their own too. When backed by the kind of training support the Ukraine armed forces have enjoyed in recent years, who knows how effective they might prove in foiling Putin’s attempt at cannibalisation of a sovereign nation? – Editor.] IT2EC 2022 takes place at the ExCeL Centre in London’s Docklands, 26-28 April. www.itec.co.uk Gary Waterfall, Senior Defence Adviser at Clarion Events, predicts some of the events and trends visitors to IT2EC in London in April might observe. MilTech: What can we expect from IT²EC 2022? GW: A very welcome return to Europe’s primary training and simulation forum! A lot has happened since our community last came together, so we are looking forward to welcoming back friends and colleagues from across the military, civil sector, industry and academia, to showcase evolving product and service solutions, evaluate emerging trends and technologies, and discover and shape future initiatives. MilTech: What does the conference have in store for us? GW: The IT²EC 2022 conference provides an unrivalled chance to stand alongside today’s thought leaders, and to showcase new technologies and solutions to the procurement arms of Europe’s defence forces. This year’s event has an overarching theme of navigating rapidly evolving technologies for training and education, data, modelling, algorithms and simulations: things which have all become a part of our daily news cycles. What were potential plans for Digital Twins and other relevant technologies are now considered as critical and as a result, acquisition and development planning must begin to factor them in. Consequently, topics such as “Train, Reflect, Learn and Train Again”, the Reality-SimulationReality cycle and the Digital Twin approach are recognised as fundamental enablers for developing and delivering robust training systems - and the only cost-effective way to train with the necessary degrees of reality. f IT2EC Preview
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