VRSG Powers MMCT Delivered to Kirtland AFB
MetaVR has provided the visuals for a new HH-60G PAVE HAWK Multi-Mission Crew Trainer (MMCT) for the US Air National Guard (ANG), the company announced on 25 March.
Delivered to Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, NM, by prime contractor J F Talor, Inc., the simulator features MetaVR’s Virtual Reality Scene Generator (VRSG) and will be used to train pilots, co-pilots and gunner and hoist operator crewmembers. It is due to commence training in the near future.
The MMCT includes a purpose-designed simulator dome built by Immersive Display Solutions (IDSI), which wraps around the cockpit, left and right door gunner positions and hoist operator training positions with image-corrected large field-of-view images on a display that combines spherical, oblate, cylindrical and flat geometry into a single, visually coherent image. The projected 3D environment is driven by twelve native 4K Sony GTZ-280 simulation projectors blended on the display using ImmersaView’s SimVisuals warp and blend solution. The simulator also runs Battlespace Simulations’ Modern Air Combat Environment (MACE).
MetaVR supplied seven VRSG real-time 3D licenses to provide out-the-window views with near 20/20 visual acuity for the MMCT’s projectors. VRSG also provides visuals for the HH-60G forward-looking infrared (FLIR) camera views and a belly-hatch LED display. Two additional VRSG licenses will support spares and development systems.
The company also built a high-resolution, geospecific terrain of the airfield at Kirtland AFB, in round-earth geocentric Metadesic format with 15cm per pixel area blended into MetaVR’s 1mpp CONUS++ imagery, for rendering in VRSG. The 3D terrain environment provides a highly detailed runway model including taxiway markings, airport signage, windsocks, navigational aids, lighting systems, runway distance remaining signs and real-world flightline buildings, including the Kirtland AFB control tower. The terrain also includes a geospecific model of the Auxiliary Helicopter Training Field (AUX Field) for helicopter pilot training and can be updated according to customer need.
“The solutions we have provided for the HH-60G PAVE HAWK MMCT highlight how VRSG is differentiated from ‘game simulation systems’ for the military training market,” Garth Smith, President of MetaVR, commented. “Our VRSG image generator is designed to meet the needs of military customers who require geospecific imagery for these training profiles – it allows helicopter pilots to fly low and navigate using visual cues from real-world terrain in a round-earth environment. Because of this, the various elements supplied by MetaVR – including sensor and external visuals and the geospecific terrain in which it is depicted – help bring this HH-60G PAVE HAWK MMCT to life […] Procedurally-generated terrain used in ‘game’-style simulators typically does not match the real world closely, and therefore it cannot be used to train helicopter pilots as effectively to fly nap-of-the-earth, or navigate with visual landmarks.”
The MMCT also runs a high-resolution HH-60G model built by MetaVR to depict the aircraft interior, including an articulated M2 .50cal machine gun and gun mounts for gunnery training, camera gimbal, plus standard damage states and switch states for the cargo doors, refueling port, and power plant.
