LOCKHEED MARTIN AND BRITISH ARMY UNVEIL THE WORLD’S MOST SOPHISTICATED SIMULATION SYSTEM    

27 November 2002

WARMINSTER, United Kingdom – 27 Nov 2002 – The world’s largest and most sophisticated simulation system is today unveiled to the media by UK Minister for the Armed Forces, Adam Ingram.

The Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (CATT), designed and built by Lockheed Martin, will revolutionise armoured battlegroup warfare simulation. It consists of a highly advanced, networked suite of nearly 170 combat vehicle simulators – covering an area equivalent in size to three football pitches - in which 700 troops and commanders or more will be able to hone their battle skills prior to undertaking live training in the field. The CATT is the only simulation system capable of networking this number of devices for a single training activity. While other networked systems exist, none is capable of training on such a grand scale.

The £250 million simulator is located at two facilities in purpose-built simulator halls – one in Warminster, England; the other in Sennelager, Germany. The CATT simulators faithfully replicate the interiors of UK armoured vehicles such as Challenger II main battle tanks, Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicles and Scimitar armoured reconnaissance vehicles. Soldiers can train against other soldiers in simulators or they can engage computer-generated forces. Following an exercise, the entire battle can be replayed in a lecture theatre for post-exercise analysis and assessment for After Action Review (AAR).

Adam Ingram, Minister for the Armed Forces, said: "This state of the art simulator network provides an unprecedented level of reality - soldiers say the only thing missing is the smell of cordite. While it is no substitute for exercises in the field, CATT ensures that our forces go into live training better prepared.

"And with CATT, the Army can train under any conditions almost anywhere in the world at the flick of a switch - without environmental impact on training sites or the cost of moving men and equipment over long distances."

Graham McIntyre, Managing Director of Lockheed Martin UK - Information Systems said: “CATT has been a very successful programme and we are very proud to deliver this state-of the-art system to the British Army.”

Realism is the key to CATT’s success and it gives the British Army the ability to train to levels previously unachievable. The interiors of the vehicles are replicated in detail, all interconnected by a Wide Area Network linking the two sites together to create a single virtual world, where the actual players are in fact hundreds of miles apart. The terrain database itself accurately replicates an area of 35,000 square kilometres, with areas such as Salisbury Plain, Northern Europe and a generic desert location being reproduced. The system generates a level of fidelity that enables trainees and Commanders to use real world topographical maps and intelligence data in mission rehearsal.

Battlegroup training is becoming increasingly more difficult to plan and manage. Bringing together many hundreds of vehicles and people for field exercises requires months of careful planning, great expanses of real estate and enormous cost. With CATT, exercise planners and commanders need not worry about environmental pressures, manpower demands or even requests for costly external assets and, of course, the system enables repeat training to perfect skills and tactics.

Rick Perez, Lockheed Martin’s CATT project director added: “The CATT synthetic environment puts a premium on reality: engines overheat if left idling too long; repairs are needed if vehicles are damaged, and supplies have to be brought up if the battlegroup is to be kept fighting. In addition, infantry commanders can disembark from their vehicle simulators and climb into an infantry simulator to continue the battle on foot – exactly as they would do in a live situation.”

The standards of testing are incredibly demanding with some 5000 individual requirements needing to be demonstrated. Overall the trials programme has included six months of rigorous testing over a 14-month development period, which equates to 44,000 man-days of evaluation – an unprecedented amount.

CATT will allow many other simulators to be integrated, thus creating a complete three-dimensional virtual battlespace. Other synthetic training systems, which might be linked to it in future, include: Medium Support Helicopter; Hawk Synthetic Training; Close Air Defence Detachment Engagement Trainer and the Apache Attack Helicopter trainer.

Notes to Editors:

1. The CATT building houses simulators, the exercise control area, and after action review theatres (AARs). Army operations staff and LMIS support staff offices, as well as messing facilities for 400 exercise troops are also on site:

Simulators – There are 29 Challenger II simulators, 29 Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicle simulators, 4 Warrior OPV simulators, 8 Scimitar simulators, 16 Generic Vehicle simulators and 12 Dismounted Infantry simulators. To control computer-generated forces 10 battlegroup HQ mock-ups and 24 workstations are also provided. In the simulators themselves, all drill procedures are identical to the real vehicle as is the sound, vibration, and communications. To all intents anyone - from the individual soldier up to the brigade commander – will feel immersed in the complexities of the modern battlefield and gain the adrenaline rush that comes with real field operations. Exercise Control Area – This is the ‘operations room’ and is manned by 15 Army staff and LMIS technicians. It has more than 50 20” colour displays to monitor and control the battle scenario. It can also zoom in or out on specific parts of the battlefield as well as give a ‘magic carpet’ or Stealth view that can overfly the battlefield at up to 800 mph. This gives controllers the ability to quickly move to different parts of the battle, while also being able to keep an eye on the overall picture. After Action Review Theatres (AARs) – There are four, multi-media AARs that can seat 440 troops in total and can project multiple 10 foot square images of the battlefield scenario. It enables training staff and commanders to review and analyse the performance of troops on exercise and provide immediate feedback for high quality training purposes. 2. CATT can simultaneously generate 1000 computer controlled vehicles of up to 85 different types.

3. It has in excess of one thousand image generator channels – each effectively a separate battlefield view – from 200 image generators. For example, there are seven separate visual channels for each Challenger II simulator.

4. CCTT, on which the CATT system is based, is a Lockheed Martin designed product in service with the US Army. 317 CCTT systems have been procured since 1992. CATT’s core technology has been adapted, and its mission objectives extended, to include British Army doctrine for the UK requirement. That technology has then been inserted back into US programmes, benefiting end-users on both sides of the Atlantic.

5. Lockheed Martin UK Ltd Information Systems will be providing Contractor Logistic Support (CLS) services for the first three years of operation, with Alenia Marconi Systems (AMS) providing much of the support staff. Lockheed Martin will be Post-Delivery Support (PDS) contractor for future upgrades and enhancements.

6. Lockheed Martin Information Systems, the prime contractor in partnership with AMS and SAIC, is a leader in the design, development, installation, operation and integration of training and simulation systems for global defense, civil, and commercial markets. Training products and services in the Lockheed Martin portfolio span the training continuum of live, virtual, constructive and test-instrumentation domains for flight, naval, and ground systems applications. Addressing this continuum with products ranging from high fidelity virtual simulators to modern wargaming models and full-service schoolhouse operations, Lockheed Martin offers tailored solutions to address readiness needs.

7. Lockheed Martin UK Ltd. is a leader in systems integration working on major programmes spanning the aerospace, defence, civil and commercial sectors with significant capabilities in the transport infrastructure market. Lockheed Martin UK Ltd. has annual sales of approximately £600 million and enjoys more than 75 significant business partnerships in the UK. Lockheed Martin UK is a unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation and employs approximately 1,000 employees at over 20 facilities including London, Havant, Southampton, Yeovil, Swindon, Hertford, Bristol and Cornwall.

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