Photo By Sgt. Ashley McLaughlin | U.S. Marines with Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 coordinate an attack...... read more read more
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U.S. Marines assigned to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One trained with emerging technology for offensive air support during a tactical demonstration.
The training is in conjunction with Weapons and Tactics Instructor course, a seven-week training event hosted by MAWTS-1 cadre at Yodaville, Yuma, Ariz., April 4-6.
“We’ve moved into the more complex tactics, techniques and procedures with new technology that will enhance our situational awareness, increase our lethality and also our survivability,” said Maj. Eben Buxton, a MAWTS-1 instructor of air officers and joint terminal attack controllers.
Marines used the equipment in preparation for integration of more advanced gear while also giving feedback about how well it aids them specifically.
Two of the technologies being implemented are projects of the Office of Naval Research; the HoloLens and the JTAC Warfighter Augmented Reality device.
As the technology advances, the processing power required by the computers in these systems will increase as the size of the devices decreases, allowing for reduction in overall weight while increasing performance resulting in more lethal JTACs.
The HoloLens provides a more advanced planning tool to allow the warfighter a 3-D view of the battlespace before getting on the objective. Seeing the environment in three dimensions without the threat of the enemy allows the warfighter to be better prepared once they have crossed the line of departure.
“We’re using a HoloLens, which is a holographic projection,” said Jason Erbecker, a civilian with Department of Public Social Services and liaison to the Office of Naval Research. “We have government software that enables the buildup of a terrain model. Rather than using sand, sticks and string, we now have a three-dimensional holographic image of the town we’re about to assault through.”
“It saves time, but more importantly it provides more accurate realistic representations so that when Marines do go into harm’s way, they’re going in with the absolute best and most accurate information available,” said Erbecker.
The WAR is a system that has advanced out of the Augmented Immersive Team Trainer the Marine Corps purchased for fire support training. OONR along with personnel who helped create the virtual yellow first down line for professional football have continued to develop capabilities within WAR and aims to create a JTAC look-through device to help display situational awareness enhancing information by overlaying Kinetic Integrated Low-cost Software Integrated Tactical Combat Handheld symbology onto the battlefield via the goggles worn by the JTAC. Much like the AITT, WAR can also display vehicles, personnel and aircraft from the simulation software known as Combined Arms Network so it has the potential to develop into not only an operational tool, but one for training as well.
“The WAR puts symbology in the glasses and onto the target area,” said Buxton. “This has an application in training so the user can paint simulated enemy and threats as well as simulated friendlies. Once the technology advances to a point where the device can be used operationally, JTACs will be able to decrease time to kill and increase the ability to track friendly positions by displaying those positions as the JTAC looks out across the battlefield.”
Another technology the Marines utilized was the X-27 camera made by Sierra Pacific Innovations Corp., a low-light level color camera. This allows the user to see different colors and aspects of buildings, as compared to night vision goggles or a thermal device which can be inaccurate at times.
Developers are taking a look at the X-27 to potentially inform users of the necessary requirements that their helicopters need in austere environments. If there is bad weather, or pilots are forced to land in dusty environments, the camera would give them clarity beyond anything they have used operationally in the past.
| Date Taken: | 04.04.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 04.13.2018 18:39 |
| Story ID: | 273047 |
| Location: | YUMA, AZ, US |
| Web Views: | 612 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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