CSCS Opens an Additional CIAT on East Coast

Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Sonja Wickard | 190611-N-HV059-1073 NORFOLK (June 11, 2019) Sailors attend a debrief at the Center for Surface Combat Systems’ (CSCS) Combined Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) / Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Trainer (CIAT), onboard Naval Base Norfolk. CSCS’ main mission is to develop and deliver surface ship combat systems training to the fleet and achieve surface warfare superiority. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sonja Wickard/Released)  

NORFOLK, VA, UNITED STATES

07.12.2019

Story by Kimberly Lansdale 

Surface Combat Systems Training Command (SCSTC)

Norfolk, Va. – The Center for Surface Combat Systems’ (CSCS) Combined Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) / Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Trainer (CIAT), onboard Naval Base Norfolk, opened its doors for training and hosted an open house on 12 July for numerous commands and ships. The trainer is managed and operated by CSCS Det Norfolk.

This past December, CSCS officially brought the west coast CIAT facility online at CSCS Det San Diego onboard Naval Base San Diego. CSCS has since trained many ships including; USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), USS Pinckney (DDG 91), USS Bunker Hill (CG 52), USS John Finn (DDG 113), USS Princeton (CG 59) and USS Shoup (DDG 86). Additionally, Warfare Tactics Instructors (WTI) from the Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center (SMWDC) have been utilizing the facility to test and refine new tactics.

“The Navy’s acquisition program offices and warfare centers are developing and delivering phenomenal capabilities to our warships,” explained Capt. Dave Stoner, CSCS commanding officer. “This trainer represents the best multi-warfare training anywhere. It is better than the systems we have on the ship. I wish I had this capability while I was in command of a warship.”

As CSCS’ resource sponsor, Surface Warfare Directorate (OPNAV N96) provided the funding for CIAT. The team executing delivery included the Surface Training Systems Program Office (PMS 339), Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, and industry partners.

“Opening a new CIAT facility in Norfolk expands the Navy’s ability to train the surface fleet on complex air, surface, undersea, and ballistic missile threats we could face anywhere in the world today,” said Capt. Sam Pennington, PMS 339 program manager. “This state-of-the-art, high fidelity, trainer provides the ability for combat systems watchteams to build proficiency and validate combat effectiveness. CIAT provides an immersive experience that provides each watchteam the same visual and audio indications they would expect to experience if operating their own systems aboard their ship in a deployed environment.”

Leslie Madden, NSWCDD CIAT technical director, explains that the CIAT technical design originated during the early stages of combat system virtualization technology exploration and prototyping by the Warfare Center.

“The team advanced the technology to support an entire virtualized weapons system, providing the shore based training capability utilizing tactical software with ability to support multiple baselines on a single Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware configuration,” she said. “We leveraged prior Navy investments in modeling and simulation to facilitate full scale simulated combat system operations while significantly improving fidelity, visuals, and sounds to support realistic training experiences. The training community and Navy as a whole has benefited from these advancements, as other programs are now able to leverage and extend the virtualization and simulation improvements pioneered through CIAT.”

What makes CIAT revolutionary compared to other shipboard training is its ability to replay decisions made during a scenario in a full screen debrief. Current shipboard training evaluations can feel subjective in nature; sometimes Sailors are left wondering what actually happened or what went wrong.

“In the CIAT, we can tie together all console and headset communications against the scenario ground truth to show each team the cause and effect of every decision,” explained Mike Kroner, CSCS technical support deputy. “It is unlike anything we have seen in surface navy training.”

Currently, PCU Delbert Black (DDG 119) is scheduled to be the first to train at the new CIAT later this month.

“The CIAT will revolutionize how we train our ships and Sailors,” said Lt. Cmdr. Brian Blankenship, CSCS Det Norfolk officer in charge. “With its combined set of high-fidelity simulation tools, integrated debrief capability, and realistic training environment, this trainer will have a profound effect on combat readiness by providing better trained, better qualified Sailors to the fight against the evolving threats.”

CSCS' mission is to develop and deliver surface ship combat systems training to achieve surface warfare superiority. CSCS headquarters' staff oversees 14 learning sites and detachments, including CSCS Det Norfolk, located throughout the continental United States, Hawaii, and Japan and manages and operates a Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) training division in Rota, Spain. CSCS provides over 538 courses, awards 114 different Navy Enlisted Classifications (NECs), and trains over 38,000 Sailors a year. CSCS delivers specialized training for Officer and Enlisted Sailors to tactically operate, maintain, and employ shipboard and shore-based weapons, sensors, and command and control systems utilized in today's Navy.

For information on the Center for Surface Combat Systems, visit: https://www.netc.navy.mil/centers/cscs/

Visit us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Center-for-Surface-Combat-Systems/1480366868885239?ref=hl

• Date Taken: 07.12.2019
• Date Posted: 07.15.2019 12:16
• Story ID: 331370
• Location: NORFOLK, VA, US