Cubic Provides Unprecedented Training Capabilities for JCTC Exercise in AustraliaInitiative linked U.S. and Australian virtual, computer-based
and live combat training systems for the first timeSAN DIEGO, Calif. – July 19, 2007 – Cubic Defense Applications, a defense unit of Cubic Corporation (Amex: CUB), delivered breakthrough technology and capabilities for joint military training during the biennial Talisman Sabre exercise in Australia. Cubic is a worldwide provider of combat training systems.
Cubic developed technology and expanded capabilities as part of the Joint Combined Training Capability (JCTC) effort, a cutting-edge initiative aimed at networking the two allies’ virtual, computer-based training systems and live combat training systems for better situational awareness, feedback and objective performance measurement.
The JCTC was officially recognized by Australia’s Minister for Defence, the U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. Joint Forces Command during Talisman Sabre 07 at Shoalwater Bay Training Area in June.
Cubic’s challenge for the JCTC portion of Talisman Sabre was to ensure the different live training systems could communicate with each other, even though the individual systems were custom-designed for each country and not designed to share information, and with virtual and computer-based systems located in Australia and in the United States.
Lt. Gen. David Hurley, Chief of the Capability Development Group for the Australian Defence Force, said Cubic did an excellent job in integrating training systems for the JCTC event.
“ We are making a considerable investment in being a networked Defence force, and our ability to interoperate with the U.S. is going to be improved and measured through this system,” General Hurley remarked. “The JCTC was a proof of concept, and Cubic has played a fundamental part in its success.”
Some of the groundbreaking capabilities Cubic provided for JCTC included:
• Air-ground weapons effects simulation: The ability for an F/A-18 aircraft equipped with Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation (ACMI) to drop a virtual bomb on live instrumented soldiers or vehicles, with real-time casualty assessment and soldier feedback.
• Interoperable lasers: The capability for the U.S. and Australia laser-based MILES/Tactical Engagement Systems to be interoperable during training.
• Indoor tracking capability: Infrared trackers enabled for U.S. and Australian training command and control instrumentation systems to monitor the location and actions of soldiers wearing player instrumentation as they moved throughout the Urban Operations Training Facility (UOTF).
• Indoor weapons effects: Shoot through walls, blast, smoke and various other effects to bring greater realism to training.
Meeting the JCTC’s challenging objectives required intimate knowledge of the various training systems involved. Cubic used its expertise in complex system integration and common architectures such as HLA (High Level Architecture), DIS (Distributed Interactive Simulation) and TENA (Test & Training Enabling Architecture), as well as its vast experience in live instrumentation, in the development of the groundbreaking JCTC capabilities.
Key U.S. live systems used during the exercise were Cubic’s Initial Homestation Instrumentation Training System (I-HITS) including the MILES laser-engagement system deployed with the U.S. Army, and the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) ACMI system deployed with U.S. Marine Corps attack squadron VFMA 212. Major Australian systems included the Cubic-developed Land-134 deployable Combat Training Centre with the Tactical Engagement Systems (TES), the Urban Operations Training Facility (UOTF) instrumentation and the newly delivered Royal Australian Air Force ACMI system.
In a press statement, Dr. Brendan Nelson, Australia’s Minister for Defence, said the JCTC concept will better prepare joint and combined operations in increasingly complex environments.
U.S. Marine Corps Col. Michael Belcher, commanding officer of the 25th Marine Corps Regiment, based in Massachusetts, agreed. “We need to have that compatibility so we understand what each is doing, to capitalize on the skills of each other, know where our strengths and weaknesses are and solve them,” he said.
Cubic Defense Applications (CDA), one of Cubic Corporation’s major segments, is a world leader in realistic combat training systems, mission support services and defense electronics. The corporation's other major segment, Cubic Transportation Systems, designs and manufactures automatic fare collection systems for public mass transit authorities.
