The new frontier for training and simulation

The progressive development of digital technologies has increased the amount of data and information available to us, enabling people to expand their knowledge and establish more and faster connections with the world around them. This change also affects businesses, particularly those that can extract value from data to exploit its full potential.

Leonardo has embarked on this path by developing innovative digital solutions in simulation, training and related services. The company has longstanding experience in this field, which has evolved over time with the development of simulators increasingly focused on the new dimension of virtual and augmented reality.

How the sector is evolving
Training requirements are increasingly shifting towards the extensive use of Virtual & Constructive simulation complemented by traditional live training systems. This supports not just environmental and economic sustainability but also embraces the increased training effectiveness offered by new technological solutions. Live training alone cannot prepare operational personnel to deal with complex situations in extreme conditions. There is therefore a growing requirement for simulated, multi-domain (land, naval, air, space and cyber) inter-force scenarios that also involve non-cooperating or hostile elements.

Besides increasing operators’ skill levels and the range of scenarios for which they can be trained, using flight simulators reduces live flying hours, positively impacting costs and environmental and noise pollution. Virtual and augmented reality technologies, combined with artificial intelligence, are also used for maintenance and predictive maintenance, helping to prevent and identify faults and inefficiencies.

Training, therefore, is a strategic sector for Leonardo, in line with ever-increasing and more advanced market demands. By leveraging the new technologies available, the company has created numerous training paths to increase or update the skills of its in-house professionals and of those operating its systems, solutions and technologies. In the rotary-wing sector, the company has developed a network of Training Academies (Italy, UK, USA, Poland, Malaysia) to train pilots, maintenance technicians and rear crew; it has established the Cyber & Security Academy and the Electronic Warfare Academy for cybersecurity and electronic systems professionals; and it has also created the International Flight Training School (IFTS) in partnership with the Italian Air Force. More recently, Leonardo has introduced the first integrated training capabilities for maintenance personnel of fixed-wing, rotary-wing and remotely piloted military aircraft and related systems.
 

A new training model
At the IFTS, a centre of excellence for training military pilots from around the world, the training systems are based on the M-346 Integrated Training System. This system features platforms equipped with the Embedded Tactical Training System (ETTS), which enables aircraft to emulate sensors, weapons and CGFs (Computer Generated Forces). Pilots can operate collaboratively in LVC (Live, Virtual, Constructive) mode, as well as integrating the Ground Based Training System (GBTS), comprising various flight and mission simulation systems. In addition, the training system features multimedia courses, mission planning and training management systems, and the Integrated Logistics System (ILS). This integrated logistics service optimises the management of fleets and simulators for maximum operability.
 

Employing digital technologies developed using the enormous computing power of the davinci-1 supercomputer, new algorithms, and artificial intelligence – increasingly influential in this field – it is possible to plan all types of missions and in-flight situations.

This is the essence of a new training model, which takes training capabilities to an even higher level, confirming Leonardo’s desire to strengthen its competitive positioning in the advanced training sector as a comprehensive Training Services Provider.

Towards the cockpit of the future

The present and future of training come together in Leonardo’s Battle Lab, the Turin-based laboratory that studies and evaluates sixth-generation air combat system concepts. The Battle Lab has a digital maxi video wall, which recreates a multi-domain scenario (with the faithful reproduction of air, naval, land and electronic warfare systems); the Smart Chair – a workstation that recreates the cockpit in which pilots could fly from 2035; and a Prototyping Pilot Station – a powered mock-up of an interactive cockpit derived from the M-346 concept. It includes a Large Area Display in which the capabilities and interfaces developed with the Smart Chair and selected in collaboration with the pilots are transferred and reproduced.

The Smart chair in the Battle Lab

In this way it is possible to manage the development of the cockpit of the future by combining the physical and virtual worlds, leaving the pilot to physically handle only the stick and throttle. Everything else is virtual, ‘augmented’ and immersive, from eye movement commands to digitised touch buttons, with full integration into the scenario depicted on the video wall.

This new environment will facilitate the transition to multi-domain scenarios based on sixth-generation air combat platforms, with a focus on relevant technologies such as artificial intelligence, flight and mission autonomy, and crewed-uncrewed teaming, of which the Global Combat Air Programme represents one of the most innovative international cooperative efforts.

State-of-the-art technology via the Training Academies

The most advanced technologies also appear in the virtual systems developed for Leonardo’s helicopters, such as the new Virtual and Extended Reality Simulator (VxR), a flight simulator resulting from the company’s well-established helicopter design capability. This virtual-reality-based system comprises a visor that reproduces the cockpit, avionics and all onboard controls, and features tactile feedback when using the controls, for greater simulation fidelity. VxR also offers an out-of-the-window view that provides a deeper field of vision. These features, making the simulated experience incredibly realistic, have been fine-tuned by leveraging the vast amount of data and flight scenarios collected and analysed by Leonardo.

The training centre at the Leonardo facility in Sesto Calende (Varese, Italy) saw the birth of the Modular Interactive Trainer for Helicopter Operators. MITHOS is a virtual-reality-based system for training winch operators involved in rescue operations or utility missions. It leverages proprietary methodologies, augmented reality, artificial intelligence and deep learning, and can simulate any weather condition, thus training students in both standard and critical situations, including emergency procedures. Given the high-risk situations often encountered by crews, such scenarios would be difficult to replicate during live training. In addition, like all other Leonardo simulators, MITHOS significantly reduces hourly training costs and lowers environmental impact in terms of fuel consumption and emissions. It is estimated that over 220,000 tonnes of CO₂ were avoided between 2018 and 2022.
 

Also, as part of Leonardo’s Training Academy network, which coordinated the initiative, the Italian Guardia di Finanza (Finance Police - GdF) recently opened an Air-Naval Operations Simulation Centre at the Pratica di Mare air base (Rome). The new centre, which aims to train aircrews assigned to GdF air-naval missions, integrates multiple simulation systems, all networked together, into one virtual scenario. Several workstations installed in a single location include flight simulators for aircraft and helicopters, as well as mission systems for air and maritime surveillance such as ATOS (Airborne Tactical Observation and Surveillance System). There is a scenario simulator – also built by Leonardo – that can reproduce the environment in which assets and personnel operate cooperatively, a naval bridge simulator, and a command-and-control room. All these elements are networked so that crews and ground personnel perform the same virtual reality mission.
 

Guardia di Finanza Aeronaval Operations Simulation Centre at the Pratica di Mare air base (Rome)

Once again, digital technologies allow the replication of the level of interoperability that defines current and future multi-domain scenarios and their integration thanks to the capabilities of Leonardo’s advanced training and simulation systems.