News Review: RAAF C-130J Hercules simulator upgraded | ADM November 2011

CAE Australia has upgraded the RAAF’s C-130J Hercules full-flight and mission simulator (FFMS) at Richmond to provide additional tactical training capabilities. The upgrade was completed on budget and without taking the simulator out of service.

The company, which is prime contractor under the Management and Support of the ADF Aerospace Simulators (MSAAS) contract, upgraded the C-130J simulator with a new Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) simulation. Instructors will be able to insert various radar threats into the simulator training sessions to provide RAAF aircrews with realistic tactical mission training scenarios.

“The addition of the RWR simulation to the C-130J simulator is consistent with the Commonwealth’s objective to ensure the RAAF’s training systems are concurrent with the platforms they simulate,” said Peter Redman, acting Managing Director, CAE Australia Pty Ltd. “We completed this simulator upgrade without any downtime to current training, and in advance of the upgrades being completed on the actual aircraft. The RAAF C-130J aircrews will now be well-trained and prepared as the RWR-capable Hercules aircraft re-enter service.”

The addition of the RWR simulation not only ensures the ongoing fidelity of the C-130J simulator, but also enhances the tactical training capabilities of the C-130J aircrew training system. The C-130J FFMS includes CAE’s Interactive Tactical Environment Management System (ITEMS) for creating complex tactical environment scenarios, as well as Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) functionality so the C-130J FFMS can be networked with the C-130H FFMS co-located at RAAF Base Richmond.

CAE Australia performed the upgrade under CAE’s Authorised Engineering Organisation (AEO) Letter of Authority. As a certified AEO, CAE is delegated design approval authority for engineering upgrades on in-service simulators for the Australian Defence Forces.

Subject: Simulation