Close-combat immersive training specialist 4GD has completed the installation of a new Level 2 SmartFacility training solution for the British Army’s 16 Air Assault Brigade in Colchester, Essex. The Level 2 facility delivers a high-tech non-ballistic close quarter battle environment to warfighters. The new facility will incorporate the SmartFacility core capability, SimWall (Level 1), and 4GAV (Level 2), a state-of-the-art special effects, video monitoring system and Intelligent Facility Management System (iFCS). The latter ensuring that this facility is compatible with 4GD’s recently launched ECFECTUS, a tactical performance data collection and analysis system, and ACIES.
Colonel Martyn Wills, Deputy Commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade, said: “We’ve invested in this innovative facility to give our soldiers the best training possible for the urban battlefield. It allows soldiers to really focus on getting their skills and drills right, starting simply and then adding complexity through the built-in effects system. These effects make training a more immersive experience, adding extra pressure to what the soldiers are doing. We can then take the skills that have been perfected here into more challenging training in the villages built on the Army’s training areas, adding the scale of larger units operating together.”
SimWall is a rapidly reconfigurable, non-ballistic modular panel system. The panelling system offers users thousands of rooms and building variations, all reconfigurable within minutes to suit a range of specific mission scenarios and training objectives. 4GAV is a unique special effects and video monitoring system. Using a combination of smoke, light (white/IR), sound, smell and environmental simulation (SFX) it immerses the user in a high-fidelity combat simulation. This interactive special effects system, controlled by an intuitive user interface, delivers either sensor activated and reactive, or instructor-initiated effects, replicate real-world effects on the soldier’s cognitive load.
The Urban Training Facility boasts moveable walls; interactive smoke, light, and sound effects; and a video monitoring system for soldiers to be able to review their performance. It is designed to let troops, armed with rifles adapted to use paint marker ammunition, practise entering and moving through buildings, clearing the enemy as they go. These skills are the starting point for being able to operate in the complex and cluttered surroundings of towns and cities. The UTF has been developed in recognition that the world’s population is increasingly living and working in built-up areas.
The paratroopers of C (Bruneval) Company, 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment have been training in the UTF for the first time last week (1-5 Feb). The ability to change layouts, light levels and the soundscape has let troops train in simulations of a Middle Eastern shopping centre at night or an African jungle village in a heavy rainstorm. In their role as the British Army’s global response force, the soldiers of 16 Air Assault Brigade need to be prepared to fight in challenging urban surroundings. Buildings can be easily fortified and defended by a small number of troops, while the presence of civilians restricts the use of firepower.
4GD are redefining the future of immersive CQB/CQC training. The company specialise in using the most cutting-edge technologies to close the gap between operational reality and user experience during training. 4GD technology drives operator performance by increasing levels of realism and providing scalable complexity. From their company combined experience in the Royal Marines and UK’s Airborne Forces. The 4GD SmartFacilityTM is the world’s most technically advanced CQB/CQC house. It delivers a high-tech, immersive and adaptable close combat simulation solution. An aggregation of four core products, each element has been specifically selected and optimised to deliver the ultimate user experience.
