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FST-J 09-2 Commander, US Second Fleet, and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group has successfully completed the first certification process under a new training model that employs synthetic training as the graduation event for all deploying Navy strike groups. “We’ve done a 56-hour continuous event before, but this is the first time we’ve exercised the Fleet Response Training Plan model where the FST is the culminating event to certify a battle group,” said Cmdr. Ruben “Diego” Garcia, FST director at Tactical Training Group Atlantic in Virginia Beach, VA. “It’s a better way of training this level of staff.” The Ike strike group earned its certification as ready to conduct major combat operations in February upon completion of a Joint Fleet Synthetic Training Exercise, or FST-J, that involved two other carrier strike groups. While the Eisenhower strike group participated from piers in Norfolk, VA, the event also provided training to the USS Enterprise and FS Charles de Gaulle strike group command staffs. Enterprise’s staff, though the carrier was in the shipyards, participated from training modules at TTGL. The French staff participated from a simulation centre in Toulon, France. Coalition participants were France, Germany and the UK. The event concluded an ongoing scenario that started with a synthetic exercise in December and ran through the Ike strike group’s at-sea Composite Training Unit Exercise, or COMPTUEX. Certification previously would have been performed during a live, culminating Joint Task Force Exercise, or JTFEX. Instead, training that needed to be performed at sea was shifted into a
Commander Robert D. Katz (left) commanding officer of USS Stout during a tour of his ship with Turkish Naval Forces officers. Image credit: US Navy.
combined COMPTUEX and JTFEX. The rest was completed synthetically, helping the Navy maximize its valuable live training opportunities. “Coming out of COMPTUEX, strike groups are certified for Major Combat Operations (MCO) Surge,” said Rear Adm. Garry White, Commander, and Strike Force Training Atlantic, in Norfolk, VA. “That certification is the Navy’s validation of the strike group’s ability to fight in an MCO scenario. The follow-on FST-J assesses the strike group staff’s ability to direct and lead those operations, resulting in the MCO Ready certification.”
VIDEOWALL PROCESSOR
Spring 2009 Flight Simulation Conference Flight Simulation: Towards the Edge of the Envelope Wednesday 3 – Thursday 4 June 2009 No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ, UK As the aviation industry grows, the demands on safety throughout the operational envelope of aircraft also increase. Flight simulation today is primarily concerned with reproducing normal flight regimes. However, aircrew preparedness also requires being ready to deal with uncommon situations. This Conference will bring together the users and developers of flight simulators and will aim to identify the training needs, technical solutions, and regulatory challenges as simulation pushes the boundaries of virtual training, research and testing.
www.aerosociety.com/conference Sponsored by:
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RGB Spectrum has announced the new MediaWall® 4500 display processor, offering real time performance with up to 30 windows and 12 displays. In keeping with RGB Spectrum’s standards of performance and value, the MW4500 delivers real-time performance regardless of the number of inputs and outputs, at any resolution. Unique among display wall processors, the MediaWall 4500 is based on custom, high performance architecture rather than a PC, with faster updates, more display flexibility, robustness and security. Real time display of inputs is guaranteed under all conditions, without any dropped frames. The MediaWall 4500 processor can display up to thirty graphics and video signals on up to twelve screens in a 3 x 4 array. Images can be displayed anywhere, any size, within or across screens, in correct aspect ratio or stretched to fit, in whole or zoomed to emphasize details. It offers a scalable system which can be expanded to as many as 30 inputs and 12 outputs. Input alternatives include RGB/DVI and analog video modules. HD-SDI modules will be available in the near future. The MediaWall 4500 processor works with any display devices, with adjustments to compensate for the bezel between panels or cubes, as well as overlapped outputs to support edge blending on a continuous screen. Output resolution can be adjusted to the exact resolution of any display up to 1920 x 1200 pixels, the highest resolution of any data/video wall. 24/2/09 11:30:44