Training & Simulation
Wescom Group: Providing Integrated Survival Solutions for Defence and Maritime
Wescom Group, a global leader with over 150 years of expertise, has established itself as a global force in survival solutions. Operating across Germany, Spain, Australia, and the UK, including key locations in Derby, Hull, Nottingham and Basildon, with a dedicated workforce exceeding 350 employees worldwide, the company is renowned for its commitment to safety, quality, and reliability.
Defence Sector Excellence
Pyrotechnics and Detection Technologies
In the defence sector, Wescom Group serves as a trusted manufacturer and supplier to the UK MoD, German BMVg, and NATO allies and organisations worldwide. The company’s capabilities include pyrotechnics for signalling, illumination, screening, minefield breaching and battlefield training and simulation within its Defence division. Wescom Group further contributes high-quality chemical detection technologies, staying ahead of evolving challenges in the defence sector.
Maritime Sector Dominance
Distress Signalling and Emergency Systems
Wescom Group is the world’s leading manufacturer and supplier of SOLAS, MED, and USCG approved pyrotechnic marine distress signals. Additionally, Wescom Group integrates emergency beacons, eflare systems, emergency food and water rations, and Marine First Aid Kits. This holistic approach to marine survival solutions establishes Wescom Group as a single, reliable source for mandated marine products.
Wescom Group provides a comprehensive suite of survival solutions backed by a legacy of expertise and a commitment to excellence, offering unparalleled reliability and peace of mind in the face of maritime and defence challenges. 11 BRANDS
450 EMPLOYEES
6 MANUFACTURING SITES
Immersive Sensory Training Battlefield
Training Hand Grenades Small Arms Effect
Mortars & Artillery
Improvised Explosive Devices (IED)
Smart Hub
Tanks/Combat Fighting Vehicles
Training & Simulation
Smoke Effects –Signalling & Screening Air Defence –ManPADS
Testing Kit
Battlefield Smart Hub
The Wescom Defence Battlefield Smart Hub brings together launchers, pyrotechnic (weapon) effects and a command module that allows programming/preprogramming of battlefield effects. Wescom’s weapon effect systems have standalone capability as well as a range of interfaces to enable complete integration into modern combat training centres.
The range of realistic weapon effects that can be replicated include:
• Small Arms Effect – Single, Burst and Salvo
• Improvised Explosive Devices (IED)
• Unexploded Ordnance (UXO)
• Mortars and Artillery – Air Burst Effect
• Man Portable Air Defence
Operational interface:
• Trigger input (5-36V DC)
• 20mA READY-TO-FIRE-OUT
• Radio (433MHz/315MHz/458MHz)
• 2 x RS 485 (daisy chain)
• Ethernet (prepared)
• CAN Bus (prepared)
The Wescom Defence Battlefield Smart Hub weapon effect launchers enable easy integration with laser or radio-frequency based training systems allowing for very sophisticated weapon training
Air Defence Systems
Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) Unexploded Ordnance (UXO)
Mortars
Artillery
Training Sound Units
Small Arms Effect
Air Burst Effect
Command Module
Command Module
Small Arms Effect
Military Operations on Urban Terrain (MOUT) required a paradigm change of operational and tactical doctrines. Accordingly, the training of soldiers in urban environments has to be adapted. The inclusion of combat effects (rifle fire, explosives, grenades and IEDs) during any combat training experience – including close quarter combat –is therefore key to creating a realistic and immersive sensory environment.
Wescom Defence Micro and Macro Pyro Cards offer this realism, ensuring the trainee is exposed to demanding and threatening situations but with the highest degree of safety.
Additionally, Wescom Defence Simulator Small Arms Fire Multi Shot has been developed for use in training exercises and has been designed to simulate retaliatory fire likely to be encountered during operational activities. They are functioned electronically and have been designed to withstand world-wide environmental conditions. They are robust, weatherproof and extremely reliable.
Macro Pyro Card
Simulator Small Arms Fire Multi Shot Rapid & 5 Shot Electric
Micro Pyro Card
Training Hand Grenades
Wescom Defence Training Grenades are used for a wide variety of training scenarios where a realistic loud report and bright flash are required. The payload in our Training Grenade is designed to leave the main body of the grenade prior to initiation, which optimises safety and gives this store a low fragmentation risk.
Wescom Defence also offer a re-useable training grenade that has been developed to help familiarise users on grenade handling prior to progressing onto high explosive and fragmentation grenades. The re-useable training grenade can also be used in the simulation and training environment for assaulting positions and operations in built up areas.
Wescom Defence Thunderflash is also used as a training device to provide realistic simulation of battle noise from devices including artillery, bomb, missile, in-direct fire, air-dropped weapons and hand thrown ordnance such as grenades.
Training Grenade LE Reusable Training Grenade
Impact Simulator MECoST
Thunderflash
Mini FBSS
Mortars & Artillery
An “indirect firing” simulation of artillery and/or mortar fire during force-on-force engagement training requires a visualization of shells detonating either as ground or airbursts in the assumed combat zone.
Wescom Defence manufactures Air Burst Cartridges that can be activated from either the Lightweight Gunnery Signature Simulator (LGSS) or Scalable Gunnery Signature Simulator (SGSS) launcher in either a static (placed permanently on the training ground) or movable configuration (placed on a vehicle) to simulate the effect of artillery or mortar shells, detonating in the air. This provides an excellent audio visual representation of artillery and/or mortar fire in Air Burst mode. Groundbursts can be simulated by firing Main Gun Signature Simulators from LGSS or SGSS.
Wescom Defence also manufactures Simulator Ground Burst 25 mm, 75 mm and 120 mm – these have been developed to be used in training exercises to simulate the firing of large caliber weapons ranging from 25 mm to mortar and artillery rounds upto and including 120 mm heavy mortars.
Groundburst Simulator
(Direct/Indirect Fire Cue)
Battlefield Smart Hub Compatible
Tanks/Combat Fighting Vehicles
Realistic tank on tank training poses a number of logistical challenges and increasingly relies on use of laser based systems which do not provide realistic effects of both a tank firing and hitting a target.
Laser-based “firing” during force-on-force training demands both a visual representation and differentiation between “firing” and “hit”. Wescom Defence Scalable Gunnery Signature Simulator (SGSS) and Light Gunnery Signature Simulator (LGSS) launchers have been designed to be mounted on tanks and combat fighting vehicles and provides very realistic firing and hit training scenarios.
A variety of ammunition including High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT), Armoured Piercing Fin Stabilizing Discarding Sabot (APFSDS) cartridges can be fired from the LGSS attached to the tank delivering a realistic impact effect to both the gunner and ground forces of a projectile hitting a steel target.
SGSS and LGSS launchers allow the selection of ammunition to engage an opposing tank, e.g. HEAT, APFSDS munitions.
Wescom Defence DM 29/DM 54 hit indicator simulators are designed to be used with Launcher DARKAS on tanks and combat fighting vehicles. The two hit indicator simulators through muzzle flash (and/or sound) on the gun and weapon effect on the tank provide clear indication to all which tanks are engaged in combat training.
Tank Cannon Fire Simulator DM54 / DM64
Hit Indicator Simulator DM29 / DM39
VDG Smoke Screening Training
Direct and Indirect Fire Cue Simulator Smokes
Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) & Unexploded Ordnance (UXO)
Improvised Explosive Device (IED) pose an ever increasing threat to modern day combat and law enforcement forces. Effective training to counter this threat is critical to ensuring safety and survivability of the operating forces.
Wescom Defence electrically initiated sound units have been designed for use in training personnel in the disarming and ‘making safe’ of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED). When fitted into a training IED they indicate errors in drills by producing a loud report and bright flash without producing any hazardous fragments.
Smoke Effects –Signalling and Screening
Use of smoke for both signalling and screening is an absolute necessity of modern day military operations. Wescom Defence has been a market leader in the design and development of both hand and vehicle launched grenades for tactical signalling and screening effects.
Wescom Defence Scalable Gun Signature Simulator (SGSS) or Light Gunnery Signature Simulator (LGSS) used in conjunction with coloured smoke enables the soldier to train under stress in force-on-force or force-on-target exercises by simulating various scenarios like IED blast, vehicle mobility kill, casualty evacuation etc.
Wescom Defence training smoke products include Smoke Generator Electric – developed to meet the training requirements for Fire Brigades and Naval Damage Control Teams on land or sea. Similarly, the Remotely Pilot Vehicle (RPV) target smoke generator has been developed to provide visual enhancement for RPV’s for simulation and training purposes.
CS Respirator Testing Kit
The respirator test kit has been developed to provide a safe but realistic environment in which to undertake fitment trials on personal protective equipment (PPE) and practice/test elements of the chemical, biological, radiological & nuclear (CBRN) syllabus.
The test kit can be used to assist in the fitting of respiratory protective equipment by providing the user with mild, nonpersistent discomfort if the protective seal is compromised. Secondly, this store also can be used to imitate a contaminated environment in which to carry out de-contamination, drinking & canister change drills.
Direct and Indirect Fire Cue Simulator Smokes
Smoke Generator – Electric
VDG Smoke Screening Training
Remotely Piloted Vehicle Target Smoke Generator
CS Respirator Testing Kit
Air Defence – ManPADS
Increasingly Man Portable Air Defence Systems (ManPADS) represent a very real and significant threat to helicopters. Despite new counter measures being designed to protect aircraft against ManPADS, a quick pilot reaction and deployment of effective countermeasures is key to survivability. Given the need to make every second count, effective and realistic pilot training is key to countering this lethal threat.
Wescom Defence has developed Weapon Effect Signature Simulator (WESS) that mimics firing of an actual ManPAD Surface-to-Air Missile by providing a realistic smoke and flash signature. The simulator launches a self-consuming pyrotechnic cartridge vertically creating a continuous, smoke trail from the ground upwards simulating a MANPADS contrail signature, providing a visual stimulation for both the helicopter crew and ground forces.
WESS allows aircrew to train in a more realistic missile engagement environment and improve their ability to detect and counter the threat. This significantly enhances the air crew training experience, heightens situational awareness and has been proven to reduce the reaction time required to deploy counter measures or initiate escape maneuvers.
WESS system is designed to be lightweight and can be carried by one soldier in a backpack, the system is very safe to use and is in service with a number of elite customers around the world including the US DOD.
ManPADS M176
WESS Launcher including Backpack
WESS Launcher
Training & Simulation Product List
BATTLEFIELD SMART HUB
Portable Control Unit-PCU
SMALL ARMS EFFECT
Lightweight Gun Signature Simulator - (LGSS)
Simulator for Artillery and Multi-effects (SAM)
Micro Pyro Card MiPC
TRAINING HAND GRENADES
Flash Bang Smoke Simulator Mini FBSS
Impact Simulator MECoST
MORTARS & ARTILLERY
Impact Simulator (Thunderflash) MECoST
Impact Simulator (Thunderflash)
Thunderflash
TANKS/COMBAT FIGHTING VEHICLES
Main Gun Signature Simulators MGSS
FBSS
Macro Pyro Card MaPC
Direct/Indirect Fire Cue Simulator APFSDS
Simulator Small Arms Fire Multi Shot Rapid & 5 Shot Electric
Training Grenade LE
Reusable Training Grenade
Groundburst Simulator
Direct/Indirect Fire Cue Simulator Air Burst
Direct and Indirect Fire Cue Simulator Smokes STARS
Tank Cannon Fire Simulator DM54 A1 / DM64
Hit-Indicator Simulator DM29 / DM39
IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICES (IED) & UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE (UXO)
FBSS
Scalable Gun Signature Simulator - SGSS
Training Sound Units
SMOKE EFFECTS – SIGNALLING AND SCREENING
Direct/Indirect Fire Cue Simulator Smokes
SGSS
Vehicle Launch Grenade – training variant
AIR DEFENCE - MANPADS
Direct/Indirect Fire Cue Simulator Air Burst
TESTING KIT
CS Respirator Test Kit
Remotely Piloted Vehicle
Target Smoke Generator
Smoke Generator – Electric
Surface-to-Air Missile Simulator ManPADS
Core Competence & Capabilities
Wescom Defence is a versatile and specialist manufacturer of energetic materials, pyrotechnics and Chemical Warfare Agent (CWA) detection solutions. Our Engineering and Technology Centres boast a highly skilled & experienced team from technician level through to engineering graduates and energetic materials scientists. The team specialises in engineering, chemistry, physics, computer modelling, data acquisition and analysis. Our service involves working with and compliance with various United States Military Standards (MIL-STDs), UK Defence Standards (Def Stans) and The NATO Standardisation Agreements (STANAG) where applicable.
Chemical Detection Technologies
In Chemical Detection Technologies, Wescom Defence is a foremost producer of highquality Chemical Warfare Agent (CWA) detection solutions, excelling in rapid defence technologies. Our portfolio includes detection kits for explosives and pioneering nerve agent detectors capable of identifying all agents, even future variants.
Pyrotechnics
Our seasoned team specialises in mixing and pressing pyrotechnic materials like flash & flare. Environmental control during storage and processing is crucial for safe handling, ensuring a top-quality end product. Remaining at the forefront of manufacture, we evolve to meet bespoke demands while delivering value to customers and partners.
Smoke Compositions
At the forefront of smoke composition development and manufacturing for years, we offer low-toxic and RP smoke products tailored to specific applications. Our solutions, adaptable and robust, cater to varying needs, from vivid signalling colours to rapid dense screening smoke deployment.
Explosives
Our high explosive (HE) material expertise spans various applications, from e arly storage and pressing to present-day import, storage, and manufacturing for diverse uses.
Environmental Tests & Qualification
Our environmental test facility and engineering team offer a range of options for projects of any scale, including UN ‘Orange Book’ Series testing, bonfire testing, vibration tables, and climatic chambers. We provide end-to-end project management for product and material qualifications, leveraging our UKAS accredited partners for support as needed.
