October 31, 2002 – ASTi today announced that it has been selected by the U.S. Army to provide communication simulation systems for the new Aviation Warfighting Simulation Center (AWSC), located at the U.S. Army Aviation Center at Fort Rucker, AL.

The AWSC will support several training programs, including Flight School XXI, and will provide facilities for a wide range of virtual, live and constructive training activities, including initial flight training, leader development and aviation training exercises (geographic and mission specific). Planned features include:

• Reconfigurable Simulators (AVCATT-A): AH-64A Apache and AH-64D Apache Longbow, UH-60 Black Hawk, CH-47D Chinook, OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, RAH-66 Comanche (future)
• High-fidelity TH-67 Creek Simulators
• Digital Tactical Operation Centers (TOC)
• Brigade and Battalion TOCs
• Battlemaster, Stealth, Instructor/Role Player and Semi-automated Forces (SAF)
• After-Action Review Rooms (AAR)

ASTi's first phase of delivery to the AWSC will provide a full-fidelity, simulated communications environment for operators in the Digital TOCs, Battlemaster and Stealth facilities.

ASTi's TOC product is specifically designed to simulate the full-fidelity communications environment found in a U.S. Army tactical operation center, and fills all of the communications requirements for the AWSC Digital TOCs. This completely shrink-wrap product epitomizes easy setup and operation: snap the modular hardware components together, preset communications parameters using system software utilities, and communicate. Features of the ASTi TOC product include:

• Full-fidelity radio nets with propagation effects, squelch, crypto and frequency hopping, tones & other audio effects, and jamming
• AVCATT-A compatible operation
• Simulated SINCGARS radio transceiver panels provide users with the real-world look, feel, and operational fidelity of the actual Army field radio transceiver
• Tactical data link, terrain & propagation modeling, and HLA upgrades are also available

The ASTi systems serving the Battlemaster and Stealth facilities also provide the full-fidelity, AVCATT-A compatible radio environment and, additionally, give each operator "master communicator" capabilities such as simultaneous receive and transmit access to as many as 16 radio nets, which are selectable from a compact user terminal.

ASTi is also providing the AWSC with a live-to-simulation network bridging system to link operators using a legacy intercommunications system (live, closed-circuit RF) to operators using ASTi simulated radio systems on the AWSC Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) network.

ASTi continues its role as the solution provider of choice at Fort Rucker for simulated communication and aural cue systems. In addition to the AWSC, our impressive customer list at Fort Rucker includes:

• Air Maneuver Battle Lab (AMBL)
• Army Research Institute (ARI)
• Combined Aviation Virtual Simulation Facility (CAVSIM)
• Longbow Crew Trainer (LCT)
• OH-58D Kiowa Warrior Crew Station Mission Equipment Trainer (CSMET)
• UH-1 Flight Simulator Facility
• Directorate of Training Doctrine and Simulation (DOTDS), Warfighting Futures Division