Hybrid Voisus and Telestra Solution for Simulated Testing Environments
Customer
Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), Patuxent River, MD
Application
The Joint Simulation Environment (JSE) is a scalable, high-fidelity modeling and simulation environment for fifth-plus generation aircraft and systems. NAWCAD uses this environment to conduct developmental and operational avionics testing. Not only does it train pilots, but it also tests sophisticated aircraft and complex weapons systems in dense-threat environments.
The Patuxent River facility accommodates 14 JSE F-35-In-A-Box (FIAB) simulators and multiple instructor operator stations (IOS) positions. This location serves as a prototype for two future developments at Edwards AFB in California and Nellis AFB in Nevada.
F-35 simulator by A1C Taylor Solberg
Challenges
&
Solutions
The challenge requirements are listed in blue; ASTi's applicable components are
F-35 simulator by A1C Taylor Solberg
Complex Environment with Blended Capabilities
Combine Telestra’s high-fidelity comms and audio solution with Voisus’s flexible, interoperable clients.
Each component of this complex configuration demanded unique capabilities: for the IOS positions, the customer wanted a prebuilt solution that’s easy to set up and manage. However, their FIAB simulators required the true-to-life precision of high-fidelity radios.
In response, we provided a robust solution that merges the capabilities of our Telestra and Voisus products. This innovative design plays to each product’s strengths, offering the best of both worlds. Telestra is a mature, fully featured audio and comms simulation system ideal for the most sophisticated training requirements. With its field-proven runtime environment and development toolkit, it provides sound effects and comms for up to four FIAB simulators.
Voisus is a powerful suite of field-proven, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) communication and sound products that is fully interoperable with the Telestra-based FIAB simulators. A single Voisus server manages four IOS positions and interacts with all fourteen FIAB simulators. As a result, instructors can use intercom or simulated radios to converse with simulator operators or each other. The clients’ built-in comms decrease development time, and customers can easily customize them in the Voisus web interface.
Information Assurance (IA) Compliance
Maintain ongoing compliance with stringent, DoD cybersecurity certification and accreditation processes, including Risk Management Framework (RMF).
The customer subscribed to ASTi’s IA maintenance program to receive periodic, software-hardening packages that are easy to install, thus relieving their technical staff of difficult, time-consuming chores. ASTi’s current generation server products are based on Red Hat® Enterprise Linux®, the most certified operating system available today. The IA program is an ideal security solution for customers who require even more rigorous IA controls, conformance to DoD standards, and OS patch management throughout the product’s lifetime.
Flexible IOS Positions
Provide adjustable, low-maintenance comms for the JSE’s instructor stations.
The customer’s previous configuration mapped three to five simulators to one IOS. The number of simulators per IOS was limited, and it was difficult to add or remove instructor stations. NAWCAD planned to equip two additional facilities with an arbitrary number of IOS positions. As a result, it needed ready-to-go, live and virtual comms that could scale to meet future requirements.
ASTi suggested that the customer use Voisus for its IOS positions. In this setup, instructors connect to a Voisus server that use Voisus clients to communicate with the simulators. Thanks to the Voisus client’s open API, it can seamlessly integrate into custom IOS interfaces.
Best of all, these clients are extremely versatile: it’s easy to add or delete IOS positions from a configuration, and stations can operate in a separate room or an entirely different building. The Voisus client runs on multiple operating systems, including Windows and Linux. It also works on a variety of platforms: laptops, desktops, touchscreen tablet PCs—even virtual machines, eliminating the need for dedicated hardware.
Components Deployed
The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.