Each FMS comprises four different stations: the cockpit, instructor station, briefing station and debriefing station. Customers can use them all simultaneously or in various configurations for part-task training. In the past, this flexibility meant multiple ASTi systems, each dedicated to a particular station.
For this solution, however, the customer is fielding five virtual machines (VMs) all running on the same hypervisor. Four of those are Telestra VMs that will handle all the audio and communications—one per station—and the last is a network license server that activates modeling capabilities on the Telestra VMs. Of course, this virtualization’s main advantage is reduced space, weight and power requirements for the single hypervisor versus the alternative.
Each station will receive AI-Tango and ACU2 devices. The AI-Tango is a compact, high-density I/O device that interfaces with the existing, third-party control panels at each station. The ACU2 delivers aural cues and simulated radio communications for the cockpit, connects to speakers at other stations and integrates with the after-action review system already in place.
ASTi’s customer will retrofit existing trainers with this VM-based solution, and they will integrate it into new trainers as they are built. Multiple services in the U.S. and other multinational defense forces will use these land- and shipboard-based training systems.