Image: Airbus ©
Airbus Defence and Space has tested a new digital training method during the German Air Force’s Timber Express exercise this summer, blending real aircraft with computer-generated threats and allies.
Blending Live and Virtual Forces
Tornado and Eurofighter jets flew alongside virtual assets injected by Airbus’s System Development Lab (SDL). The exercise usually tests tactical data exchange between platforms, according to Airbus. This year it also proved a live-virtual-constructive (LVC) framework for the first time.
René Birkholz, Business Developer for Future Air Power at Airbus Defence and Space, commented: “We managed to put the LVC framework for testing and training to work.” He added that the SDL successfully acted as a constructive engine within the training environment.
Cutting Costs, Testing Future Concepts
The SDL allows forces to populate airspace with synthetic allies and adversaries far more cheaply than flying additional aircraft. It also lets militaries trial future capabilities, such as uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft, years before they enter service. Birkholz noted the approach protects operational security by keeping sensitive tactics out of live view.
Interoperability Was Key
The exercise relied on the SDoT product line from infodas to connect systems with different security classifications. Marion Konnerth, Head of Projects at infodas, commented that smooth information flow matters both in real operations and exercises.
Airbus plans to expand the SDL’s role beyond training, using it to shape weapons development through simulated multi-domain combat scenarios, as per a recent press statement.
