Sea Air Space brings together the largest maritime expo in the U.S. aimed to educate military and industry on the need for ongoing maritime and sea service support.  Last month, industry experts and technologists came together to discuss the current challenges and the technology solutions to support maritime mission success and training was a significant discussion point.

Executives from Rockwell Collins, CAE, and Cubic sat down with Modern Military Training editors to discuss the more significant challenges in training today.

“Militaries, domestic and international, have a continued desire to interoperate,” Nick Scarnato, Director of Strategic Development for Rockwell Collins, told us. “There is a huge need to train like they fight.”  Interoperability, Scarnato says, is becoming a requirement to ensure that militaries can truly train in the same way they would fight on the front lines.

In late March, the U.S. Navy announced its award of the Tactical Combat Training System Increment II (TCSTS Inc-II) program to Rockwell Collins and Leonardo DRS, for the development of an airborne, ground, and ship-based encryption training capability, designed to integrate with other field and combat systems to support the training of U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviation forces, and create simulated, high-threat combat environments.

Preparing for the high-end fight, according to Dave Buss of Cubic, is one of the significant challenges facing the military today. Buss, a retired Vice Admiral for the U.S. Navy, has over 35 years of service with the Navy and currently serves as the President of Cubic Global Defense. “How you prepare for the high-end fight, where a potential adversary is trying to deny you access to particular space in which you are used to operating in…is very different from the particular military training preparation  we’ve experiences in the past 15 years.”

The other challenge is the cost of training. Live training costs, Buss points out, is growing exponentially.  Chuck Morrant, Global Business Development Vice President for CAE, agrees.  “Militaries from the around the world, not just here in the U.S., are challenged with the money it takes to operate the military.” Keeping all of the services trained and ready to deploy is an ongoing challenges, Morrant says.

“Through military training and simulation, it is easy for us to augment that live training component with a simulated and virtual component. That is not only a cost savings to the Navy, but it allows them to extend the life of their fleets.”

Watch the entire video for solutions to these challenges militaries face across sea, air, and space: