During a recent Sir Richard Williams Foundation seminar on air-sea integration, military officers and industry professionals discussed how to craft a more integrated combat force. One key area of the discussion surrounded training.  The Sir Richard Williams Foundation is an independent research organization that aims to strengthen Australia’s national security by advocating the need for forward-looking policies which take full advantage of the potential for air power to shape and influence regional security.

During the closing session of the seminar, a set of panelists discussed how “working the training area more effectively” could help with integration, according to Second Lind of Defense.

The panelists included Rear Admiral Manazir, Rear Admiral Stu Mayer, Air Vice Marshal Warren McDonald and Rear Admiral (Retired) James Rapp. Their suggestions ranged from shaping more targeted training by focusing on tactical innovations to using live, virtual constructive (LVC) to leverage a joint force in a high-end fight.

LVC also was seen as key to training warriors in cooperative engagement as a way to get comfortable with weapons and other new technologies before they enter battle. An underlying issue, however, is security surrounding information sharing among national or coalition forces. In fact, from the perspective of Rear Admiral (Ret.) Rapp, LVC training is crucial to creating an integrated force. Rapp, who is a Senior Naval Advisor to CA, was formerly with the Royal Navy as Flag Office Sea Training, where he was responsible for the operational sea training of all the Royal Navy’s ships, submarines and auxiliaries, as well as ships from 19 foreign navies.

He focused on the “increasingly dynamic and transformative role of training systems in shaping the way ahead for the joint force,” saying that LVC training is a way to evolve the joint forces, because it offers greater opportunities for integrating the forces. He shared the advantages of LVC and underscored the importance of its use in training to maintain security for the “fifth generation-enabled” force.

Rapp said that “security constraints are a key barrier to integration” and shared how LVC can provide solutions in the training environment. He also shared examples of how an integrated training solution offers provide benefits in terms of enhanced training capabilities, efficiencies, flexibility and effectiveness.

“In the UAE case, having a single training systems provider has reduced costs, risks and enhanced the training schedule as well.” See the slides that Rapp shared here.