B-52: new training options for an old bomber detailed at I/ITSEC 2022 | Shephard - Shephard News

For an aeroplane that archetypal flew successful 1952, what tin today’s grooming specialists connection to amended the mode pilots are trained connected the venerable B-52 Stratofortress? According to Maj Mark Budgeon AFRES, the reply is VR/XR.

Historically, pilots transitioning to the B-52 astatine the 93rd Bomb Squadron, an Air Force Reserve portion nether the 307th Bomb Wing (BW) astatine Barksdale AFB, the B-52 Formal Training Unit (FTU) utilized accepted crushed school, part-task trainers (PTT) and afloat ngo simulators (FMS).

The portion is liable for providing the USAF with its full cohort of B-52 pilots, physics warfare officers and limb systems officers. This is, ‘a captious relation successful keeping the nuclear-capable pitchy a viable deterrent to imaginable adversaries,’ accidental the aerial force.

‘We assessed the 2 groups of students successful the afloat ngo simulator aft the trials,’ said Budgeon. ‘Six had undertaken the accepted crushed school, PTT, FMS and the different six had bypassed the PTT and utilized the virtual trainer.’

King Crow Studios' VRPT virtual trainer for the B-52 is delivering results for the 307th Bomb Wing. (Image: King Crow Studios)

Budgeon said that aft assessing some groups that went done an valuation successful the FMS, ‘there were less errors successful the VR group. We recovered that grooming utilizing VR, with teacher guidance, decidedly reduces the mistake rate.’

Asked arsenic to whether determination were problems successful presumption of students transitioning from the VR/XR situation successful presumption of haptic feedback successful the FMS, Budgeon said: ‘Proprioception wrong the immersive situation leads to much effectual grooming transportation to the task than the consciousness of a existent switch.’

As to the future, the manufacturers of the device, Baton Rouge-based King Crow Studios, are hopeful of follow-on orders. Considering 307 BW's results, the caller strategy is amended than the bequest attack and saves money.

This adoption of low-cost VR oregon VR/XR platforms is yet different illustration of exertion providing the subject with antithetic ways of achieving grooming goals.

Shephard's I/ITSEC 2022 sum is sponsored by: