Army Technology interviewed Jim Bennett, project director for the British Army’s Project Vulcan, a common and coherent simulation training system delivering operator training for the Challenger 3 tank and the Boxer family of vehicles.
Vulcan currently covers driver training for the Boxer, gunnery training for both the Boxer and Challenger 3 tank, and tactical and command training for both of those platforms.
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Vulcan is intended to be a long-running programme that updates to match the changes in the platforms being used by operators. “What we did as part of Vulcan, is not just looking at a five-year process, but the whole life of the platform,” says Bennett.
“Vulcan is there to support the Boxer platform; the out-of-service date of the Boxer platform is in the 2060s. We know today that when Vulcan goes out of service in the 2060’s it will not look like the system we have bought today. There will be changes over the life of that programme – be it through obsolescence, new technology – we want the system to be evergreen.”
However, as new vehicles are brought into service, Vulcan will be the ‘de facto’ training system for new types of vehicles, said Bennett, as well as platforms going through a recapitalisation or upgrade programme.
“So for instance, the Terrier combat bulldozer is going through an upgrade very soon, and we’re looking at doing the training system upgrade for that platform. We’re speaking to the Royal Engineers, about how they want that training system to be upgraded to take in the new capabilities that platform will bring,” said Bennet.
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By GlobalDataThe multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS) is going through a similar recapitalisation, and Bennett, based at Army Headquarters in the programmes directorate, is speaking to the Royal School of Artillery about how to generate a training system that allows the operators to progress to live fire training.
The MLRS system goes through a live-fire process that can take an extended period to complete, with the added complexity that the British Army can only fully train with the MLRS for live-fire in the US, as the range of the system is greater than any training ground existing in the UK. Bennett has hopes that the Vulcan will reduce the length of that pipeline, saving resources in terms of both time and money.
Vulcan is mandated through the Defence Modelling Simulation Office (DMSO) to use Defence Virtual Simulation 2 (DVS2), a system generated by Bohemia Simulations to provide a virtual battle space with investment from the MoD, leading to calls for tender from providers that are centred on the use of DVS2 as a requirement.
Vulcan went on to contract-award in April 2023 with Elbit Systems UK, among candidates from Leonardo and Lockheed Martin, after what Bennett describes as a ‘rigorous’ six months of down-selection during the contracting process.
The down-selection process took into account a number of factors, according to Bennett, including each manufacturer’s background in simulation and systems development, and whether an off-the-shelf option is available, all with an aim to de-risking the process.
Bennett adds that the DVS2 programme has a five or ten-year programme life, after which Vulcan will be involved with the DE&S [Defence Equipment & Support] bid process for a successor programme, DVS3.
“Be that with Bohemia Simulations or somebody else, one of the legacy systems for them to support will be a Vulcan system.”
