Virtual Ship - A New Capability in Support of Maritime Forces

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Virtual Ship - A New Capability in Support of Maritime Forces

J. P. Best

A key challenge in modern surface warfare is the integration of many different systems. These include on-board and off-board sensors, data fusion systems, command decision aids, command and control (C2) systems, weapons and the platform itself. There is currently a gap in the capability to rigorously study these integration requirements in a laboratory environment Additionally, the capability is lacking to comprehensively investigate the operational efficiency of new systems prior to their introduction to service. The Virtual Ship will provide a facility through which these issues may be addressed. It will exploit modern computing capability, particularly distributed simulation technology, to bring together simulations of ship systems in order that warship operations may be simulated. The Virtual Ship will provide a human-in-the-loop capability in that human operators may interact in real time with the simulations just as they would interact with the real system. The Virtual Ship will find application in support of a number of DSTO and ADF objectives. It will provide an environment within which the operational utility of sensors, signal processing techniques, data fusion techniques, command decision aids and weapon systems may be demonstrated and refined. It will enable the operational perspective to be accounted for in the laboratory, prior to expensive sea trials. It also provides a means by which system user requirements may be elicited in a controlled and cost effective manner.