[RYAN ROBERTSON]
HELLO AND WELCOME TO WEAPONS AND WARFARE. FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M YOUR HOST, RYAN ROBERTSON. JUST AHEAD ON THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.
I GO FOR A RIDE IN THE PARA-SIM.
[UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER]
All right, and when you’re ready, go ahead and pull that handle. Nice. Throw, excellent, beautiful chute.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
IT’S A SETUP THAT WOULD ELEVATE ANY MAN CAVE TO LEGENDARY STATUS. SEE HOW THIS VR PARACHUTE SIMULATOR IS PREPARING SPECIAL FORCES TROOPS FOR STANDARD JUMPS AND EMERGENCY BAILOUT/EJECTION TRAINING AT A FRACTION OF THE COST, IN A COMPLETELY SAFE ENVIRONMENT.
AND WE CHECK IN WITH THE FOLKS FROM BLUEHALO TO GET THE 4-1-1 ON THE LOCUST LASER WEAPON SYSTEM. BUILT WITH RELIABILITY AND LETHALITY IN MIND, IT CAN TRACK, IDENTIFY, AND ENGAGE ALL SORTS OF TARGETS USING HIGH-ENERGY LASERS.
BUT WE START WITH OUR DEBRIEF.
WHILE WE WERE AT THIS YEAR’S MODERN DAY MARINE EVENT, WE MET SOME MARINES FROM 29 PALMS MARINE BASE WHO WERE THERE TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT SOME OF THE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE AT THE MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER. BUT MORE THAN SPREADING THE WORD, THEY OFFERED A TASTE OF THE EXPERIENCE.
IF YOU’RE NEW TO THE SIMULATED TRAINING ENVIRONMENT SCENE–THE SET-UP LOOKS LIKE A GAMERS PARADISE. INTERACTIVE SIMULATORS OFFERING THE TYPE OF EXPERIENCE RARELY AVAILABLE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. IT’S PART OF A LARGER EFFORT CALLED PROJECT TRIPOLI, AND IT COMBINES LIVE, VIRTUAL, AND CONSTRUCTIVE TRAINING TO PREPARE MARINES FOR FUTURE CONFLICTS.
[LT. COL. JESSE ATTIG]
We leverage a lot of different emerging technologies as well as more traditional training methods to bring people up from the most basic level of kind of tasks that they need to train to to more complex collective training tasks where they’re coming together.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
LIEUTENANT COLONEL JESSE ATTIG IS THE MODELING AND SIMULATION OFFICER FOR THE MARINE AIR GROUND TASK FORCE TRAINING COMMAND. IT’S THE CORPS’ PRIMARY TRAINING FACILITY, FOCUSED ON ENHANCING THE READINESS OF MARINE AIR GROUND TASK FORCES.
[LT. COL. JESSE ATTIG]
So we’re preparing Marines in simulation before they go out and do it in the live environment, so that we can optimize that time that we have in the live we’re not wasting gas and flight hours and bullets and all the different things that go into it, so that we get the most out of that route.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
COLONEL ATTIG SAYS THEY THINK OF THE TRAINING LIKE A TEAM SPORT, WHERE MARINES BUILD UP THEIR INDIVIDUAL SKILL SETS, THEN WORK IN SMALLER GROUPS, BUILDING UP TO GOING AGAINST POTENTIAL ADVERSARIES, BRINGING UNITS TO 29 PALMS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRAINING EXERCISES.
[LT. COL. JESSE ATTIG]
We will run Marines through, think some very basic stuff with a laptop type of configuration where they’re practicing the process and the and the communication procedures for how they’re going to communicate with one another. So they’ll do that in a sterile type of environment. They’re looking through a virtual environment. They can see what the enemy is going to look like.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
CONSISTING OF 16 COMPONENTS, PROJECT TRIPOLI CREATES A COMPLETE AND MODERN BATTLEFIELD TRAINING ENVIRONMENT.
[LT. COL. JESSE ATTIG]
So you’ll see elements of Live, Virtual and constructive in each one of those. We use those in different ways to maybe train specific part task capabilities, but then we’ll composite them together in a more collective, distributed training environment to really achieve that team effect that we need to for that collective mission set, that we really have to have the Marines prepared to do before they go out and go forward.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
AMONG THE MANY REASONS WHY THE MARINES VALUE THE ABILITY TO CONDUCT VIRTUAL TRAINING, IT ALLOWS UNITS TO PUT IN THE WORK, OUT OF SIGHT OF POTENTIAL ADVERSARIES POSSIBLY USING RECONNAISSANCE SATELLITES.
LIKE THE U.S. IT’S NO SECRET OTHER GOVERNMENTS ARE GATHERING INTELLIGENCE AND MONITORING THE ACTIVITIES OF AMERICA’S NATIONAL DEFENSE.
[LT. COL. JESSE ATTIG]
Every time we train out of the live environment, while it may be a higher fidelity type of training that we get, there’s an aspect of it, though, that we’re showing the rest of the world what we’re doing.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
FOR THOSE THAT MIGHT BE THINKING, ‘VIRTUAL TRAINING IS NICE, BUT IT’S JUST A BIG VIDEO GAME WHERE MISTAKES DON’T HAVE ANY REAL CONSEQUENCES’, COLONEL ATTIG SAYS THEY’VE THOUGHT OF THAT.
[LT. COL. JESSE ATTIG]
We do penalize appropriately to help drive the point home. So, you know, for an individual Marine, if they get killed, it’s not that we just resurrect them right back to life and they’re back in the fight. We actually have an entire process of how they have to go through a series of different kinds of regeneration. We make the staff deal with the process of how they would deal with the casualty collection and the processing of all of that. So it adds a little bit more of a realism to it. It’s not just okay, hey, hit reset. We do this again.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
WHILE THE ROAD SHOW WAS NO DOUBT OF INTEREST TO THE MODERN DAY MARINE ATTENDEES, ATTIG SAYS THE LONG-TERM GOAL FOR PROJECT TRIPOLI IS TO IMPROVE MARINES WARFIGHTING SKILLS BY EMPHASIZING REALISTIC SCENARIOS, USING ADVANCED TACTICS, WITH THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY, ULTIMATELY PREPARING THE NEXT GENERATION OF MARINES FOR WHATEVER COMBAT ENVIRONMENTS THEY FACE.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
ALRIGHT, LET’S HIT SOME HEADLINES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED.
BRITAIN SIGNED AN AGREEMENT TO HAND SOVEREIGNTY OVER THE CONTESTED CHAGOS ISLANDS TO MAURITIUS IN EAST AFRICA. IT’S A MOVE THE GOVERNMENT SAYS ENSURES THE FUTURE OF A U.S.-U.K. MILITARY BASE THAT IS VITAL TO BRITISH SECURITY.
[KEIR STARMER]
The strategic location of this space is of the utmost significance to Britain, from deploying aircraft to defeat terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan, to anticipating threats in the Red Sea and the Indo-Pacific. The base is right at the foundation of our security and safety at home.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
THE INDIAN OCEAN ARCHIPELAGO IS HOME TO A STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT NAVAL AND BOMBER BASE ON THE LARGEST OF THE ISLANDS, DIEGO GARCIA.
U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO WELCOMED THE AGREEMENT, SAYING IT “SECURES THE LONG-TERM, STABLE, AND EFFECTIVE OPERATION” OF THE DIEGO GARCIA BASE, ”A CRITICAL ASSET FOR REGIONAL AND GLOBAL SECURITY.”
NATO HELD A MILITARY TRAINING EXERCISE AT THE KRIVOLAK ARMY BASE IN CENTRAL NORTH MACEDONIA EARLIER THIS MONTH. 2,200 SOLDIERS FROM PARTICIPATING NATO COUNTRIES TOOK PART IN THE TRAINING, INCLUDING AMERICAN TROOPS.
DISMOUNTED SOLDIERS AND ARMOURED VEHICLES TOOK PART IN THE ‘IMMEDIATE RESPONSE’ EXERCISES.
[MG LEVON CUMPTON]
Looking around, I see a powerful demonstration of commitment – a commitment to readiness, to interoperability, and to shared values that bind us together as allies. This exercise is a testament to the strength and lethality of our collective defence and our dedication to a stable and secure Europe.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
NORTH MACEDONIA, A FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC, BECAME THE 30TH MEMBER OF THE U.S.-LED MILITARY ALLIANCE IN APRIL 2020.
THE PENTAGON IS REACHING OUT TO THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF THE MILITARY TO CREATE PLANS THAT WOULD HELP REDUCE THE NUMBER OF MOVES MILITARY FAMILIES HAVE TO MAKE EVERY FEW YEARS.
ACCORDING TO A MEMO FROM JAY HURST, THE ACTING UNDERSECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR PERSONNEL AND READINESS, THE DOD WANTS TO IDENTIFY WHICH PERMANENT CHANGES OF STATION MOVES CAN BE CONSIDERED LOWER PRIORITY. THE LINE FROM THE PENTAGON IS THE SHIFT WOULD HELP FAMILIES ACHIEVE MORE STABILITY AND CUT COSTS.
ACCORDING TO THE PENTAGON A RECENT SURVEY FOUND ONE-THIRD OF ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE MEMBERS AND THEIR SPOUSES IDENTIFIED PCS MOVES AS A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE.
MILITARY FAMILIES HAVE LONG EXPRESSED CONCERNS OVER THE CHALLENGES OF RELOCATING—SUCH AS FINDING NEW CHILDCARE AND SCHOOLS OR DEALING WITH EMPLOYMENT DISRUPTIONS FOR SPOUSES.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
FOR MOST JOBS IN THE MILITARY LEARNING STARTS IN THE CLASSROOM, EVENTUALLY THOUGH THINGS SWITCH TO A MORE HANDS ON APPROACH. THE THEORETICAL GIVES WAY TO THE PRACTICAL. BUT WHAT IF THOSE PRACTICAL LESSONS REQUIRE JUMPING OUT OF AN AIRPLANE? WE’VE GOT AN ANSWER FOR THAT IN OUR WEAPON OF THE WEEK.
[UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER]
- 4. 3. 2. 1!!!
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
ON THE BIG SCREEN SKYDIVING CAN LOOK ALMOST EFFORTLESS. BUT THAT’S THE MOVIES. IN REAL LIFE IT TAKES HOURS OF INSTRUCTION AND PRACTICE TO BECOME PROFICIENT. FORTUNATELY FOR AMERICA’S SPECIAL OPERATIONS TROOPS THERE’S A WAY TO BUILD THAT PROFICIENCY WITHOUT EVER GETTING MORE THAN A FEW FEET OFF THE GROUND.
THIS IS THE PARASIM. AND FOR MORE THAN THREE DECADES THEY HELPED MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM GO FROM THE BASICS OF PARACHUTING TO IRONING OUT THE WRINKLES OF IN-DEPTH MISSION PLANNING.
[RUSS LASCINK]
We’ve been around 35 years now. It started in 1990 and trees were triangles, and you had to steer and avoid obstacles, and it was just basically, there was a lot of injuries, and we’re just trying to keep people safe. And it’s now developed with the technology to become more of a mission planner, emergency trainer, and understanding the canopy before you got to do it in real life.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
RUSS LASCINK IS PARASIM’S VP OF SALES AND MILITARY TRAINING. HE TELLS US THEIR SET-UP ALLOWS FOR HANDS ON TRAINING, IN A SAFE ENVIRONMENT, FOR A FRACTION OF THE COST OF AN ACTUAL JUMP.
[RUSS LASCINK]
You’re using virtual reality, and the biggest component is the instructor, and it’s taking that knowledge from the instructor to a new person or experienced person, and put them in a challenging situation to test their skills and make sure that they’re doing the proper procedures in order that they need to be done in.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
NATURALLY I HAD TO TRY IT FOR MYSELF.
ANOTHER REASON WHY THE MILITARY LEANED ON THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BASED COMPANY FOR MORE THAN THREE DECADES IS THEIR WILLINGNESS TO COLLABORATE, TO MAKE SURE STUDENTS ARE GETTING THE KIND OF TRAINING THEY’LL NEED ONCE THEY STEP OUT OF AN ACTUAL AIRPLANE.
[RUSS LASCINK]
The SOF community really brought us along, because they’re the subject matter experts, and they told us they wanted 25 different scenarios, correctable, non correctable. They gave us YouTube videos and snapshots, and we were able to physically model that in sim. So they that way they could practice it. And after you try twice to fix something, then you know, you got to cut away and pull your next reserve.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
ACCORDING TO LASCINK PARASIM USES SPECIAL HEAD TRACKING TECHNOLOGY WITH INDEPENDENT TRACKERS INSTEAD OF THE BUILT-IN ONES FOUND IN GAMING GOGGLES.
THAT’S BECAUSE THEY WANT TO MINIMIZE LATENCY IN THE SIMULATOR, WITH THE TEAM FOCUSING ON MAKING SURE THE MOTION FEELS ACCURATE.
SO, WHEN A USER MOVES THEIR HEAD OR BODY, IT SYNCS PERFECTLY WITH THE SIMULATION.
[RUSS LASCINK]
People feel more confident. The success rate at Yuma free fall school has been higher because they’ve been able to experience that parachute before doing it live the first time. Also, people are more confident for their jumps when they’re doing high wind scenarios where they actually have to fly backwards with an MC six parachute, and understand that that’s a reality. You’re going to have to land going backwards and face into the wind. So or being able to understand, hey, it’s night, I can barely see my canopy, and I need to look at certain areas to make sure I have a good canopy, and I’m not just going to ride in a bad one, because I don’t, I’m not confident in my procedures.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
LASCINK SAYS OVER THE YEARS NEARLY 400 PARASIM SETUPS WERE INSTALLED NOT ONLY FOR AMERICAN TROOPS AROUND THE WORLD, BUT FOR NATO AND ALLIED AIRBORNE UNITS AS WELL.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
IF YOU’RE A REPEAT WATCHER OF WEAPONS AND WARFARE YOU HAVE NO DOUBT HEARD US TALK ABOUT THE WORK THAT’S BEING DONE BY THE TEAM AT BLUEHALO. IT’S BEEN A BIG YEAR FOR THE VIRGINIA-BASED DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY COMPANY. SO WE RECENTLY CAUGHT UP WITH JONATHAN MONEYMAKER FOR A COMMS CHECK.
IN EARLY MAY AEROVIRONMENT ANNOUNCED ITS ACQUISITION OF BLUEHALO WAS COMPLETE; SAYING THE MOVE REINFORCES ITS STATUS AS A GLOBAL LEADER IN DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY ACROSS AIR, LAND, SEA, SPACE, AND CYBER DOMAINS. BRINGING PROJECTS LIKE THE LOCUST LASER WEAPON SYSTEM UNDER THE AEROVIRONMENT UMBRELLA.
JONATHAN MONEYMAKER, BLUEHALO’S FORMER CEO AND NOW STRATEGIC ADVISOR TO AEROVIRONMENT, SAYS LOCUST IS A KEY COMPONENT OF AN INTEGRATED LAYERED DEFENSE STRATEGY AGAINST COUNTER-UAS AND DRONES.
[JONATHAN MONEYMAKER]
The core guts of it is that acquisition, tracking and pointing component that we’re world class at, and then we’ve now built that into a completely vertically integrated laser weapon system. You see here a fixed installation that can be roll on, roll off for something like a carrier in a maritime environment to a Ford operating base.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
MONEYMAKER SAYS ONE OF THE BIGGEST FEATURES OF LOCUST IS THE ABILITY TO USE IT WITH MULTIPLE PLATFORMS.
[JONATHAN MONEYMAKER]
Whether that’s something that we’ve been working on with DRS, where we’re combining kinetic and laser weapon systems onto a common vehicle, or looking at it from just a more ubiquitous gun sight mount. If you can have that level of precision tracking for a threat, whether it’s a laser or kinetic system, the increase of effectiveness just goes through the roof.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
AS WITH ANY NEW SYSTEM THE BIG QUESTION IS WHAT KIND OF RANGE CAN USERS EXPECT. BLUEHALO TELLS US THAT DEPENDS ON THE CONFIGURATION OF THE DEPLOYMENT, BUT MONEYMAKER SAYS IT’S IN THE 20 TO 30 KILOWATT RANGE.
[JONATHAN MONEYMAKER]
Our approach around focusing on that advanced stabilization allows us to be far more effective at lower power grades, which makes the system more affordable, easier to maintain. And you know, as it’s been operationally deployed very, very successfully, so as we’re looking at kind of the threats that we’re getting after you’re really looking at up to group three threats from a counter UAS standpoint, and starting to expand into that counter rocket and mortar market.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
IT’S NO SECRET THE NAVY PUT A BIG EMPHASIS ON MAKING PROJECTS LIKE LOCUST A PRIORITY. EMPHASIZING ITS DESIRE TO USE AFFORDABLE, EFFECTIVE MEANS TO MEET THREATS LIKE THE ONES BEING USED IN THE RED SEA BY GROUPS LIKE THE HOUTHIS.
[JONATHAN MONEYMAKER]
The great thing about LOCUST is that it’s operationally proven. The fact that it can be deployed in a roll on, roll off capability allows it to support a carrier group that may be, you know, changing plans and deploying into an area like the Red Sea where you need that type of protection. You can deploy it on the fan tail of a ship and have it area of responsibility and defend, you know, defend the ship against incoming counter UAS, or applications on the surface of the water as well.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
THE ARMY STARTED USING LOCUST TO COUNTER DRONE THREATS IN 2022, EVEN SENDING IT OVERSEAS AND USING THE LOCUST IN ITS PALLETIZED HIGH ENERGY LASER SYSTEM. MAKING THE MOVE TO THE FLEET THE NEXT LOGICAL EVOLUTION OF THE SYSTEM.
[JONATHAN MONEYMAKER]
We’re excited to be expanding into the maritime application, and again, I think it fits solely into our broader layer defense strategy, from our Titan counter UAS products all the way up to our Freedom Eagle missile and that laser weapon system right in the middle gives it the kind of the full complement to defend our nation.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
ALRIGHT FOLKS, THAT’S GOING TO DO IT FOR US THIS WEEK AT WEAPONS AND WARFARE. AS WE ALWAYS DO AT THE END OF THE SHOW, WANT TO REMIND YOU ALL TO PLEASE LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE TO ALL OF OUR SOCIAL MEDIA FEEDS, AND DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP TODAY TO MAKE SURE YOU DON’T MISS A THING FROM THE SHOW, OR FROM STRAIGHT ARROW.
FOR MY WRAP THIS WEEK–I’M GOING TO KEEP IT SHORT AND SWEET, AND SPEND JUST A BIT OF TIME REFLECTING ON THE IMPORTANCE OF NOT TAKING YOURSELF TOO SERIOUSLY… BECAUSE THE BENEFIT OF LEARNING TO LAUGH AT YOURSELF WILL BE WITH YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
SO IN OUR WEAPON OF THE WEEK SEGMENT YOU JUST SAW–WITH PARASIM–WELL, YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED I LOOKED A LITTLE RIDICULOUS AT TIMES DURING THAT SHOOT–PRETTY, PRETTY, PRETTY GOOFY.
A FACT SUPER PRODUCER BRETT BAKER PICKED UP ON QUICKLY AND WAS SURE TO SHARE WITH OUR COLLEAGUES HERE AT STRAIGHT ARROW.
I MEAN, WHO WOULDN’T WANT TO SEE A FUNNY-LOOKING BALD GUY HANGING FROM A WEIRD RACK IN THE MIDDLE OF A CONVENTION CENTER, AM I RIGHT?
BUT JUMPING INTO THAT SIMULATOR WAS ONE OF THE COOLER THINGS I’VE GOT TO DO IN MY CAREER. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN, I REALLY WANT TO TRACK THOSE FOLKS DOWN AT A FUTURE SHOW JUST FOR ANOTHER GO AT IT.
AND HONESTLY, FOLKS, WHEN I LOOK BACK ON MY LIFE–SOME OF THE MOST FUN I’VE EVER HAD WAS WHEN I LOOKED THE MOST RIDICULOUS. WHEN I DIDN’T CARE HOW ANYONE ELSE SAW ME BECAUSE I WAS TOO FOCUSED ON THE FUN I WAS HAVING.
YES, THERE IS A TIME AND A PLACE FOR PROPER ETIQUETTE–BUT WE CAN’T LOSE TOUCH WITH THE ABILITY TO ENJOY LITTLE MOMENTS, EVEN IF WE LOOK A LITTLE GOOFY.
FOR SENIOR PRODUCER BRETT BAKER, VIDEO EDITOR BRIAN SPENCER AND GRAPHICS ARTIST DAKOTA PITEO, I’M RYAN ROBERTSON WITH STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS SIGNING OFF.
