Alion designs game to train sailors for new position
New version of PC training game has 3-D environment
- By David Hubler
- May 02, 2011
Alion Science and Technology has won a three-year Navy task order worth $4.6 million to design a PC-based training game.
The task order from the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division calls for Alion to design a high-fidelity serious game that will train sailors for the Littoral Combat Ship-2 (LCS-2) Readiness Control Officer position, according to a May 2 announcement.
To meet the terms of task order, Alion will expand its PC-based Virtual Maintenance Performance Aid from the current system, which was developed for the LCS-1, to one designed for the LCS-2 environment, the announcement said.
Because each vessel has different training requirements, Alion’s LCS-2 trainer will include a ship-specific Electronic Control System graphical user interface.
It also will include an instructor station that can control the training environment, the ability to integrate with the Surface Warfare Officers School’s LCS Bridge Training System, and the virtual ship simulation, which allows trainees to learn the new equipment in a 3-D environment.
Alion will provide the updated hardware and software to the Surface Warfare Officers School and the Littoral Combat Ship Class Squadron.
Ultimately, the LCS-2 version will integrate with the LCS shore-based training facility in San Diego.
Alion Science and Technology Corp., of McLean, Va., ranks No. 41 on Washington Technology’s 2010 Top 100 list of the largest federal government contractors.
About the Author
David Hubler is the former print managing editor for GCN and senior editor for Washington Technology. He is freelance writer living in Annandale, Va.