The Ministry of Defence have opened tendering on a £30m contract for a simulation platform based on a commercial off the shelf games-based technology.
The duration of the contract is 8 years.
According to a tendering notice published by the Ministry of Defence:
“Training and simulation in military vehicles. Training and simulation in security equipment. Training and simulation in firearms and ammunition. Training and simulation in warships. Training and simulation in aircraft, missiles and spacecraft. Training and simulation in military electronic systems. The Training & Simulation System Programme (TSSP) team, part of Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) within the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), is considering the potential requirement for the provision of a Defence Virtual Simulation 2 (DVS2) to provide a common, interoperable, accessible and deployable software enabler(s) for simulation-based activity across Defence.
Defence Virtual Simulation 2 (DVS2) will provide a low fidelity , common virtual simulation tool(s) that exploits Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) games-based technology.
It is intended for use as widely as possible, underpinning the interoperability of training systems and enabling its use for applications including decision support; research and development; training; and operations planning and rehearsal, that is free at the point of use. Should, following completion of the market sounding exercise, the MoD wish to take forward the potential requirement then it will be expected that the preferred supplier would be able to demonstrate, implement and ultimately manage a solution capable of operating on standard Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) hardware over a period of up to 10 years (made up of 5 years managed service contract + 3 x 1 years options which the Authority reserves the right to take as a combination, or as 1 year increments, resulting in perpetual unsupported licences for final 2 years).
The solution will be interoperable with extant and future simulations, both nationally and internationally, through the use of open standards and import and export content in open standards (DMaSC & CIGI compliant). The solution will be COTS that will be licensed at an appropriate level providing enterprise, unrestricted use and distribution by the MoD, thereby enabling widespread use and development opportunities. Interoperability with Allied nations is also highly desirable.”
Previously in 2016, Bohemia Interactive Simulations announced that the Ministry of Defence had acquired an enterprise licence of the company’s flagship software Virtual Battlespace 3 (VBS3) as the MoD’s earlier Defence Virtual Simulation (DVS) solution.
We’ll let you know what they pick for DVS 2.
They can buy this thing for £60. I believe the professional version is used by DoD. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1076160/Command_Modern_Operations/
Maybe the CGI in the handout image needs to be better?
That landing craft appears to have become a hovercraft……..
I’d love to see more hovercraft in service……
Good spot, looks like a Starwars/Back to the Future hover technology, that could be handy.
That’s an image of the old system they want to replace. While it’s not great, the graphics look a lot better than the ones in the parachute simulators I have tried out at Brize and in the US.
I get the impression that the people making these purchasing decisions on both sides of the Atlantic do not see any value in having good graphics.
Graphics in the latest version of VBS are not bad at all
Is VBS4 the latest version? I just looked into it and it definitely looks like a step up. Nowhere near modern graphics in civilian applications but I’d imagine some graphical sacrifices need to be made to enable it to simulate such a wide range of situations, especially on a larger scale.
Yes, VBS4 is the latest version – released last year
Arma 3?
We had a simulator fitted to Close Range Gunnery in the 90s. For the life of me i cannot remember its name which means it wasnt that memorable a system!. It came in a total of around 3Cu Metres worth of Pelicases so it was really easy to stow on a ship that had limited space! A low res CRT fitted over the gun sight , gyro on the gun to track movement and a computer all linked by cables was supposed to be the be all and end all of Simulated Close Range Weapon Training. Invariably it only came… Read more »
Milan simulator had an optical unit that clagged over the firing post optics. It injected a white dot that was supposed to simulate the missile, following firing post tracking movements…..electronics hidden in a missile tube. Very antiquated now.