Military Keyed Up For Computer Weapons Training
Newcastle Herald
Saturday August 9, 2003
IT IS combat training for generation X.
The latest military technology installed at Williamtown RAAF base has exchanged live bullets and bombs for the air-conditioned comfort of an indoor computer shooting system.
The weapons training system simulation, which opened this year, replicates outdoor shooting ranges and wartime scenarios on a 10-metre-wide screen that looks much like an oversized video game.
Planning for the new centre began in 1999 after a shortfall in weapons training skills was identified among Australian Defence Force personnel.
Users can train in marksmanship, fight through a computer-generated village full of guerillas or take on digital enemies in environments ranging from jungle to desert plains.
Rifles, machine-guns and even anti-tank missile launchers can be used, with sounds of the battlefield booming through a surround-sound speaker system and compressed air forcing the weapons to recoil as they would in real combat.
The centre has cost about $3.5million but the Department of Defence is confident the cost will be recovered.
© 2003 Newcastle Herald
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