Service members have been utilizing an immersive environment that simulates a frontline wartime setting.
“Comparable to escape rooms but minus the puzzles,” the Babcock Immersive Training Experience (BITE) has been utilized at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) locations in Filton, Bristol and Warminster, Wiltshire.
BITE shakes, emits odors, and can produce smoke to simulate the experience of being on the frontline during warfare, potentially serving as a tool for future military training.
Jim Nagle, a warrant officer (WO), stated: “In my opinion, this comes as close as possible to the genuine experience.”
Babcock International, a defense company located in Bristol, developed BITE as a means to assist soldiers and commanders in maintaining combat readiness.
Mikaela Green, who leads the training capabilities department at Babcock, stated that their objective is to guarantee “readiness for operations.”
“Practising and maintaining your skills in an environment that closely mirrors real-world operations is essential,” she noted.
She mentioned their objective was to bridge the divide between classroom learning and practical experience, emphasizing its impact on developing military personnel’s “muscle memory.”
We’ve opened up the possibility for complete immersion.
A representative from Babcock mentioned that it was akin to escape rooms but without the puzzles.
BITE also features visual and biometric data streams that are overseen from a control room, allowing staff to examine behaviors and gain insights.
The military leaders from the Defence Equipment and Support section of the Ministry of Defense mentioned that they consistently seek out innovative and upcoming technologies.
A representative stated: “The advantage of encountering the BITE lies in allowing our team members to directly observe and firsthand understand what options are accessible for utilization.”
Recently, WO Nagle tested the facility at MoD Filton Abbey Wood and described it as providing “a sensory overload.”
The indirect fire, with all the data being funneled to you, including information from drones monitoring both our forces’ positions and those of the enemy… it kept everything quite intense.
He explained, ‘There’s smoke being introduced, along with noise and vibrations, plus a simulated indirect fire assault.’
The commanders were evaluated based on their decision-making skills while they experienced conditions “nearly identical to frontline warfare,” he mentioned.
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Related Internet Links
- Babcock International
