The US Pentagon has selected the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to develop a “a critical, one-of-a-kind futuristic training program in which warfighters would train here at home in preparation for the types of small, urban and borderless conflicts”.
The program, officially launched through a directive from the Under Secretary of Defense, Advanced Systems and Concepts, John J. Kubricky, is a two-year, $36 million initiative sponsored by the United States Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM). Other defense organizations set to participate in the program include: the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO), the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Advanced Systems and Concepts (DUSD/AS&C), and the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy.
Called the Future Immersive Training Environment (FITE) Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) program is supposed to emphasize the “human dimension of warfare”. ONR has already developed a similar system for Marines & Sailors called the “Immersive Infantry Trainer”.
I worked with this guy kubricki 30 years ago. The soldier simulator was something we had tried to develop in the late-70s, but couldn’t get the suits to do it. Glad to see he finally got it done, probably because he was a soldier in vietnam who knew why the simulator was important to prep for battle.