UNCLASSIFIED

14 Software Engineering Squadron

14 Wing Greenwood

PO Box 5000 STN Forces

Greenwood, NSB0P 1N0

10001-1 (CO 14SES)

11 Jun 07

Course Director Staff Air Navigator Course

CanadianForceAirNavigationSchool

PO Box 17000 Station Forces

Winnipeg, MBR3J 3Y5

update the cp-140 aurora

operational mission simulator

References: A. SOCD: Update theUpdate the CP-140 Aurora Operational Mission Simulator Dated 1 June, 2007

B. Defence Policy Statement (dated April 2005)

C. VCDS draft presentation

D. AIMP CMS Prime Item Development Specification (PIDS) – FINAL

E. AIMP NFI Prime Item Development Specification (PIDS) – FINAL

F. Shaping the Future of Canadian Defence: A Strategy for 2020

G. CANADA'S INTERNATIONAL POLICY STATEMENT: A Role of Pride and Influence in the World

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  1. This document will identify the need to procure an update to the Operational Mission Simulator (OMS) that represents the new configuration of CP-140 Aurora mission system and the recent change in role of the aircraft.

Introduction

  1. Role of the CP-140 Aurora. The CP-140 Aurora is a long range patrol aircraft that the CF used primarily as a deep ocean Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) weapon platform during the 1980s and early 1990s. By the late 1990s the Aurora’s mission focus shifted from ASW to long range patrol while the residual ASW component moved from the deep ocean to littoral waters. As outlined in reference B, the new mandate for the Aurora is to broaden its operational scope to include overland operations and support the Navy in any littoral engagements and other strategic engagements and duties. The different sensors, their previous roles and their new roles in light of new policy direction are listed in Table1:

Equipment / Traditional Role / New Role
Radar / Maritime surface surveillance, ASW prosecution and deterrence, IFF, / Includes traditional role and also: location of targets for EOIR camera,
Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD) / Short range detection tool for submarines. / Short range detection tool for submarines.
Electronic Sensory Measures (ESM) / Detect and locate Radar emissions from Submarines / Used to detect and locate maritime surface vessel radars. Gathering of electronic intelligence from neutral and hostile sources.
Acoustic Data Processor (ADP) / Detect, locate and track sub surface contacts in deep water. / Detect, locate and track sub surface contacts in shallow waters.
Radios / Communicate with Maritime commanders, Navy fleets, on-site commanders, and surface vessels. Act as a fleet communications relay platform and the Network Controlling Station (NCS) for data link activities. / Includes traditional role and also: communicate with strategic commanders and friendly land forces.
Optical System / Low Resolution limited bandwidth infra-red image used only to find / High resolution daylight and Infra-red imaging with high magnification for target identification

Table 1

  1. The Aurora Incremental Modernization Plan (AIMP) Block II upgrade. In 2001 Treasury Board authorized the AIMP and divided it into three Blocks. Blocks I and II were dedicated to the upgrade of the old navigation and communications systems on board the Aurora. The program has been beset by numerous delays in the development and installation of these systems, but by the summer of 2008 14 Wing Greenwoodwill have sufficient numbers of Block II aircraft to start using them for operational activities. Details on the scope of the updates can be found in references D and E. Figure 1 shows some of the updates to the Tacnav and Navcom stations.

Figure 1 – The updated panel between the Tacnav and Navcom stations showing the new components

  1. The Aurora Operational Mission Simulator (OMS). The OMS is the primary tool for the training of aircrew and the maintenance of their tactical skills. 404 Squadron, who is responsible for training Aurora aircrew, uses a number of ground training tools to teach students how to use the equipment on the Aurora, but the OMS is the only tool that can teach untrained aircrew how to operate their equipment in a dynamic tactical environment. The OMS is an amalgamation of technologies spanning several decades of design. The original design, conceived in the 1970s and delivered in 1980 received a major update in 1995 to the tactical manipulation and acoustics sections. At the time of its construction, open ocean ASW was the primary task of the Aurora which is reflected in the design and capabilities of the OMS. A replacement mission simulator to be delivered in 2012 is a component of the AIMP; however its future remains uncertain due to a recent announcement of a six month delay in production of the AIMP program.

The training deficiency of the legacy mission simulator

  1. Background. The effectiveness of the Aurora platform depends on the ability of its crew to operate as an integrated unit. This is accomplished, in part, through training in the OMS. The crew uses the OMS for tactical procedures training, degraded operations and part-task trainers. The OMS is the primary tool for developing a crew into a unified fighting unit. With the demise the Acoustic Procedure Trainer, it is the only dedicated ground training device by which the Acoustic Sensor Operators can learn to operate their sensors. The OMS is a critical part of developing crew coordination in a tactical environment. This relates to defence policy statements in document XX.
  2. Aircrew Training on the Aurora. The normal progression for aircrew in the CF is to attend an Operational Training Unit (OTU) after they get their basic flying training for their occupation. The OTU is a squadron that is dedicated to the training of personnel to operate and maintain a particular airframe. Located in Greenwood, Nova Scotia, 404 Squadron is the OTU for the Aurora fleet and provides training for all seven aircrew roles in the aircraft. Five of these seven positions use the OMS for tactical trainingand are listed and described in Table 2.

Position / Role and Equipment operated
Pilot / Fly the aircraft. Responsible for the safe operation of the aircraft.
Tacnav / Short for tactical Navigator, the Tacnav is responsible for the coordination and execution of the mission.
Navcom / Short for Navigator Communicator, the Navcom is responsible for managing the communications and navigation systems of the Aurora
Acoustic Sensor Operator / Detects, locates and tracks submarines using sonobuoys, a disposable underwater acoustic sensor.
Non-Acoustic Sensor Operator / Operates the MAD, Radar, ESM and Optical sensors.

Table 2

  1. Navcom and Tacnav Responsibilities. The need for the Navcom and the Tacnav to operate the navigation and the communication equipment extends beyond simple button pushing but extends to the manipulation of these systems in situations where tasks must be prioritized and distractions are plentiful. To summarize, both the Navcom and Tacnav trainee needs to learn how to configure the communications and navigation system in a heavily tasked tactical situation.
  2. The Navcom Role in the Aurora. As a member of an Aurora crew, the Navcom is responsible for managing the communications and navigation systems. Managing the communications involves keeping abreast of the tactical situation to optimize the configuration of the radios and communicate with the entities external to the aircraft. As a communications platform the Aurora provides voice and digital data links to friendly assets and sometimes acts as the NCS for a combined task force. Management of the navigation system involves monitoring the performance of the various components and ensuring that they are performing within normal operating parameters. Some of the new components, such as the EHSI, require additional configuration by the Navcom so that they can provide useful information to the rest of the crew. Of all the positions in an Aurora crew, the Navcom is affected the most by the Block II upgrades to the aircraft.
  3. Tacnav Training Requirements. While the Navcom is affected more than any other position by the changes in the Block II upgrade to the aircraft, they all affect the Tacnav but to a lesser degree. Part of the terms of reference for a Tacnav on an Aurora crew is to monitor a junior Navcom and provide assistance in situations where the Navcom is experiencing a high workload. In these instances the Tacnav must be able to operate the Navigation equipment in situationswhere the crew is heavily tasked.

the oms as a tactical development tool

  1. The OMS as a Tactical Development Tool. While the OMs has been very useful for the development of tactics related to deep water ASW, attempts to expand them to littoral scenarios have not been very successful. At present there are no standard scenarios for line crews at the operational squadrons to practice littoral operations, much less anything over land. The OMS as it currently exists is deficient for tactical development for a number of reasons. It has never had a proper optical system simulation capability either for the legacy FLIR or the recently installed Westcam MX-20. There is no useful method of simulating the radar returns from land masses. As a result using the OMS for the tactical development of these sensors has been extremely limited. Development of tactics in new environments is needed so that the Aurora can support the Army and the Navy in their operational activities. There is little electromagneticinterference and signals from land based sources, and the number of surface contacts is limited to 16. Line of sightconsiderations for radar and radio communications ranges from primitive to non existent and is therefore unsuitable for overland and littoral operations.
  2. Limitations of the Acoustic Signal Generator. The ocean model in the ASG does not support shallow water, and underwater physical features, sea currents, tidal currents and is lacking a horizontal propagation model based on watermass. All of these are required if littoral simulation is a desired capability of this simulator.
  3. Current Tactical Development Process. Units (MP&EU and 404 Sqn) traditionally responsible for the development of deep water ASW tactics have used a combination of simulator time and flights during joint exercises as well as those against transiting friendly submarines. At present the only way for crews to conduct procedures training for overland operations is in the aircraft. Training for littoral operations is only conducted while participating in National and NATO exercises. The tactical employment of the Aurora is undergoing development but the developing units have been doing not just flights but alone with out input from the Air Warfare Centre, the Maritime Warfare Centre and the Land Forces Warfare Centre. While this is an inefficient way of utilizing resources, the recently mandated decreasein flying hours for the Aurora means that the development of tactics will be slowed down.
  4. Rapid Scenario Development. The Aurora is expected to respond to a wider variety of threats (reference G). In order to properly react to these emerging threats, the crews need to be able to prepare for a new mission which could be any where in the world. Proper preparation of a crew will involve the rapid generation of scenarios to be presented to the crews for their new mission. In short, a rapid scenario generation capability should be a part of the upgrade to the OMS.

The Need to become an active member of the distributed simulation community in the cf

  1. CF Wide Investment in Distributed Simulation. Currently in the CF, there is a significant effort underway to connect all the various tactical simulators in different fashions. This is to facilitate the simulation of joint operations either for a training purpose, or for the development of new tactics. The Air Force champion of distributed simulation is the Canadian Forces Air Warfare Centre (CFAWC).
  2. CF Policy. Currently there is a mandate for the CF to adopt increasing numbers of joint simulated exercises. This has been done to reduce the costs associated with live exercises as well as the wear and tear on equipment.

<insert diagram of Aurora and its communications links>

statement of deficiency

  1. Given the policy change, the legacy Aurora Operational Mission Simulator does not provide the proper tactical training of a crew or development of new tactics to support the upgraded aircraft. In addition, the OMS currently has no way of participating in any distributed simulation exercises with other CF units.

Description of an upgrade solution

  1. Introduction. This is section will lay out the high level requirements for an Aurora mission simulator based on the avionics update the change in role of the aircraft.
  2. Proposed Solution. A CP-140 tactical simulator must provide the same equipment used in tactical operations that is currently installed in the aircraft. This means maintaining the fidelity of the legacy equipment that will be retained such as the GPDC but also providing accurate representation of the new Communications, Navigation and EOIR capabilities. The new equipment must have the same look and feel as the aircraft equipment in order to minimize the amount of negative training. There are three components of the upgrade to the existing simulator that need to be done: Update the radios and navigation systems, install an EOIR emulation and provide an external interface to connect with other simulators in the CF.
  3. Current OMS Configuration. The OMS consists of a reproduction of the tactical portion of the CP-140, an operators console and a pilot’s control station. In order to generate the scenario complexity that will be required to meet the new mandate, there simulator will require additional personnel. The Block II Aurora will have seven radios at the disposal of the crew which is far more than a single operator can be expected to use and stimulate the crew undergoing training.
  4. Communications System Updates. The following communication devices need to be included in a simulator update.
  5. Multi band radios. There Block II aircraft has 3 of these radios that can be tuned to any frequency in the range from XXX to XXX MHZ which includes VHF and UHF bands
  6. HF Radios
  7. VHF-FM. Used mostly for communications with maritime commercial surface vessels.
  8. CDU – Crew Display unit
  9. CRATT. Coded Radio Teletype. This is used for communications with land based Command and Control agencies.
  10. Data Link. Since its inception, the Aurora has been a Link-11 capable aircraft operating either as a picket unit or a net control station.
  11. Electronic Horizontal Situation Indicator (EHSI).
  12. Crew Station Unit (CSU). Each station on the aircraft has a CSU that permits a crew member to select radios and intercom channels that crew member
  13. ARC 234 Satcom. This system is considered a strategic communications device rather than a tactical communications device, but would become important to any distributed simulation exercise.
  14. Satellite e-mail. Like Satcom,
  15. Line-of-Sight (LOS). With the exception of the HF radios and satellite communications, most radios have a line of sigh limitation with respect to their operation. For instance an army unit near a hill cannot communicate with an Aurora if the hill stands between the army unit and the aircraft. The curvature of the Earth is another factor that must be considered when determining if line of sigh calculations are possible. This is based on the altitudes of the transmitting stations and is generally calculated using the following formula:

LOS range = + 1.23√Htransmitter + 1.23√Hreceiver

Where Htransmitter and Hreceiver are the heights of the transmitter and receiver measured in feet. This assumes that there is no terrain blocking the radios, and that the signal has sufficient power to travel the distance.

  1. Noise Levels. Need to introduce land based interference and noise models such that they represent real communications over land. Line-of-Sight calculations need to be made to determine if the radio signal will reach the aircraft. Noise must be injected into the signal of the simulated radio. The noise injected as well as the signal strength at the receiving antenna can be calculated as follows:
  1. Navigation System Update.
  2. New Error model
  3. EOIR simulation
  4. Sea based targets
  5. Land based targets
  6. Fidelity of Simulation:the incorporation of Haze Elements in the EOIR simulator.
  7. Rapid generation of scenarios. need to be rapidly developed and tested and then
  8. Degraded Operations. Additional consideration must be given to degraded operations and fidelity of the navigation simulation so that it represents the advanced technologies contained within the AIMP Navigation systems.
  9. Overland Simulation Capability. In addition to the aforementioned LOS calculations for radios, the other modifications required to update the simulator to provide overland operations training center mostly around the need to generate landmasses for the radar and EOIR emulations. The simulator will need to carry a database of global topographical maps. The EOIR and the radar simulator sub-systems need to use the same database so that they can provide the proper representation for sensor hand-off. This is when one sensor picks up a feature of interest and passes the position to another sensor for a complimentary analysis. The simulator will also use the maps for the placement of ground targets and for LOS calculations.
  10. Modifications needed to provide a Littoral Environment. In the context of ASW and Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW) operations, littoral waters differ from the deep ocean for the following reasons:
  11. Landmass generator. As discussed in the previous section, a common database of topographical charts for the simulator will provide proper representation of coastal areas.
  12. Greater number of contacts. The current simulator only provides simulation of 16 surface contacts. Littoral operations typically involve large numbers of both neutral and hostile vesselsthat tend to be small. A similar problem exists with air contacts in that the simulator can only track up to four air contacts. But these numbers need to increase significantly.
  13. Underwater acoustic profile of littoral environment. Underwater acoustics in shallow waters use a very different propagation model than in deep water. The effects of bottom bounce and multi-path are much more pronounced than in deep water. An increase in surface contacts increases the noise levels significantly in shallow waters which will necessitate a new noise model.
  14. Legacy Sensors. The upgrade must maintain the same or greater fidelity for the following systems:
  15. MAD. This sensor should not require any modifications due to the proposed changes.
  16. ESM. The ESM system on the aurora while primitive, does provide an overland and littoral capability. Care must be taken to ensure that all new targets have a realistic ESM profile and that the simulator performs an LOS before providing ESM to the trainee.
  17. Pilot’s Situational Awareness. The pilot’s situational awareness in the simulator does not represent that in the aircraft. This has been a problem with simulator for a long time and has traditionally been mitigated with training on the squadrons after completing the OTU.
  18. Radar performance. While adding a capability to generate landmasses for the radar there should be no degradation of the representation of surface targets on the water particularly with respect to submarine profiles.
  19. Targets. The current suite of targets in the OMS is based on NATO and Soviet surface contacts operating in the middle of a deep ocean. A database of new land targets as well as those expected to be found in coastal areas need to be available to the simulation scenario developers.
  20. Expandability. The simulator upgrade must also remain open for new upgrades to the Aurora mission suite such as the MVASP and the EO Server. Not only must these systems plug into the simulated Aurora systems but they must have the capacity to be controlled by the OMS central controlling computer/system. The software for this system needs to be managed so that whenever updates occur to the software in the Aurora mission suite, the OMS needs to receive the same updates and they must be compatible with the simulated systems.
  21. Connectivity to other Simulators. The current standard for connecting simulators in the CF is the High Level Architecture (HLA) protocol. An investigation would need to be undertaken to determine the modifications necessary to the legacy infrastructure and the upgraded components in order to enable this technology. This part of the upgrade should be undertaken after the upgrades to the Navigation and Communication systems. Also mention that two potential EOIR simulations both of which require HLA to integrate with other simulator components.
  22. Concept of Operations.

This is where I would put my ideas of being able to spontaneously generate scenarios, or quick response to changing missions and have scenario developers develop scenarios for crews so that they could train for new missions right before a short deployment order.