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Virtual reality training — for pilots, maintainers and more — expands in 2020
By: Stephen Losey
One of the top priorities of Lt. Gen. Brad Webb, the newly minted head of Air Education and Training Command, will be expanding the Air Force's experiment with virtual reality training.
So far, the Air Force has had success with Pilot Training Next, which uses VR, biometrics and artificial intelligence to better teach aspiring pilots how to fly.
Webb is eyeing similar technologies, under the name Learning Next, to improve other forms of technical training. This could include teaching airmen how to maintain aircraft, fly remotely piloted aircraft or perform other technical tasks.
These programs allow students' education to proceed more at their own pace, since they are based on competency and are not tied to a timetable, Wright said. A student who already has the fundamentals down can skip the basics and go right to what he or she needs to learn.
AETC is now in the process of broadening Pilot Training Next, which has been a demonstration, to the next phase of wider experimentation, Webb said. He and Maj. Gen. Craig Wills, commander of the 19th Air Force, are working on plans to expand Pilot Training Next.
By next summer, Webb wants to have set up Pilot Training Next elements at several squadrons, though it wouldn't be across all undergraduate pilot training bases. A few classes after that, Webb expects, Pilot Training Next will be expanded to all UPT bases.
The Pilot Training Next expansion will likely be done methodically, at one base first, Webb said, though he would not say which base AETC is looking at. “What has happened in our last couple of years with Pilot Training Next has been an explosion, out of the box, of innovation,” Webb said.
“Make no mistake, the Air Force wants this inculcated as fast as we can go,” he said.
AETC is already in the “nascent stages” of testing VR and other technology-enhanced training for maintenance and other technical training as part of Learning Next, Webb said. Maintenance Next is a particular priority and is happening on an experimental basis at Kelly Field at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas, he said, and using VR for RPA training is also proceeding.
As the VR pilot training shows, such programs can accelerate in a hurry, he said.
Ethics
Webb also wants to cultivate an “environment of excellence, professionalism, ethics and character development” during his time at AETC.
Webb, who was previously commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, pointed to the ethical clouds that have fallen over parts of the special operations community in recent years. For example, the Navy relieved the entire senior leadership team of SEAL Team 7 earlier this month over what it described as leadership failures that resulted in a breakdown of good order and discipline while deployed.
AFSOC took a hard look at itself, Webb said, to make sure it doesn't allow similar lapses to fester.
“For a leader, you can never ... talk about core values enough,” Webb said. “If I had to look myself in the mirror from my last command, I can tell you my team knew our mission and vision of priorities backwards and forwards.”
But while airmen at AFSOC understood Air Force core values, he acknowledged he didn't always articulate those values in his everyday “walk-around, talk-around” encounters. That can create problems if leaders assume airmen already know about the core values, he said.
When a unit starts to feel the pressure from high operations tempos and a lack of resources, Webb said, that “get-'er-done” mentality can lead to bad decisions if airmen don't have a firm foundation of the Air Force core values.
“If you don't have a firm foundation, you can go to a dark place with that ... ‘find a way to yes' mentality,” Webb said. “We've got to always talk about professionalism and ethics, and also always talk about our core values. That will be a capstone” of his time at AETC.
Webb said he plans to continue with AETC's recent improvements in how special warfare airmen are recruited and trained, which included standing up the new Special Warfare Training Wing and the special warfare-focused 330th Recruiting Squadron. More work needs to be done to “normalize” and fine-tune those units, and more firmly fold them into AETC's everyday culture, he said.
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Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - February 08, 2021
NAVY Raytheon Technologies Corp., Pratt and Whitney, Pratt and Whitney Engines, East Hartford, Connecticut, is awarded a $49,195,531 fixed-price-incentive-firm-target modification (P00025) to a previously awarded contract (N0001918C1021). This contract provides for one conventional take-off and landing and two short take-off/vertical landing F135 engines to support F-35 Lightning II Block Four developmental testing program for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and non-U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) participants. Work will be performed in East Hartford, Connecticut (33%); Kent, Washington (15%); El Cajon, California (15%); Whitehall, Michigan (8%); West Palm Beach, Florida (6%); Dover, New Jersey (5%); East Lake, Ohio (3%); Rockford, Illinois (3%); Houston, Texas (3%); Portland, Oregon (3%); North Berwick, Maine (3%); and Milford, New Hampshire (3%), and is expected to be completed in January 2023. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Air Force) funds in the amount of $3,690,000; fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,500,000; and non-U.S. DOD participant funds in the amount of $1,083,021 will be obligated at the time of award, $6,190,000 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Feb. 5, 2021) Bell Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, is awarded a $17,852,939 modification (P00012) to a firm-fixed-priced order (N0001919F0305) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001917G0002). This modification exercises an option to procure 60 MV-22 and 10 CV-22 proprotor hub spring and drive link retrofit kits; and six CV-22 modification spares kits, in support of the Marine Corps MV-22 aircraft and Air Force CV-22 aircraft. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in February 2023. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $14,675,618; and fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $3,177,321, will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Feb. 5, 2021) BAE Systems Platforms & Services, Minneapolis, Minnesota, is awarded a $17,576,524 fixed-price incentive (firm target) contract for Virginia-class submarine propulsors (delivery order N00024-21-F-2100 under basic ordering agreement N00024-20-G-4107). Work will be performed in Louisville, Kentucky (90%); and Minneapolis, Minnesota (10%), and is expected to be completed by October 2024. Fiscal 2020 advanced procurement shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $17,576,524 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) (only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements). The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Awarded Feb. 5, 2021) American Petroleum Tankers LLC, Blue Bay, Pennsylvania (N3220517C3502), is awarded a $16,479,750 option (P00021) for the fixed-price portion of a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract with reimbursable elements to exercise a one-year option in support of the Department of Defense Logistics Agency Energy aboard the M/V Evergreen State. This contract includes a one-year-firm period of the performance, three one-year options periods, and one 11-month option period, which if exercised would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $81,048,250. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia, and is expected to be completed, if all options are exercised, by Jan. 8, 2023. Working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $10,565,100 are obligated for fiscal 2021, and will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. Funds in the amount of $5,914,650 for the remainder of Option Three are to be provided for fiscal 2022 and are subject to availability of funds in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.232-18, availability of funds. This procurement was released under full and open competition, with an unlimited number of companies solicited via the Beta.SAM.Gov website with three offers received. The Navy's Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Feb. 5, 2021) Bell Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, is awarded a $12,273,267 cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price order (N0001921F0090) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001917G0002). This order provides non-recurring engineering services for the conversion area harness aircraft modification. Additionally, this order procures 72 conversion area harness base retrofit kits, 63 conversion area harness supplemental retrofit kits, and interim spares in support of the Marine Corps MV-22 aircraft, the Air Force CV-22 aircraft, the Navy CMV-22 aircraft, and the government of Japan V-22 aircraft. Work will be performed in Simpsonville, South Carolina (80%); Fort Worth, Texas (10%); Long Beach, California (7%); Austin, Texas (1%); Dallas, Texas (1%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (1%), and is expected to be completed in January 2026. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,626,985; fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $1,787,911; fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount $480,888; and Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $1,377,483 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Feb. 5, 2021) CORRECTION: The contracts announced on Feb. 5, 2021, to Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. (N00019-14-C-0050 P00102); and Opal Soft Inc. (N00253-21-C-0004), were actually awarded today, Feb. 8, 2021. ARMY Birdi Systems Inc.,* Pasadena, California (W912DY-21-D-0037); 3 Territory Solutions LLC,* Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (W912DY-21-D-0053 ); Comprehensive Professional & Proposal Services,* Fredericksburg, Virginia (W912DY-21-D-0050); Futron Inc.,* Woodbridge, Virginia (W912DY-21-D-0051); Evergreen Fire Alarms LLC, Tacoma, Washington (W912DY-21-D-0052); EXP Federal Inc., Chicago, Illinois (W912DY-21-D-0053); M.C. Dean Inc., Tysons, Virginia (W912DY-21-D-0054); Spectrum Solutions Inc.,* Madison, Alabama (W912DY-21-D-0055); Shearer & Associates Inc.,* Huntsville, Alabama (W912DY-21-D-0056); and Chinook Systems Inc.,* Cocoa Beach, Florida (W912DY-21-D-0057), will compete for each order of the $49,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract to provide technical and programmatic support services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 13 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 7, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Pride Industries, Roseville, California, was awarded a $17,621,657 firm-fixed-price contract for base operations support. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed at Fort Rucker, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $3,085,875 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Field Directorate Office, Fort Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W9124G-18-C-0005). The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, was awarded a $10,579,798 modification (P00004) to contract W58RGZ19F0045 to integrate, test, upgrade and field functional hardware and software technology improvements and cybersecurity controls, to the Longbow Crew Trainer Generation Four and Generation Five fleets. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri, with an estimated completion date of April 2, 2022. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $10,579,798 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Iron Mountain Solutions Inc.*, Huntsville, Alabama, was awarded an $8,233,165 hybrid (firm-fixed-price, time-and-materials) contract for technical support for the Utility Helicopters Project Office. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 7, 2026. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $8,233,165 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-21-F-B001). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia (SPE8EG-21-D-0128); FFI Aerospace and Defense, Westminster, Maryland (SPE8EG-21-D-0129); and Araiza Co. LLC, Tullahoma, Tennessee (SPE8EG-21-D-0130), are sharing a maximum $12,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract under solicitation SPE8EG-20-R-0017 for ram assemblies used on military vessels. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. These are two-year base contracts with three one-year option periods. Locations of performance are Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Tennessee, with a Feb. 7, 2023, ordering period end date. Using customer is Defense Department. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency, Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. OFD Foods LLC,* Albany, Oregon, has been awarded a maximum $10,545,930 firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for dehydrated meat and gravy items. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Oregon, with a Feb. 7, 2026, ordering period end date. Using military service is Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through fiscal 2026 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency, Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE3S1-21-D-Z232). U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND Technology Service Corp., Arlington, Virginia, received a ceiling increase modification in the amount of $12,000,000 on a Small Business Innovative Research, Phase III contract (H92408-19-D-0001) for the Long Endurance Aircraft (LEA) program. The LEA program provides aircraft, turrets and spare parts required to support an increased multi-intelligence capability for U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). This modification raises the contract ceiling to $75,000,000 to accommodate a longer performance period. The contract is funded at the task order level with operation and maintenance funding and procurement funding. USSOCOM, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2497472/source/GovDelivery/