MÄK TECHNOLOGIES CGF CHOSEN BY VEGA GROUP PLC
VR-Forces to Support the Watchkeeper UAV Program for the UK Ministry of Defence
Cambridge, Mass., 12 September, 2007 ― MÄK Technologies, (MÄK), a company of VT Systems Inc (VT Systems), and Antycip Simulation have been awarded a contract by VEGA Group PLC (VEGA) to supply MÄK’s commercial-off-the-shelf toolkit VR-Forces to support the Watchkeeper UAV (Unmanned Air Vehicle) Program for the UK Ministry of Defence. Under contract to Thales UK, VEGA will be responsible for managing the development and delivery of a training solution for both operator and maintenance crews for the Watchkeeper UAV system.
Watchkeeper will provide the UK armed forces with an essential Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance ("ISTAR") capability, based on a tactical UAV system, and will be a key component of the UK’s drive for Network Enabled Capability ("NEC").
VEGA’s training solution builds on a heritage of similar projects in both Aerospace and Defence, and delivers significant new advances in the MoD’s ability to achieve deployable team training with reduced flight training costs and asset dependency. It employs real-time desktop simulation and image generation in a scalable synthetic environment. It features classroom based instruction facilities, physical models for assembly and disassembly, and mock-up ground control stations, through which operators will learn to control simulated UAV’s and their on-board suite of imaging payloads. To deliver training environments, VEGA has developed a generic software architecture that will integrate commercial off-the-shelf software products with Thales Watchkeeper operational software.
"VR-Forces is a robust and flexible CGF, making it the choice for many large simulation and training programs like Watchkeeper," said Marc Schlackman, vice president of marketing and sales at MÄK Technologies. "MÄK is pleased to be chosen by VEGA to help meet the training needs of the Watchkeeper UAV system in the United Kingdom."
Marc SCHLACKMAN
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
MÄK Technologies
