Australian Army Builds Future-Ready Training Platform with MAK ONE

The Australian Army launched Land Systems Core 2.0 (LS Core 2.0) to create a more capable simulation training environment as part of its Future-Ready Training System. Built as a scalable, persistent solution, LS Core 2.0 gives the Army a unified platform to support collective training across teams and missions.

The Army knew exactly what it wanted: a flexible, interoperable solution that could bring its systems together and stay adaptable as needs changed. It envisioned a common synthetic environment where every piece worked in sync, delivering seamless, consistent training across the force. The platform had to be rapidly deployable, affordable, and easy to maintain. To keep things open and future-ready, the Army made commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software a core requirement.

To make it happen, the Australian Army tapped Australia-based Applied Virtual Simulation (AVS) as the prime contractor for LS Core 2.0. AVS took the lead in deploying and managing the software, making sure it met Australian standards while boosting local industry participation. By partnering with a mix of global and local vendors, AVS tailored a solution that delivered on the Army’s needs.

AVS selected the MAK ONE suite as the foundation for the program’s common synthetic environment. With MAK ONE, AVS delivered VR-Forces, VR-Engage, and VR-Vantage to power the common virtual and constructive simulation, image generator, and data and networking infrastructure. The MAK ONE platform is scalable, modular, and interoperable, and supports training across everything from high-end simulators to laptops; it also enables integration with data warehouses, command systems, and C3ISREW interfaces, aligning with the Army’s broader digital ecosystem.

“Partnering with AVS on LS Core 2.0 shows how off-the-shelf solutions can make a real impact,” said Bill Cole, CEO and President of MAK Technologies. “By integrating MAK ONE as the common synthetic environment, we’ve helped the Australian Army build a flexible platform that can grow with its mission.”

With LS Core 2.0 moving towards deployment, the Australian Army now has a unified, flexible simulation platform that meets its goals for interoperability, scalability, and ease of use. Following the successful completion of the program’s first phase and its transition to the Army’s Director of Land Training Capability, the system is already supporting initial training programs.

MAK continues to work closely with AVS to ensure the system evolves with mission demands.

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A COTS-First Approach with MAK ONE Powers the RAF’s Gladiator Program

When the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) set out to modernize how it trains, it made a bold choice: to build its new synthetic training system entirely from commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software. The result is Gladiator - an open, scalable, and RAF-owned platform that delivers high-fidelity, distributed training across air, land, and sea.

The RAF knew its training needs would keep evolving as technology and tactics changed. It wanted a system it could update and grow without waiting on vendors or getting stuck in the usual bureaucratic delays of system refreshes. By owning the architecture and intellectual property, the RAF could stay agile, avoid vendor lock-in, and reduce long-term costs. The system had to work across different aircraft platforms while bringing in land and maritime forces.

A modular, COTS-based approach was the only way forward.

To turn vision into reality, Boeing Defence UK (BDUK) stepped in as prime contractor for Gladiator, leading the design, development, and integration of its core systems. ST Engineering Antycip played a pivotal role by customizing and delivering the MAK ONE suite of simulation and visualization software to BDUK, making sure everything fit seamlessly into the broader environment. Together, they built a plug-and-play architecture that lets Gladiator grow and adapt over time, without relying on proprietary software.

At the heart of the system is MAK ONE, including VR-Forces, which drives the computer generated forces (CGF), IOS, and Scenario Generator; VR-Vantage for out-the-window and sensor visualization; VR-Engage as the virtual platform. Together, these tools form the backbone of the common synthetic environment, with open APIs allowing easy integration of third-party tools like sensor simulations, electronic warfare models, and Tactical Data Links. With its solid foundation built on MAK ONE, Gladiator’s success was further strengthened by MAK’s hands-on leadership, agility, and commitment— the kind of partnership that aligns with today’s push for more flexible, efficient, and commercially driven defense solutions.

“Working with the amazing Gladiator team, including BDUK, the RAF, ST Antycip, and others, has been a truly rewarding experience,” said Jim Kogler, VP of Product at MAK. “Over the years, we spent a great deal of time together ensuring that the delivered system met the needs of the warfighter. Building a core simulation capability on a flexible, open platform like MAK ONE, embracing open standards and open APIs, alongside a team of dedicated engineers and informed end users, yielded a system that is already making a real impact on training across multiple domains.”

Today, the RAF owns and operates a Common Synthetic Environment that’s already proving its value. It enables distributed, high-fidelity training across air, land, and maritime domains and has delivered multiple Gladiator-compliant MAK-ONE-based solutions—including an F-35 Effects-Based Trainer that’s been fielded and accepted by users. With continued Ministry of Defence funding and its flexible, modular architecture, Gladiator is well-positioned to keep pace with the RAF’s training priorities. MAK is proud to support this effort and looks forward to what’s next.

Image Source: Royal Airforce News

CCIT Showcases MAK ONE-based Wargaming Scenarios to the President of Taiwan

Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen, experiences MAK ONE — *Image Source: TTV*

Back in 2020, the Chung Cheng Institute of Technology (CCIT) at the National Defence University in Taiwan chose MAK ONE, including VR-Forces, the MAK Data Logger, and the MAK RTI, to fulfill its defense research and development goals.

Fast forward to 2023 and CCIT relies on MAK ONE, now also including VR-Vantage, to build realistic wargaming scenarios to help train warfighters’ response to threats. In June 2023, the President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, visited the CCIT campus where she experienced a demonstration showing how CCIT’s Advanced Systems Engineering Research Center (ASERC) uses MAK ONE-based simulation technology to carry out research and development of new weapon systems.

Tsai Ing-wen saw a wargaming scenario based on VR-Forces of an air battle between Air Force fighters (blue) and PLA fighters (red) on the central line of the Taiwan Strait.

Here's a summary of the scenario:

The training scenario consists of an air battle engagement where the Red Fighters are conducting routine air training and the Blue Fighter team is in the airfield in standby mode. When the Red Fighters turn and approach the Taiwan Strait, the Blue Fighters are engaged for immediate take-off and implement “Rules of Engagement” to Hold-Fire.

The Blue Fighters broadcast a message to the Red Fighters to leave the area, but the Red Fighters respond by engaging a rocket attack on the Blue Fighters who respond with thermal flares. The Blue Fighters continue to monitor and follow the Red Fighters, who then enter the 12-nautical mile airspace, which changes the Blue Fighters' rules of engagement to Fire-at-Will. The Blue Fighters launch their rockets onto the Red Fighters who are hit and destroyed.

The illustrations shown below are the Blue Fighter in standby mode, the Red Team crossing the Taiwan Strait, and the Red Team subsequently being shot down.

Standby position.

Red Team crossing the Taiwan Strait.

Target destroyed.

MAK ONE as the simulation platform of choice for CCIT ASERC

Preparations for national defense and homeland security are never-ending. With MAK ONE’s virtual platform that provides combatants with various possible threats, CCIT helps train warfighters’ response quickly and iteratively, while also allowing researchers to better understand the weapons and equipment needed so that decision-makers can formulate the best policies and investments.

When asked why MAK ONE was selected as the simulation platform of choice, Dr. Ryan Lee, Executive Officer of ASERC, explained, “During the simulation process with MAK ONE, we can choose different weapon settings and different key technologies and then analyze through the results of the engagement whether the key technologies we have developed can meet operational needs.”

ASERC and MAK ONE are looking forward to moving along this path together in the years to come.

Air Support Operations Center (ASOC) Total Mission Training

What's At Stake?

The ASOC (Air Support Operations Center) Battlefield Simulation fills a crucial gap in USAF and United Kingdom Close Air Support (CAS) and airspace manager training. The system provides six squadrons with the capability to conduct total-mission training events whenever the personnel and time are available.

How MAK Helped

When the 111th ASOS returned from their first deployment to Afghanistan they realized the training available prior to deployment was inadequate. They sought an organic training capability focused on the ASOC mission that was low cost, simple to use, adaptable, and available now. With the assistance of MAK, they developed a complete training system based on MAK’s QuickStrike HLA-based simulation. Through more than two years of spiral development, incorporating lessons learned, the system has matured, and can now realistically replicate the Tactical Operations Center (TOC) in Kabul, Afghanistan, the TOC supporting the mission in Iraq, or can expand to support a major conflict scenario. The training system provides a collaborative workspace for the training audience and exercise control group via integrated software and workstations that can easily adapt to new mission requirements and TOC configurations. The system continues to mature. Based on inputs from the warfighter, new capabilities have been incorporated to add realism and simplify the scenario development process. The QuickStrike simulation can now import TBMCS Air Tasking Order air mission data and can provide air and ground tracks to a common operating picture; presented through either TACP CASS or JADOCS.

The Naval Postgraduate School’s MOVES Institute Relies on MAK ONE to Help Prepare Students for Simulation Success

The Naval Postgraduate School’s MOVES Institute has integrated MAK ONE into its curriculum, giving students an immersive and practical learning experience in developing simulations for military training and decision-making scenarios

*US Marine Corps Captain Johanna Tam uses MAK VR Forces 5.0.2 to build a convoy scenario for training*

Step inside the Modeling Virtual Environments and Simulation (MOVES) Institute of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and you'll find students using state-of-the-art technology to hone their skills and prepare for future modeling and simulation (M&S) billets across the Department of Defense (DoD). As part of the Institute’s Master of Science and Ph.D. programs, students are offered both fundamental and specialized courses in M&S, visual simulation technology, combat models and systems, and best practices, as well as tools in support of training, analysis, acquisition, testing, and operational capabilities.

At the heart of the program’s modeling & simulation curriculum is MAK ONE, a powerful suite of simulation software developed by MAK Technologies (MAK) that gives MOVES students practical experience in simulation development. With MAK ONE’s VR-Forces, students can create, manipulate, and review realistic simulations that replicate operational environments in a safe and controlled setting. With VR-Link, the MAK RTI, and VR-Exchange, MOVES students can connect MAK ONE simulations together and learn how to bridge data from disparate simulations into useful networks.

Mr. Chris Fitzpatrick, a faculty member at NPS who introduced MAK ONE to the MOVES curriculum in 2018, speaks highly of its impact: "MAK ONE is integral to our program. Students get to use the software to hone the technical skills required to connect multiple simulators together, as well as create scenarios to practice decision-making. With MAK ONE, students can analyze data, consider environmental factors, and make informed choices in a safe environment, which is perfect to prepare them for leadership roles in their respective service where they can use simulation to train their subordinates safely and efficiently."

MAK's support has been instrumental in the success of NPS students. With its top-notch customer support, MAK continues to assist both faculty and students to get the most out of MAK ONE. Mr. Fitzpatrick notes, "MAK's commitment to helping us succeed has been invaluable. The support we have received has allowed us to explore various M&S topics including simulation interoperability, behavior development, and combat modeling. We hope this partnership continues as MAK develops innovative simulation solutions with each software release.”

Australian Army Builds Future-Ready Training Platform with MAK ONE

A COTS-First Approach with MAK ONE Powers the RAF’s Gladiator Program

CCIT Showcases MAK ONE-based Wargaming Scenarios to the President of Taiwan

Air Support Operations Center (ASOC) Total Mission Training

What's At Stake?

How MAK Helped

The Naval Postgraduate School’s MOVES Institute Relies on MAK ONE to Help Prepare Students for Simulation Success

The Naval Postgraduate School’s MOVES Institute has integrated MAK ONE into its curriculum, giving students an immersive and practical learning experience in developing simulations for military training and decision-making scenarios

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