This theme addresses the innovative ways in which Armed Forces around the world are answering their training needs in order to perform effectively within increasingly complex operational environments. Coupled with global economic pressures, this is resulting in fewer deployable troops with shorter dwell times between operations for both individuals and units, whilst still demanding that they are highly trained and multi-skilled. Defence forces are thus required to address these challenges with imagination within ever tighter budgets.

How can different technologies, new and old, be used in ways to answer these requirements? From the latest in mobile applications, especially in theatre, to hardware, serious games, and unimagined military uses of previously considered civil technologies – all are answering existing or addressing future training needs. Are they the answer? What is being done to introduce and implement technological innovations into training delivery in traditionally long-term procurement structures?

The theme includes the following sessions:

Serious Games in Defence Technology
The position of Serious Games in Military Training is now wide-spread, many Armed Forces now view them as core capability and no longer ‘Games’ but ‘Trainers’. This session looks at the myriad of uses of Serious Games, their strengths, future potential and rapid capability development.

Mobile Learning Technologies
Armed Forces training is already delivered in many diverse environments from classrooms, vehicle platforms, online and in theatre. Flexibility in delivery is becoming increasingly critical. What can mobile learning technologies provide to address this? From iPads to domes to mobile learning suites – what has proved effective? What actually is ‘mobile’? Is it always necessary? Does it answer a training need?

Virtual Task Training
Virtual Task Training plays an increasingly important role in platform sustainability, maintenance, procedural, operational and familiarisation training. This session presents solutions on new technologies leveraging reusable content and COTS methodologies to produce high quality, virtual task trainers.

2020 Technology Vision – Future of Innovation
This session is an invited speaker’s panel of military, academia and industry to discuss the future direction of innovation in military training technologies from Command and Staff Training through to individual self-paced training. The speakers will draw on their Operational, Instructional, Academic & Industry experience to discuss their findings on the impact of new technologies in current training & their ideas for future technology use.