Polish Army reports that its needs for firearms training are rapidly increasing. Shooting ranges operated by garrisons enable firearm training for individual soldiers, but limited diversity of shooting directions hampers execution of more advanced individual trainings or any group shooting missions. Implementation of up-to-date technologies not only makes it possible to resolve the existing problems with adequate trainings but can also make trainings more efficient owing to more attractive forms of drills. The collaborating companies, i.e. Polish Armament Group (PGZ) S.A. and OBRUM with a project partner suggest construction of New Generation Multimedia Shooting and Simulation Facility. The concept is based on roofed multimedia shooting ranges furnished with the most advanced training and simulation solutions available from PGZ Group, where OBRUM Centre shall be responsible for the sector of trainings and simulations for PGZ Group, with the support of experience gathered by the project partner.
IDEA OF TRAINING FACILITIES
The idea assumes erection of facilities that shall perform as small training centres and use experiences of the multimedia shooting range operated by Military Base of Commandos in Lubliniec. Such training facilities are supposed to be available for a broad range of military and paramilitary organizations, including reserve troops of Polish Army, other enforcement organizations and paramilitary units as well as students of high schools with military and defence profiles. Such local training centres not only may contribute to improve professional expertize within structures of Polish Army but shall also enable civilians of Polish society to acquire skills necessary for mobilization conditions. Trainees would undergo full course of military exercises (including cooperation with support weapons) on the regional level.
CAPACITY OF FACILITIES – SHOOTING TRAININGS
The key purpose of a multimedia shooting range, but not the only one, are shooting trainings with the use of basic firearms assigned as personal weapons of soldiers. Such training may run according to various scenarios with shooting to still and moving targets and with the use of animations and videos. The offered solutions include the BlueBox technology that enables simulation of a training with a ‘live’, unpredictable enemy. All these trainings may involve shooting with live ammunition, therefore training conditions are the most similar to real circumstances of a battlefield, which needs extreme concentration of trainees with focusing of training objectives. Lead-free ‘environmental friendly’ ammunition (also offered by MESKO S.A.) may additionally mitigate adverse impact of trainings onto natural environment or human health, even in case of the most intense trainings. Further extensions of training scenarios and development of new ones, both in the form of videos and animations, would be in the scope of Polish companies, being members of Polish Armament Group (e.g. OBRUM). Such a solution shall enable emerging scenarios dedicated to operation on facilities that are crucial for safety of the State with detailed reproduction of their structures, layout of interiors, etc. It will be a realistic training to assure security of such facilities in case of crisis circumstances or wars (airfields, government facilities, crucial components of national infrastructure) with no harm to infringe standards of information security.
CAPACITY OF FACILITIES – TRAINING SIMULATORS FOR WEAPONS
Simulation of targets by means of multimedia techniques makes it possible to extend training on multimedia shooting range and introduce other supporting types of weapon, also used by Polish Army. Such a training simulator may collaborate with a multimedia shooting range to enable trainings for equipment operators as well coordination training for squads with tasks related to vectoring of support weapons, e.g. mortars, on targets.
Another solution is a software-based merging of training simulators into a single virtual battlefield with simultaneous use of personal firearms, a training simulator of a mortar, a training simulator for PIORUN missiles or the PPK launcher.
Training capacities of New Generation Multimedia Shooting and Simulation Facility are also supplements with theoretical classes (e.g. prior to commence trainings with the use of personal firearms of training simulators). Facilities shall comprise lecture rooms, purposefully adapted to teach how to use weapons for trainings in safe manner and how to lock it and maintain after use.
