The German Bundeswehr is currently upgrading its helicopter training programme with simulation technology from Rheinmetall. In March 2015 the Simulation and Training business unit of Rheinmetall Defence was awarded a contract from Germany’s BAAINBw defence procurement agency to upgrade all NH90 Cockpit Trainer to IOC+ configuration and with additional software modules from Rheinmetall’s Asterion product line.
The NH90 Cockpit Trainer is used for initial and advanced training of Bundeswehr aviation technical personnel in NH90 helicopter operations at the German Air Force technical training center (TAusbZLw) in Fassberg. With this order, all NH90 Cockpit Trainer have now been upgraded to IOC+ configuration status, and are programmed with additional Asterion training software modules. This simulator enables the Bundeswehr to train aspiring aircraft technicians in all systems of this complex helicopter without having to use the expensive original weapons system.
Thanks to its system infrastructure, the Asterion product enables a modularly designed training system, meaning that it can go into operation as soon as the first software module is delivered.
Rheinmetall and its subsidiary benntec Systemtechnik have developed an innovative new system for recording and collecting original data of the weapons system for Asterion, which is not only more cost-effective than previous methods, but also leads to faster development of individual components and subcomponents of the desired weapons system.
Rheinmetall’s Asterion modular simulation realistically reproduces the behavior and functionality of air, land and sea weapon systems. Asterion can be used on various training devices, from a full replica cockpit to a tablet PC, and can be customized to the customers’ training needs. The embedded virtual simulation can also be combined with a computer based training solution to maximize the training effort.
