CHERRY HILL, N.J., May 23 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin is adding social considerations to software used by the U.S. Air Force to train commanders how to react to different combat scenarios.
The eight-month contract is valued at a modest $300,000 but could make it easier for commanders to put together effective air operations in areas where regional politics, religion and other social conditions could produce major consequences.
Lockheed's Advanced Technology Laboratories (ATL) in New Jersey will use a system-of-systems approach known as a "boxed set" to produce a more-realistic simulation program that contains a large number of possibilities for commanders to ponder.
Most current scenario systems revolve around purely military factors and outcomes; however recent U.S. campaigns and nation-building exercises in Iraq, Africa and the Balkans have put the military in closer contact with civilians and made the Pentagon more pro-active in managing the political fallout that their actions can have.
The Air Force is seeking an Integrated Modeling Manager system that supports the decisions made by Joint Force Commanders and Joint Force Air Component Commanders by adding in elements of local politics, religion, the regional economy, its infrastructure and how well the local population is informed.
"A boxed set contains the total set of information, links, references, and other data from many different modules needed to execute a limited or multi-domain simulation for a specific purpose," said Guru Prasad, the principal investigator at ATL. "Boxed sets significantly improve productivity, reuse, and collaboration of simulations."
