MILITAR&TRAINING SIMULATION IYEWS Vol. 15 lssue 3 2013 Ťry a.&

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Theseinclude the US Naval Postgraduate School, the UK's Royal Military College, the French Co lege Interarmées de Defenseand the NATO DefenceCollege. Cooperationwith the latteralso includes participation in many NATO Working Groups. Research Capabilities VBS is playing an increasingll: important role at the Universir,,nctf Defence in Brno in terms of learning, trainin.g and reseurch. (Source:Universityof Defence) Through the Faculty of Economics and Management(FEM), the University provides courses that are tailored to the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic's (ACR) own officer development.these courses are designedto prepareofficers for command of specialist units such as mechanised, artillery,air defenceand engineercompaniesor battalions. The university also provides a wide range of courses on logistics and transportationand over the years, has built a world class reputationin this field. Like any good university, the University of Defenceplacesa very strongemphasis on research.at present,the University is involved in25 Czech universityprojects, nine Czech MoD projectsand is in receipt of 32 researchgrants from outside the defence sector. These grants are from countriessuch as France.Norwav. Sweden.UK andus. Recent projects have included the development of an electro-opticaltarget tracking system, a study into so-called 'bioscavengers'todestroynerveagentsand the developmentof anti-biological detergentsto improve the effectiveness of decontamination. One project that has recently been acceptedby the Czech Amed forces is an auto-injectorto provide self-injection.the device can be pre-loadedwith specific drugs to matchdiscretethreats. Thesedrugscould includediazepamand atropine. This expertise is exemplified by the University's recent involvement in Exercise Fourlog 2013; a two-week exercise themed to replicate the provision of logistic support for multinationalpeace supportoperations.this joint exercisewas conducted by the Hungarian National Public Services University, the Austrian Armed Forces Logistics School and the Czech Universityof Defence. As well as studentsfrom the Czech Republic,the universityalso opens its doors to foreign studentswith a number of coursesrun in English. These include Military Management, Security Management, Radar Technology and Military Pharmacy. In addition, the University publishes a number of academic journals in English includingadvances in Military Technology and Military Medical Science. Academic studies are becoming increasingly international with students and universities exchanging information and knowledge by means of internationalseminars,conferencesand of the course,the internet. One sourcefor increasinginternationalcooperationhas been the European Erasmus project which is designed to facilitate cooperationon military educationand to foster the exchange of studentsbetweenuniversitiesand technicalschools.the so-calledcentraleuropeanforum on Military Education,a core element of Erasmus, has members from Austria, the Baltic Defence College, Bulgaria, Croatia,Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland,Romania,Serbia,Slovakia and Slovenia. As well as this central European cohort of nations exchanging information,the Czech University of Defence has ties with a number of defence universitiesand academiesacross the elobe. M T & S N V o l. 1 5 l s s u e3 2 0 1 3 P a g e2 1.

Historically, one of the challenges faced by battlefield commandershas been to maintain situational awarenessof their own and enemy forces. This is normally achievedthrough the use of a marked map and aerial photographsor video but the Universify has been studying the benefits of using 3D stereoscopic visualisation technologies for Brigade and Battalion Commandersand their staffs. Tactical Virtual Simulator or VBS2VTK. According to the head of the University's M&S group, Lieutenant Colonel Eng. Jaroslav Koz_bek PhD, VBS2VTK is used for both tactical training, mission rehearsaland to supportresearchprojectsat the University. An example of this supportcan be seenin two major research initiatives, the UGV and a Vehicular Information Support System for Blue Force tracking. Known as the 3D Visualisation System for C2, the project uses DMT, DTED, satellite and aerial pictures and scannedmaps as the source data to which tactical overlays and unit data can be added. These tactical overlays include locations and unit boundaries whilst unit data can include strengths, fuel and ammunitionstatesas well and equipmentserviceability.. As far as tactical training is concerned, a portion of this is dedicated to supporting mission commanders preparing to deploy to undertakeisaf and KFOR tasks.these training tasks typically include training up to company level, mission rehearsal and Improvised Explosive Device (IED) defeat training as well as combined arms and joint training. There are a numberof methodsof viewing the images using the stereoscopicimages including on projectedscreensor monitors. Using NATO Vector Graphic (NVG) format, the systemis compatible with NATO C2 systems.the visualisation system has been field testedby the ACR and has also been used with Afghan databases. Lieutenant Colonel Koz_bek says that the need to support deployedacr units has resultedin the establishmentof Mobile Simulation Training Teams (MSTT). The reasonfor the latteris that,althoughsmall, the ACR has not shirked its responsibilities when it comes to supporting allied forces around the world. Its two major deployments are in support of KFOR in Kosovo and ISAF in Afghanistan. Other recent researchwork has included the developmentof a new type of frangible bullet, the creation and study into the use of Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV), studiesinto wind tunnel models and the developmentof a passive electro-opticaltarget trackingsystem. The GrowthoM&s One area in which the Czech University of Defence is particularly active is in the use of modelling and simulation in its research. Its weapon of choice in this area is Bohemia InteractiveSimulations'VBS 2 which is referredto as the VBS2 Page 22. These teams deploy with units undertakingtesex training to collect data that is used to within the AAR to, "improve the quality of our educationand to teachin accordancewith current troop requirements.the process also helps to strengthen cooperation between University teachers and battle force commanders." At present,the University uses VBS 1.60 which is used in a single classroom with 26 workstations.plans are ďoot however to increase this capability by adding a further two classrooms each equipped with eight workstations and the purchase of new licences for the latest VBS2 product. The first of these classrooms will feature OPFOR players whilst the second will feature a BLUEFOR contingent. According to Lieutenant A studentcarries out a networkedtrainingexerciseas part of a Modelling & Simulationmodule.Introducing officersto M&S at such an early stageof their careerscan only benefitthe CzechArmedforces. (Source:University of Defence) MT&SNVol.15 lssue3 2013

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