NEW YORK CITY, 18 August 2006. L-3 Communications' Link Simulation and Training division has delivered the first F/A-18 Tactical Operational Flight Trainer (TOFT) in support of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F/A-18 Hornet Aircrew Training System (HACTS). The F/A-18 TOFT, installed at RAAF Base Williamtown in New South Wales, Australia, was dedicated during a ceremony at the base, declaring the installation ready for training.
Link is building three F/A-18 TOFTs and associated capabilities for the HACTS under a subcontract from Raytheon Australia.
The initial F/A-18 TOFT installed at RAAF Base Willamtown is accompanied by a mission management system that consists of an instructor/operator station and a brief/debrief room.
A second F/A-18 TOFT and mission management system, presently being installed at RAAF Base Tindal in Northern Territory, Australia, is expected to attain ready-for-training capability in mid-August.
Link will deliver the third F/A-18 TOFT -- which will be upgraded with a simulated Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), an enhanced airfield database and a flight control computer update to maintain aircraft concurrency -- in December to RAAF Base Williamtown. Hornet pilot training is scheduled to begin on the trainer by mid-January 2007.
The initial F/A-18 TOFT delivered to Williamtown is integrated with Link's SimuSphere visual display in a seven-panel configuration that will provide the pilot with a 300 horizontal x 130 vertical field-of-view. The F/A-18 TOFT being installed at Tindal is supported by a seven-panel SimuSphere display.
The F/A-18 simulator being installed later this year at Williamtown will be integrated with a nine-panel SimuSphere display that will provide the pilot with a 360 field-of-view. Link's SimuView personal computer image generation system will power both out-the-window imagery and simulator cockpit sensor display systems.
A simulated JHMCS will be integrated onto all three TOFTs, marking the first time a JHMCS training capability has been used with a near-eye-relief visual display on an F/A-18 training system. The JHMCS, to be deployed on the RAAF's upgraded F/A-18 fleet, provides the pilot a targeting system that can be used to control sensors and weapons through visual cueing.
The F/A-18 TOFTs will reinforce a full range of pilot warfighting skills across both air-to-air and air-to-ground mission areas.
