A New US Army Technology Allows Soldiers to Digitally Cooperate across Borders

Staff at the United States Army’s National Simulation Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, has tested a new version of a program that they claim can help Soldiers prepare for battle more successfully and quickly.The Live, Constructive Integrating Architecture, Virtual, or LVC-IA, is a collection of systems that links various simulators and simulations situated across the world. The newly provided feature is the system’s fourth iteration, which was initially deployed in 2012.

To prepare Soldiers for war, the Army employs a range of simulation technologies, with training ranging from field artillery operations to air-ground cooperation. According to Christopher Vaughn, a developer at the National Simulation Center, the goal of this fourth LVC-IA version is “to take these technologies that were built to perform a certain thing, in a specific setting, and bring them together in an integrated training environment.”

That integrated environment provides what Vaugh refers to as a “constructive capacity” — a live, interactive experience in which commanders at one of the Army’s 12 mission training complexes may send simulated data to Soldiers utilizing extremely realistic technology.“It is real individuals practicing on simulated equipment, and they’re now part of the operation,” Vaughn explained. “They are genuine troops, downrange, on their home-station training systems, executing an actual operation.”

The method substantially expands the depth of learning possible in a simulated environment by involving students with real-life commanders. “It broadens your fighting field and provides you with resources you would not have had before,” said Maj. Matthew Gordon, chief of games for training at the National Simulation Center.