NAWCTSD Continues Its Focus on Training Solutions

By Dolly Rairigh Glass

The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) focus on delivering quality and effective training solutions has always been a top priority. With the integration of Test and Evaluation (T&E) and establishment of the AIR 5.1 Integrated Systems Evaluation, Experimentation and Test Department, Training Systems Programs Test Branch, NAWCTSD has taken another step toward ensuring that the training systems acquired by NAVAIR provide the needed training and readiness capabilities to support our Warfighters.

The integration of T&E is occurring in a phased approach across the spectrum of NAWCTSD products. The T&E competence is a part of the Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) which supports the acquisition structure of NAVAIR’s Competency Aligned Organization concept of operations.

As Director of Test and Evaluation, NAWCTSD, Carl Lee leads the T&E of Training Systems and explains the advantages to integrating the T&E competency into the acquisition of training systems.

“A key aspect is leveraging T&E skill sets, existing resources, and processes in order to develop improved T&E strategies and test programs to support the acquisition of training systems,” said Lee. “This helps ensure that programs have a solid test strategy that supports management of program risk and delivers a training system that meets the needs of the Warfighter.”

“Another advantage is an increased focus on Systems Engineering,” said Lee. “The integration of the T&E competence allows more time for the system engineer to focus on any performance issues identified during test. This should help reduce the cycle time to indentify and recommend corrections to system performance issues.”

Lee also noted that in addition to specification verification testing, there is an increased emphasis on capabilities-based T&E to validate the training capability for the Warfighter.

“To accomplish this, our T&E strategies will involve the right pedigree of testers throughout the T&E program,” said Lee. “We will reinforce an Integrated Test Team approach that includes industry, developmental, and operational testers. With the right test strategy and test team we not only provide test results to support acceptance of the training systems, but we also assess and validate the delivered training capability.”

Lee also added the benefit increases the T&E and Human Performance team collaboration. “This is important because the T&E of the training systems must consider how the human learns, and that the training tasks and learning objectives are achievable in the training systems we deliver.”

The Fleet is looking to use training systems in new ways, to help reduce the costs of operational readiness, and to provide Warfighters ways to respond more rapidly to changing threats.

“It’s important that we understand and evaluate the training systems we deliver to meet the Fleet’s Warfighting mission requirements,” said Lee. “The integration of T&E at NAWCTSD will enhance NAVAIR’s ability to acquire training solutions that improve the human performance of our Warfighters.“