SHAPING AVIATION'S FUTURE
T
he Combat Aviation Brigade Architecture Integra- tion Lab at the Program Executive Office (PEO) for Aviation on Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, houses a unique combination of advanced development and
simulation capabilities for Army aviation. It blends multiple live, virtual and constructive simulations of manned and unmanned aircraft, air and ground mission systems and command and control, which together provide a comprehensive replication of an aviation force in a tailorable air-ground operations environment.
Te laboratory enables a more streamlined and efficient means of exploration and experimenting with the evolving capabili- ties of maturing technologies in a risk-reduced, realistic setting. Tese activities demonstrate the impacts of technical advances on the capabilities of our current aircraft and influence the design, architecture and implementation of Future Vertical Lift aircraft. Tey also provide an initial understanding of resultant changes in the operational effectiveness of aviation as a collective force.
Established in December 2019, the Combat Aviation Brigade Architecture Integration Lab is a combination of interoperable, high-fidelity, current force, manned and unmanned aircraft systems integration labs, simulators and emulators. Te need to demonstrate, test and validate system capabilities from a force perspective in a risk-reduced and cost-effective realistic operational environment is one of the driving concepts for the development of the laboratory. Rather than focusing on develop- ing and exploring capabilities of an individual system or aircraft, this facility examines the resulting operational effectiveness of new capabilities across the total aviation formation.
“Te lab is an excellent tool to conduct risk reduction evalua- tions on new technologies at a fraction of the cost of using actual aircraft,” said Robb Keeter, the laboratory’s senior program inte- grator and operations officer. “It allows the project managers to examine new aviation hardware and software in a realistic air- ground operations environment.”
AIR PLATFORMS INTEGRATED Te Combat Aviation Brigade Architecture Integration Lab contains Apache, Black Hawk and Chinook aircraft systems integration laboratories, Gray Eagle and Shadow unmanned aircraft systems ground control stations and an aviation tactical operations center. Te systems integration laboratories consist of partial aircraft fuselages that have been re-purposed for engi- neering development to host mission systems and equipment of the actual aircraft. Tese systems integration laboratories are not flight simulators or training systems; rather, they are high-fidelity
88 Army AL&T Magazine Fall 2022
aircraft replications used to support the development, integra- tion and modernization of aviation systems.
Planning, communications, navigation, weapons, sensors and many other systems are included for a total force perspective. Collectively, they are key in assessing the operational efficacy of new technologies on the operations of the combat aviation brigade as a maneuver force.
Te Combat Aviation Brigade Architecture Integration Lab’s Battle Master is the central hub of the facility. It augments the virtual aircraft system-integration labs and replicates the rest of the aviation force through multiple constructive simulation stations that can be configured to emulate additional aircraft and their respective capabilities, as well as supported ground forces. Te Battle Master also establishes the operational environment and injects effects such as rain, smoke, fog, artillery fires, close- air support, naval gunfire and ground threats.
APPROACHABLE OPEN SYSTEMS Another important aspect of the lab is the ability to explore and examine the application of modular open-systems approach implementation techniques and standards in incorporating emerging technical solutions into aircraft. Tese standards promote commonality and standardization of hardware, soft- ware and data exchange aboard current and future aircraft. Te laboratory contains multiple aircraft integration assets that can be used by the aviation project managers and industry partners to explore the use of established modular open-systems approaches to standardize aircraft integration of communications, naviga- tion, sensors, weapons and mission command systems. PEO Aviation’s Modular Open Systems Approach Transformation Office provides the guidance and direction for implementing this architecture approach across the aviation domain.
Te laboratory is also able to replicate networks and information exchange capabilities of an aviation force maneuvering through an operational area. Compatible out-the-window visual systems and a common terrain database enable visual interoperability to include sharing of sensor video among the aircrews and actual communications equipment with replicated networks provide air-ground and air-air information exchange.
Te systems integration laboratories, simulators, emulators and equipment in the laboratory are interoperable with each other and with other similar facilities such as the Army Research Labo- ratory locations at both Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, and the Ground Vehicle Systems Command in Michigan. Te
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