It’s called the P5 Combat Training System, and it’s purpose is to provide “rangeless operation and real-time monitoring,” according to officials at Eglin AFB, Fla. The P5 eliminates the guesswork for a range training officer, enabling the RTO to “provide real-time feedback to the pilots on how to improve a particular engagement and have them repeat it if necessary,” said project manager Maj. Scott Foreman. The pod records and can relay time, space, and position and provide real-time kill notification. Eglin expects to complete flight-testing this month.
The Air Force plans to conduct more intensive training—and Congress is set to help by boosting funding for exercises and so-called “campaigning” by hundreds of millions of dollars, particularly in the Pacific.
