We got an up-close look at the streets of Tikrit, Iraq, from the gunner’s turret of a mock-up Humvee during a visit to Lockheed Martin’s Simulation, Training, and Support facility in Orlando, Fla., during AFA’ Air Warfare Symposium. Surrounding the mock-up vehicle were several enormous computer screens with digital likenesses of the area down to empty paint cans and IED explosions, creating a very real experience. Originally designed for the Army, airmen also now use the Virtual Combat Convoy Trainer to gain experience before deploying to assist the Army with convoy duty. Soldiers and airmen train in full combat gear, said Lockheed spokesman Warren Wright. UAV feeds are also piped in to LCD monitors attached to the roof of Humvees, allowing several types of tactical simulations and command and control. The Air Force is about to get delivery of its own VCCT, which will be set up at Camp Bullis, Tex.—home of the Ground Combat School and the new Basic Combat Convoy Course for airmen. Air Education and Training Command has built a permanent facility for the BCCC called Camp Anderson-Peters, named after two airmen killed while performing convoy duties in Iraq.
RTX, parent of Raytheon, Collins and Pratt & Whitney, is getting out of the space prime business and focusing on its "strengths" as a maker of space sensors, buses, and components, company COO Chris Calio said during an earnings call.