02 March 2020: With an aim to replace the Navy and Marine Corps' training range infrastructure and improve effectiveness of training the Tactical Combat Training System Increment II (TCTS Inc. II) training pod is being developed by Collins Aerospace Systems. The first pre-production of the pod comes just months after the completion of the Critical Design Review (CDR) with the Navy that moved the program into the fabrication, integration and testing phase.
The only pod available with security that supports requirements for today's fifth and fourth-generation combat aircraft, the TCTS Inc. II training pod provides connectivity to and from the aircraft for data and weapons activity during training exercises
"Along with our teammate Leonardo DRS, we're continuing to help our customers move faster toward next-generation air combat training, providing a whole new level of realism and allowing them to truly 'train as they fight' in modern combat scenarios," said Nick Gibbs, vice president and general manager, Simulation and Training Solutions for Collins Aerospace.
The new system can enable blended live and synthetic training capabilities and at the same time supporting real-time operational air combat training for a variety of missions and platforms. The scalable and flexible Multiple Independent Levels of Security (MILS)-based open system architecture enables other U.S. armed forces and coalition partners to integrate this capability as well.