The 58th Special Operations Wing (SOW) of the Air Force Air Education and Training Command and Martin Marietta currently operate the largest data base generation facility in DoD tasked with producing high fidelity photo specific simulation data bases for DoD customers world wide. Started in August 1990, initial data base support was limited to five data base engineers producing basic training environments within western United States and the development of small mission rehearsal areas that were utilized by Air Force personnel only. Today, this facility has grown to twenty data base engineers and three full time intelligence personnel working around-the-clock seven days a week. Utilizing a dedicated state of the art Sun and Silicon Graphics network encompassing the latest technologically advanced applications, this team has produced nearly seven hundred thousand square nautical miles of visual data base supporting multiple customers in the Department of Defense.
This paper addresses the high fidelity simulation data base generation and the application of the standardization scheme developed at Kirtland to overcome the many challenges inherent in the construction of data bases. The joint contractor, government team at Kirtland has developed a standardization methodology that promotes efficiency, reduces cost, and improves quality. The technological barriers overcome involved integrating multiple disjointed data bases into a single contiguous landmass, converting data bases into multiple Image Generator formats, and scrutinizing the DMA specifications. The development of these standards and the substantial experience of the 58th SOW data base generation facility was instrumental in DoD's decision to co-locate the Project 2851 Simulator Data Base Facility (SDBF) at Kirtland. This facility will be networked with the 58 SOW data base facility for data base production and transformation synergy which will benefit all of DoD and industry.