As the US Army strives to reduce logistical costs, more and more functions traditionally performed by the maintainer with plug-in test and diagnostic equipment are being performed by diagnostic software executing on computers embedded in the weapons system. This approach is critical to reducing the "logistics tail" of test equipment and the complexity of maintenance tasks. The role of the system maintainer is being redefined as working with the embedded diagnostic software to troubleshoot problems, isolate faults to line replaceable units, and repair systems through remove and replace operations or by performing adjustments guided by the system under test. This means that maintenance training must focus on teaching the maintainer how to use the diagnostic software effectively.

The Army is using simulations to provide maintenance training at its schools as a way of minimizing the acquisition and maintenance costs of weapon systems that are not deployed. A key decision for the maintenance training simulation developer is whether to use tactical diagnostic software as opposed to emulations of that software in a maintenance simulator.

This paper presents lessons learned during the successful development and fielding of the Diagnostic and Troubleshooting (DT) Trainer for the M2A3/M3A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle System (A3 BFVS). The A3 BFVS DT is currently fielded at Fort Knox and Fort Benning and has been used to successfully train eleven Maintenance classes to date. This desktop maintenance trainer uses the tactical vehicle software to replicate the system's operational and diagnostic behaviors. It also uses interactive two-dimensional and three-dimensional A3 BFVS components as the soldier-machine interface to the virtual A3 BFVS.