Programs spend extensive time and money for system wide Integration & Test (I&T) when networking dissimilar live, virtual, and constructive training and simulation systems into a common training environment. Simply implementing DIS, TENA or HLA gateways is not enough to bridge the gaps between dissimilar systems. A mature standards set provides system requirements to guide the development of incoming training systems. This information further benefits the training program through well defined requirements and training objectives.

The Combat Air Force (CAF) Distributed Mission Operations (DMO) program implements detailed interoperability standards/requirements which span interfaces, protocols, procedures and processes, and performance. An early assumption was that once systems implemented the interoperability standards, integration would be relatively straightforward. Integration efforts over the past eight years have shed light on the many complexities associated with the integration of disparate, high fidelity, Mission Training Centers. These training centers are comprised of high fidelity virtual cockpits, manned threat stations, Environment Generators, Instructor Operator Station, and Brief/Debrief suites.

One effective means for achieving improved I&T efficiency is through an automated tool which determines whether participating systems meet the agreed upon training system standards/conventions. The CAF DMO program is currently implementing a distributed, standards based validation tool which supports I&T of CAF DMO training systems. This tool, using a variety of modes (e.g. passive, interactive) evaluates real-time simulation traffic for compliance with the CAF DMO standards and recommends corrective actions for non-compliance issues. This paper will discuss the technical and procedural I&T issues which prompted the development of this tool, provide Metrics that illustrate the benefits of this type of tool in both distributed I&T efforts and event troubleshooting, and proposes how such a tool can be leveraged to mitigate inter-service integration challenges (e.g. connectivity, security) that can impede joint training desires.