By the end of 2015, the Multinational Aircrew Electronic Warfare Tactics Facility (MAEWTF) known as Polygone range, based on a tri-national agreement between France, Germany, and the United States will establish itself as a world-class Live-Virtual-Constructive (LVC) training range. Through working together with German Air Force Command, French Air Force Command, United States Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA), and several LVC industry leaders, Polygone will offer a first-of-kind capability that promises to usher a new paradigm of Electronic Warfare (EW) training. The initial operational capability reuses or repurposes existing Polygone range infrastructure while leveraging innovations made by other ranges, particularly the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex (JPARC). By avoiding a "home grown" approach, Polygone managed to save approximately $300 million in acquisition costs and yield a similar training capability.
The baseline of the Polygone LVC project, also known as Multinational Aviation LVC Training System (MALTS), provides a mobile LVC range capable of bringing advanced EW training to major exercises worldwide. The initial phase included developing innovative virtual surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) leveraging the expertise of professional German Air Force live SAM operators, improving training capabilities for future Special Operations Forces (SOF) and Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) mission readiness training, and establishing the framework required for a worldwide distributed training audience. The lack of modern advanced SAM training assets, increasingly prohibitive live training restrictions, and alarming increases in potential adversary air defense capabilities have led to the Polygone's development of virtual SAMs. These virtual SAM operator stations enable trained threat operators to utilize modern and advanced SAM techniques at virtual single and double digit SAM stations providing affects to live aircraft flying training missions at Polygone. This paper will discuss the MALTS LVC project, development of virtual SAMs for EW training, and how Polygone leveraged JPARC LVC innovations to advance Coalition training in Europe.
Polygone LVC: The New Paradigm for EW Training
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