Terrorists and Pirates beware!
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The U.K. is testing a new simulator while investigating techniques to improve the accuracy of its sailors using machine guns on naval and auxiliary vessels,reports Defense News.
Simulation specialist NSC compiled a deactivated weapon, projectors,added software, and delivered the completed system to the U.K.’s Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), according to NSC head of business development Steve Yates. It also has a builtin instructor operating station allowing DSTL to gather information from the system.
i-HLS Israel Homeland Security
The simulator is based around the General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), an elderly but much-loved 7.62mm weapon used widely in the U.K. armed forces.
The GPMG is frequently shipped on simple mountings around warships and used to provide close-in fire; it was widely used againstArgentine aircraft during the Falklands conflict.
Like the U.S. and other western navies, the U.K. Royal Navy is concerned by the prospect of Iranian swarm attacks by small speedboats in the Arabian Gulf. The new simulator can replicate scenarios that include: defending against small, fast-moving vessels, supporting anti-piracy missions, and protecting ports and vessels within them.
The vessel mounted machine guns are also used against pirates operating in some areas.
Compressed air provides recoil feedback from the deactivated GPMG, while hidden electronics track the weapon’s movements, allowing operators to tackle engagements in an immersive environment.
The simulator does not include motion, but the projected image can reproduce varying factors such as sea states, solar glare, surface reflections and sea spray.
