Saab has signed an initial three-year contract with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) for the provision of support for instrumented live training, the company reported on 9 April 2024.
The contract, which replaces the previous Direct Fire Weapon Effect Simulator (DFWES) contract, is referred to as Instrumented Live Training – DFWES (ILT-D) and is valued at GBP 60 million (EUR 70 million) and has options to be extended until 2030.
ILT-D supports high-fidelity systems that use a blend of laser and geometric pairing technology to simulate direct and indirect fire effects. This data-rich capability provides objective feedback that is used to inform the after-action review (AAR) process and validate training.
“The contract includes a significant investment in extending the life of the capability to provide the UK MoD with the most modern system available,” Saab stated in a press release. “This ensures it remains relevant to the British Army’s evolving training needs, addresses obsolescence issues and continues to be interoperable with partner nations through exploitation of the latest generation of Saab hardware and software.”
Support will be continued across permanent collective training locations in the UK and Germany, as well as at the Infantry Training Centre in Catterick, the Infantry Battle School in Brecon and the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines in Lympstone.
“As Saab Training and Simulation marks 30 years of collaboration with the British Army, we are delighted that ILT-D is in place to support training for the next epoch,” James Passmore, Saab UK’s vice president and director of marketing and sales, was quoted as saying in the Saab press release. “This contract exemplifies our commitment to delivering world leading live simulation capabilities at the point of need, so the UK can conduct training as both a deterrence and reassurance around the globe.”
Simon Pearce, training and simulation systems portfolio leader for the UK MoD’s Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) organisation, which is the contracting authority, added, “Our collaboration with Saab UK builds on the long-standing relationship and represents the dedication DE&S and the British Army have to providing the best training possible for our dedicated soldiers.”
Ahead of the future Army Collective Training Service (ACTS) programme, ILT-D “will ensure that the British Army has access to a training capability that is able to keep pace with the training needs bought about by an increasingly complex strategic context and rapidly evolving character of warfare”, said Pearce.
With interoperability and deployability at their core, Saab’s live simulation systems have a growing global user community. The British Army has recently deployed its Saab systems around the world, including overseas exercises delivered in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Kenya, Oman, Jordan, Cyprus and Germany.
