British Army reveals its latest training simulator is based on a PC game

Posted at: 4:35pm 28th August 2008 by James Gorbold

The British Army unveils that it's using VBS2, a modified version of the PC game Armed Assault for training purposes

The British Army is no stranger to using computer games as a training tool. Last year, Custom PC visited the CATT (Combined Arms Tactical Trainer) in Warminster, which the Army uses to train tank crews how to operate together as a unit.

Since then, Custom PC has been given access to the Army's latest simulator, VBS2 [video link], which is based on the popular PC game ArmA: Armed Assault by Bohemia Interactive. Currently the Army is using VBS2 to train soldiers from the Royal Logistics Corp how to work together in a convoy, or in Army speak - Tactics, Technique and Procedures. In the Cold War, these convoys would have operated safely far behind the frontline, but when operating in Iraq and Afghanistan such convoys have come under repeated attack by insurgents.

The simulator is set up so that the three crew members of each vehicle, such as an armoured Land Rover, have their own laptop PC. The drivers's laptop is equiped with a USB streering wheel, while the gunner and vehicle commander use a mouse to scan around their surroundings. These clusters of laptops are networked together, allowing multiple vehicles to train together as a convoy.

Neuman & Spurr, the company responsible for providing training and support for VBS2 to the British Army chose laptops so that the simulator can be moved around more easily. In fact, next year the Army plans to deploy sets of 30 laptops (to simulate 10 vehicles) to bases in Iraq and Afghanistan to provide additional training for frontline troops. Unlike many CPC readers though, which upgrade their PCs every few months, the British Army isn't so keen on upgrading. Currently, VBS2 is run on Dell Precision M6300 laptops, based on Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs running Windows XP.


The Army demonstrated VBS2 with a convoy from 109 Squadron, 25 Regiment, RLC patrolling a virtual copy of the southern Iraqi town of As Samawah. Having brushed off several IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) and a handful of insurgents the convoy made it back to base without any casualties. However, the real beauty of VBS2, apart from its cutting edge graphics, is the scenario editor. This can be used to quickly modify the scenario, repositioning the troops, forcing them to keep alert and aware of potential threats.

This is likely to be just the beginning for VBS2 though. The terms of the so called 'Golden License' the Ministry of Defence has paid £2 million for allow any user in the British Government to use VBS2. Apparently, the Royal Marines has already expressed an interest in using VBS2 for simulator house clearing operations, while other government agencies have also been looking at using the technology.