Developing Advanced Rotorcraft Applications through Simulation

Advanced attack rotorcraft technologies are currently being developed and evaluated as to their applicability and usefulness in a “beyond Apache Block III” rotorcraft platform. Technologies such as speech recognition, cockpit information management, cognitive decision aiding systems, and advanced crew-station controls and displays may be key features of tomorrow's advanced attack rotorcraft platforms, and simulation will play a role in their development. A well rounded simulation capability which includes a collection of simulation devices of varying capability and fidelity are important to the successful research and development of these advanced technologies. Application of a modular system architecture and usage of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) hardware and software are key in developing simulators capable of maturing rotorcraft technologies from the earliest conceptual stages to system test and qualification.