The Defense Ministry is purchasing 50 basic gunnery simulators for the Indian Army’s T-90 tanks. These simulators will train gunners without actual firing. These will have AI-based enemies and real areas like the borders of India.
New Delhi: The Defense Ministry has started the process of purchasing about 50 Basic Gunnery Simulators (BGS) for the training of the T-90 tank fleet of the Indian Army. A Request for Information (RFI) has been issued for this. With the help of these simulators, gunners of T-90 tank can be trained without going to the actual firing range. According to the RFI, these equipment should be of military grade, that is, extremely strong so that they can withstand all types of terrain and weather. Through these, the gunners of the T-90 tank will be trained in basic to advanced gunnery skills. Situations like live firing will be created in these simulators. Additionally, there will also be enemy targets equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI), whose difficulty level will gradually increase.
What should be in the simulator
A gunner will get a chance to practice the entire firing process. This includes finding, identifying, tracking the enemy, setting the range, aiming and firing. This training will be for the tank’s main 125mm gun, 7.62mm co-axial machine gun, INVAR missile and smoke grenade launcher. All this will happen inside an exact replica of the gunner station of the T-90.
The simulator will be made exactly like the real thing. It will also feature the autoloader conveyor, shock after firing (bro-pad recoil), lighting and realistic vibration of a 125mm round fired. The fire control system will also be like the original, in which the TISAS/TIFCS suite can be used in normal, manual and emergency modes. It will also have ballistic solutions for ammunition like HE, HEAT and APFSDS.
“The shock after firing and the muzzle flash will be created with CGI. The audio will also include engine noise, the sound of the autoloader, enemy firing and other battlefield sounds,” the RFI said.
Training will be based on AI
In RFI, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been made the center of training design. In the simulator, the enemy army will be made more dangerous with each exercise, which the instructor can also set. Vendors have been asked whether their software can run single-player and multiplayer combat missions? These missions should resemble the real-world areas of India’s western and northern borders – i.e. the International Border (IB), the Line of Control (LoC) and the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
AI will also evaluate the trainee automatically. It will catch mistakes in technique and provide feedback to improve the training loop without the help of an instructor. However, there will also be a traditional instructor console. This will allow the instructor to intentionally create malfunctions, create new scenarios, and record and replay performances. Additionally, there will be a display outside so other crew members waiting can see the training going on.
Size, Weight and Capacity
The simulator should be large enough to fit in an Ashok Leyland Stallion lorry. This means that it should be approximately 5.2 meters long, 2.4 meters wide and less than 4 meters high. Its weight should not exceed 6.5 tonnes. It has to work in temperatures ranging from -10°C to 45°C. It should be able to run for 12 to 16 hours a day and also have 30 minutes of UPS backup. Its service life should be 15 years. Besides, there is also a condition that the vendor will inform the government two years before closing its production line, so that the government can accumulate the stock of spare parts.