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NSWC Indian Head delivers New Training System to the Fleet

By Tara Landis, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Public Affairs

INDIAN HEAD, Md. -- Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division delivered two of three Integrated Maritime Portable Acoustic Scoring & Simulator (IMPASS) Systems to the fleet this past December, providing the Navy an entirely new capability to qualify navy gun teams and live-fire exercises without the use of land target ranges.

On the heels of this delivery was Secretary of the Navy Gordon England's January 10 confirmation that U.S. Navy and Marine Corps military training on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico will end by May 1. The Department of the Navy has identified a combination of alternatives that will collectively provide equivalent or superior training options. Included are range sites in North Carolina, Florida, and the Gulf of Mexico, as well as using computer-aided simulators, such as IMPASS. With this announcement, IMPASS is positioned in the forefront as a desirable and essential military training system.

Conceived in 1998 under the Live Fire Testing and Training Program of the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), the Indian Head Division has been developing and testing the system over the past five years. A third IMPASS System, schedule to reach the fleet at the end of January, will be the last of the three originally requested and funded by the Navy.

The IMPASS concept is based on the recognition that any projectile, bomb, or missile will generate a detectable acoustic signature when it impacts water. The characteristics of this type of acoustic event can be detected and accurately located with available sensor and digital signal processing computer technology.

IMPASS consists of seven buoys (five are deployed in a pentagon shape, one is for the ship's position, and the seventh is a spare) equipped with acoustic sensors, a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system, and a computer interface. Five of the buoys act together to triangulate the location of any impact in relation to a ship's firing. The buoys then send a signal back to "score" the hit. A GPS provides precise positioning data of the buoys and firing platforms. Once detected, the data will be transmitted to the system controller, who then uses the GPS locations and times to triangulate and display the impact locations of the round.

Lightweight, compact, and easily stored aboard ship, IMPASS has the added benefits of low cost and low risk, thus making it an extremely effective tool to supplement live-fire training support efforts. This innovative approach will enable Navy ships to conduct cost-effective live-fire exercises and supplementary training at sea to qualify and improve their preparation for forward area deployment and will provide related proficiency training during routine operations in theater.

In addition to being its own stand-alone system, IMPASS is an integral component of the Virtual At Sea Training (VAST) System currently being developed by the Office of Naval Research. VAST adds additional capabilities to the IMPASS system with computer-aided, virtual training capabilities, such as forward observer training and 3-D spotting capabilities. The goal of VAST is to create the infrastructure that will provide a full amphibious training system for U.S. forces as close as possible to what was provided by training facilities like Vieques.

According to Chris Rice, Indian Head Division Program Manager for IMPASS, fleet training for the systems is still being developed by a third party and is expected to be delivered around the end of March. Until that time, IHDIV will be providing the fleet with operational support.

What is the future for this Indian Head Division system? Rice noted that Indian Head will continue to provide interim support while the Navy is evaluating the systems over the course of the next 6 to 8 months, which will include training and traveling aboard ship to assist with early use of the system, as well as providing repair and analytical support.

According to the Department of Defense, the Navy plans to fund more than $400 million in improvements over the next few years to enhance and improve future training. These improvements are included in the Training Resource Strategy being developed by the Navy and will continue to evolve with new technologies and range developments.

"We looked at our entire training program and have developed a strategy to provide effective training for our Sailors and Marines," England said. "It's important for the Department of the Navy to invest now in a training process that provides ready naval forces today and in the future. This is exactly what our comprehensive training strategy achieves."