FORT SILL, Okla., Nov. 2, 2017 -- Soldiers from the 30th Air Defense Artillery Brigade's (ADA) advanced individual training Class No. 003-17 worked through multiple simulated air defense scenarios, Oct. 25, part of their Air and Missile Defense Crewmember training.
Soldiers used the Institutional Conduct of Fire Trainer (ICOFT), a virtual reality Avenger Air Defense System simulator.
The Avenger is an anti-aircraft weapon that can be mounted on a Humvee. It is capable of engaging and destroying hostile rotary wing and fixed wing aircraft, including drones. The Avenger crew uses Stinger missiles and a .50 caliber machine gun to engage and disable targets.
The ICOFT serves as a realistic and cost-effective training aid, familiarizing new Soldiers with the decision-making processes behind air defense engagements.
An Avenger crew consists of a two-Soldier team, a gunner and a team chief. While the team chief's main role is to identify and select targets, the gunner is primarily concerned with operating the Avenger missile turret and deciding how best to engage targets.
AIT students switched between the roles of gunner and team chief with a new simulation loaded every 15 minutes to allow time for the crew members to switch. The team, along with five other teams in adjacent simulators, work together to destroy enemy targets within the same simulation.
"We want to train these Soldiers to identify between friendly and hostile aircraft," said Allen Page, an Avenger Air Defense System instructor. "We want the Soldiers to feel comfortable making a tactical decision in regard to what weapon to employ and how best to engage each target."
After graduation, many Soldiers headed to Avenger units will begin their careers as gunners. Later, having acquired the requisite experience, they will step into a team chief role.
The graduates will have the chance to hone their learned skills using live ammunition. ADA maintains its own miniature air force of model drones and aircraft which are used to continually validate the operability and effectiveness of air defense weapon systems and to provide realistic training to Avenger crew members.
"We want to establish a baseline of decision making," said Page. "Then they will be ready to train on more technical aspects of the job."
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