APEX2 successfully executed a rapid, 90-day prototyping event that establishes a viable pathway for aviation units to utilize the RVCT-A, addressing a critical gap in Army aviation simulation capabilities. VIEW ORIGINAL
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (Aug. 4, 2026) – Shoot – move – communicate.
The very foundation of Army tactical and survival strategy, it is what every service member learns when they put on the uniform. But how do you learn that crucial synchronization?
Collective trainers are simulators that train Soldiers to work together in a shared tactical environment. If the simulator does not accurately replicate the communications, threats, wingmen and ground elements of a modern battlespace, pilots will develop muscle memory and tactical habits unsuited for actual combat. In modern multi-domain operations, military forces do not fight in isolation. Training environments must evolve beyond single-aircraft simulators into fully integrated, high-fidelity ecosystems.
To address outstanding concerns with the current Reconfigurable Virtual Collective Trainer program, the Aviation Center of Excellence and Combined Arms Command Training enlisted the DEVCOM Aviation & Missile Center’s Advanced Prototyping Engineering eXperimentation Laboratory #2, or APEX2 team to rapidly redesign the simulation host for an AH-64E Apache RVCT-A device.
APEX2 successfully executed a rapid, 90-day prototyping event that establishes a viable pathway for aviation units to utilize the RVCT-A, addressing a critical gap in Army aviation simulation capabilities.
“This is very much a first for the lab to do something like this,” said Bryan Gassaway, the aviation crew stations and CAPT group project lead.
They integrated Commercial Off-The-Shelf simulation products used at AvCOE and introduced a higher-fidelity CH-47 Cockpit Academic Procedural Trainer Enhanced with Visuals and Control Loaders in a “Hail Mary” to address a viable course of action for the RVCT-A program.
APEX2 successfully executed a rapid, 90-day prototyping event that establishes a viable pathway for aviation units to utilize the RVCT-A, addressing a critical gap in Army aviation simulation capabilities. VIEW ORIGINAL
Bringing in partners from the Army’s Capability Program Executive Simulation, Training, Test and Threat office, senior AvCOE AH-64E and CH-47F pilots visited the Center July 14 to test out the solution. Their feedback was highly favorable, one calling it “40,000 times better.” Notably, pilots experienced minimal eyestrain and very few sensory side effects when utilizing the mixed reality headsets. Furthermore, CH-47 pilots assessed the CAPT-EVCS as having higher fidelity compared to the standard CH-47F RVCT-A currently evaluated at AvCOE.
“I didn’t have to convince myself I was flying a helicopter,” said one of the pilot participants.
More than just a successful execution, it was an example of the new normal for Army technology – how industry cooperation can be leveraged to reduce development time and risk scope.
Gassaway said that with their success, planning is underway to incorporate realistic radio communications instead of “hot mics,” improved rendering of the visual scene between sensor and out-the-window views, weapon and sensor capabilities, ground maneuver units, Uncrewed Aircraft System simulations and more enhancements – expanding the simulation environment to ensure Army aviation training remains highly adaptable, cost-effective, and aligned with the modern battlefield.
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About DEVCOM AvMC: DEVCOM AvMC is the nexus of Army aviation and missile modernization, where the operational requirements of Transformation and Training Command are fused with the acquisition strategies of the Portfolio Acquisition Executives. As the Army’s primary source of deep technical expertise, the Center provides the innovative science and responsive life-cycle engineering that allows the PAEs to execute programs at speed, delivering the asymmetric capabilities required to ensure our Soldiers dominate on the battlefield.
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