Charles River To Develop Training System For Anti-Submarine Warfare

Charles River Analytics has won a $700,000 contract from the US Navy to develop Improved Training System for Anti-Submarine Warfare.

The 25-month follow-on contract for Sonar Training, Motivation, Assessment, Tailoring, and Enhanced Remediation, or ST-MASTER, aims to improve sonar training and operation on ships conducting anti-submarine warfare (ASW), the company announced in its press release on Monday.

The system ASW has been a main strategic concern to the US Navy, since hostile submarines can pose serious threats to naval forces and seaborne lines of communication.

“For ASW-capable surface ships, reaching and maintaining ASW proficiency is complicated by the lack of opportunities to interact with submarine targets,” Wayne Thornton, Captain, US Navy (Ret.), the principal investigator on ST-MASTER at Charles River said.

To address this issue, the Navy has developed a system for conducting high-fidelity synthetic training to improve the sonar proficiency of ASW-capable surface ships, called the Surface ASW Synthetic Trainer (SAST).

The Navy seeks to improve the system, including improving the ability of commanders to assess the sonar readiness of their units, as well as providing for sonar operators and teams being able to assess themselves.

“We are developing and evaluating ST-MASTER to work with the Navy’s SAST to improve sonar training and provide timely, detailed feedback on sonar proficiency,” said Captain Thornton.

“It will incorporate motivation models, assess users’ motivation levels, and provide tailored feedback enhanced by immersive learning simulation features,” Wayne Thornton added.

ST-MASTER takes a novel approach to tailor training and feedback for individuals and teams by using intelligent agents to modify training scenarios and customize rewards to achieve proficiency goals and dynamically maintain motivation.