VR Headsets Provide 'Immersive' Training for Royal Navy

February 14, 2023

The simulators are specifically designed to build the level of competence needed for advanced operations and will support education and training of the Royal Navy Bridge Teams. Image courtesy Kongsberg Digital

A new suite of navigation simulators for the Royal Navy will be rolled out this year as part of Project Selborne’s modernization of Royal Navy training.

The Kongsberg Digital simulation technology is designed to ensure that Royal Navy personnel can maximize operational effectiveness in all types of situations, from single unit pilotage through to Replenishment at Sea and Task Group maneuvers, day and night and in all weather conditions.

The simulators will enable teams to train together with multiple vessels in the same scenarios, reducing associated risks, logistics and cost of seagoing training programmes. In future, the new simulators will be able to integrate across different training establishments allowing Bridge Teams at Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), HMS Collingwood and HMNB Faslane to operate together.

Kongsberg Digital has been awarded the contract to deliver the new simulators by Capita, who are running Project Selborne, a 12-year program to modernize and deliver training for the Royal Navy.

Using customized bridge configurations and instruments, Bridge Teams will experience ultimate realism in a range of training scenarios. Advanced engineering and hydrodynamic vessel modelling in the simulators ensure vessels, objects and equipment behave realistically, equipping personnel to meet future challenges in various missions. Also, for the first time, VR headsets will be used to provide an immersive training experience for evolutions such a ship handling and Replenishment at Sea.

Metaverse VR, an SME providing immersive training solutions based in Portsmouth, will provide modelling support to the project, including Virtual Reality training systems.