Remote Training During COVID-19: The Insitu Case

04/22/2021
By Australian Defence Business Review

Insitu Pacific has successfully conducted remote training for Royal Australian Navy ScanEagle unmanned aerial system (UAS) pilots and maintainers.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, 822XSQN personnel completed virtual remote simulation elements of their training to complement their onsite training at Insitu Pacific’s training and simulation facility in Brisbane, and at 822XSQN’s HMAS Albatross base at Nowra.

“The completion of our first remote course elements for RAN achieved great results, with all students successfully passing the course, and remote instruction remaining at the same high quality as onsite course delivery,” Managing Director Insitu Pacific Andrew Duggan said in a company release.

“Our virtual training design builds on 10 years of expertise in providing quality Australian-based training to the RAN and the Australian Army, and offers flexibility for Navy in the future to conduct standard training courses at bases around Australia or overseas.”

The training included remote classroom theory lessons, flight simulation training, and virtual equipment demonstrations by experienced instructors using multimedia. “Our comprehensive training approach delivers the theory, flight simulation and practical experience that our advanced UAS require.” Duggan said.

“We’re embracing remote training methods in virtual classrooms to provide flexible options for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to reduce costs and the need for ADF members to be away from their home locations for lengthy periods.”

Commanding Officer 822XSQN, CMDR Philip Woodward added, “The combination of virtual and onsite training has delivered an effective outcome for the RAN.  It not only addressed the challenges posed by COVID-19, but also reduced the time away from home for some trainees and some of the instructors. There is significant potential to deliver flexible and cost effective training.”

822XSQN operates ScanEagle and Schiebel S-100 Camcopter unmanned systems under Navy Minor Program (NMP)1942 as it seeks to finalise its requirements for the larger Project SEA129 Phase 5 program.

This article was written by Andrew McLaughlin and published by ADBR on January 21, 2021.