L-3 upgrades AWACS DRAGON flight crew training system with Quantum3D visuals

ORLANDO. Engineers at L3 Technologies Inc.’s Link Simulation & Training division, with headquarters in Crawley, England, sought an image-generation platform to upgrade the Flight Crew Training System for the U.S. Air Force's Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) for Diminishing Manufacturing Sources Replacement of Avionics for Global Operations and Navigation (DRAGON). They found their solution at Quantum3D Government Systems, a provider of training and simulation services for government applications in Orlando, Florida.

Quantum3D Government Systems won a contract to deliver the company’s MANTIS image generation software, GeoScapeSE worldwide synthetic environment, CatalystSE digital content creation system, and a variety of program and integration services throughout the remainder of 2017.

AWACS aircraft provide an integrated command and control battle management, surveillance, target detection, and tracking platform. The aircraft provides an accurate, real-time picture of the battlespace to the Joint Air Operations Center.

The DRAGON upgrade provides benefits to the AWACS platform. It ensures compliance with current and future air traffic control requirements, giving the aircraft a better ability to conduct operations in airspace around the world. It replaces aging analog equipment with commercially viable digital avionics, replacing 1970s-era systems, and it also reduces the cockpit crew personnel requirement from four to three by providing automated navigation. The DRAGON program is a cooperative effort between the U.S. and NATO.

Related reading: What is the E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system?

"At L3 Link Simulation & Training, it remains our goal to provide E-3 flight crews with an efficient, effective, and cybersecure learning environment, and Quantum 3D's image generation software is a key component of this," says Lenny Genna, president of L3 Link Simulation & Training.

"Our MANTIS-based systems train military pilots who put their lives on the line every day," explains Mike Pavloff, president, Quantum3D Government Systems. "We're proud to play a role in the AWACS DRAGON technology upgrade by providing the most realistic visual scene generation experience available today."

Quantum3D Government Systems is a provider of services and complete training solutions tailored specifically for government customers, both U.S. and worldwide. Quantum3D Government Systems draws from past experience in delivering on programs to U.S. military organizations, and operates with a broad network of teaming partners to combine best-in-class technologies to solve any system-level challenge.

Quantum3D Government Systems is headquartered in Orlando, Florida. Together with its sister company Quantum3D Inc., both are members of Quantum3D Group, a Delaware corporation which is in turn wholly owned by HAVELSAN, a global software and systems provider based in Ankara, Turkey.

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