Stottler Henke Wins $9M Navy Contract to Enhance PC-Based Simulation for Training Helicopter Crews

Online, December 16, 2009 (Newswire.com) - SAN MATEO, CA, December 16, 2009 - The U.S. Navy awarded Stottler Henke Associates, Inc. (www.stottlerhenke.com) an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract worth over $9 million to develop simulation software to train helicopter cockpit operations. The PC-based software enables pilots and other crew members to learn helicopter operations without expensive simulators or helicopters.

This is the second contract awarded to Stottler Henke to develop training simulators for MH-60S "Sierra" and MH-60R "Romeo" Navy helicopters. Stottler Henke previously developed and delivered part-task trainer (PTT) software that is available to all Navy personnel. It is easy to use and runs under Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) computers that most Navy helicopter crews can access. For this contract, Stottler Henke will keep the software up-to-date with the evolving helicopter and add new capabilities such as forward looking infrared (FLIR) and support for the FLIR hand control unit (HCU). A major enhancement is acoustics capabilities, so sensor operators can learn the details and subtleties of acoustics operations, using real acoustic image displays, without requiring high-end simulators or helicopters.

"OMIA gives students cockpit 'button crunching' training, so that when they get into the helicopter or a glass simulator, they already know what's where, " said Navy LCDR Sal Rafanello, Helicopter Training Systems Integrated Product Team Leader for the MH-60S. "In its current iteration, OMIA has already saved the government millions of dollars, compared to using a full-featured glass simulator."

The software is being used to train crews at the Navy's helicopter training squadrons at Naval Air Station North Island (NASNI) and at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia. It will soon be implemented at Naval Station Mayport in Florida. Because it is PC-based, crew members can run it on laptop computers to stay proficient while at sea or anywhere in the world. Optionally, the OMIA solution can be attached to hardware that closely matches the helicopter's hardware to provide a more realistic simulation. For example, the forward looking infrared (FLIR) hand control unit (HCU) can be plugged into the USB port of a computer running OMIA. The contract was awarded by the Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, NJ.