Construction to start soon on 552nd ACW consolidated simulator building

  • Published
  • By Ron Reinke

The 72nd Air Base Wing’s Headquarters has moved from Bldg. 460 to Bldg. 1002. Bldg. 460 will be demolished to make room for the construction of a new building that will provide the 552nd Air Control Wing a state-of-the-art training facility that encompasses live, virtual, and constructive operational training, according to Michael Radle, deputy, 552nd ACW Requirements.

 “The new two-story training facility will house the E-3 Diminishing Manufacturing Sources Replacement of Avionics for Global Operations and Navigation, or DRAGON, full motion simulators, aircrew mission simulators, Control and Reporting Center’s operator mission simulators, and specialized server/network hub centers,” said Radle.

The facility is being dubbed the Consolidated Simulator Building.

The three different training simulators will be interconnected, allowing for a “train as you fight” capability. The E-3 Sentry flight deck and mission aircrew will execute combined training scenarios as they do on the aircraft. Dedicated Air Force training networks bring in a virtual air space as E-3 pilots practice mid-air refueling with the new KC-46A Pegasus while AWACS and CRC operators practice combat scenarios with the newest generation fighters.

“Personnel will receive the same experiences they would get during an actual geographically-separated flying exercise without the deployment time and save thousands of dollars in fuel and maintenance costs,” Radle said.

The training scenarios deliver a very realistic virtual world. The CRC operators are networked to the E-3 simulators, sharing the air picture and training combat scenarios. Linked to geographically separated airspaces, the controllers will provide live command and control training with a multitude of aircraft including high-demand/low-density assets.

Construction of the 50,000 plus square foot, two-story facility, is scheduled to begin later this summer.

When the new CSB training facility is completed by March 2020, the 552nd ACW will continue to grow today’s Airmen to ensure tomorrow’s air dominance in a cost savings virtual world of training.