Live Training in Constant Development

The Future is Hybrid

Modern training systems are no longer about the old MILES laser beam. Today’s land forces train with  hybrid of technologies that adapt to the weapon type being used during the exercise. The future of modern training is not about lasers vs. compasses. The future is both. 

Numerous NATO nations and other allied nations are turning to Saab and its game-changing GAMER system. This market-leading high-fidelity system uses a blend of laser and geometric pairing technology to effectively support different engagement types. Additionally, the system is interoperable, allowing training across military branches and even nations.

Recently, the U.S. Marine Corps has adopted the Tactical Instrumentation System, derived from Saab's GAMER system. This system is already in use by several U.S. allies, facilitating seamless and instantaneous interoperability with allies and partners around the world. By leveraging a system with established international deployment, the Marine Corps can ensure that joint training exercises with allied forces are interoperable, further strengthening global defense collaborations. 

Experiences From MCTIS

The Marine Corps Tactical Instrumentation System (MCTIS) marks a significant upgrade from the previous "laser tag" training systems. Marine officials explained that the older systems were difficult to set up, often imprecise and lacked reliability. MCTIS addresses these issues by offering a more efficient, accurate, and dependable solution, improving the overall quality of combat training exercises. 

MCTIS is now being implemented throughout the U.S. Marine Corps. The Marine Air-Ground Task Force Warfighting Exercise (MWX), held in February 2024 at Twentynine Palms, California, included 2,700 Marines, 230 vehicles and more than a dozen buildings equipped with technology. The MWX served as an operational evaluation for the new force-on-force training technology. This year, the service is deploying this technology add-on to enhance combat realism for infantry platoons and other land forces. 

The MCTIS After Action Review (AAR) capability is a critical tool for enhancing training effectiveness, operational readiness, and capability development. By capturing real-time data during exercises, MCTIS enables detailed post-event analysis, allowing Marines to review their performance, decision-making processes, and tactical maneuvers. This capability fosters a comprehensive understanding of both individual and unit strengths and weaknesses, facilitating targeted improvements. The benefits of MCTIS AAR include improved situational awareness, enhanced teamwork, and the ability to identify lessons learned that can be applied to future training, exercises, and operational deployments, ultimately resulting in a more prepared and effective fighting force. 

Global Customer Base

As the leading supplier of land forces training solutions, Saab enables customers within allied nations to train together. Saab is a significant provider of live training technology to the U.S. Army both domestically and to the U.S. 7th Army (DISE) in Europe. The recent contract with the U.S. Marine Corps offers additional possibilities for multiple forces to deploy and train together to maintain regional stability and alliances. This includes NATO as well as regional partner nations all around the globe.

Saab continuously enhances its live training solutions by integrating cutting-edge technologies and the latest advancements. This focus allows Saab to offer the most realistic training and simulation systems on the market, based on the core principles of fidelity, precision and in-depth analysis. 

The Power of Interoperability

Interoperability and cooperation between nations is becoming more common – and critical - among armed forces worldwide. Working together empowers our customers’ capabilities and effectiveness, and a key to efficient cooperation is training. Saab training solutions are technology agnostic, meaning that laser (primarily ballistic laser) as well as other technologies, such as geo-pairing and GPS, can be used. This leads to the possibility of including artillery, combat support and long-range missiles in future trainings. 

Like the recent “Nordic Response” exercise in Sweden, many multinational exercises already use Saab’s live training and simulation systems. The Nordic Response is part of the NATO Steadfast Exercise 2024, which includes more than 20,000 attendees, and is essential to maintaining international defense collaboration.