XPI Simulation, a Thales company specialised in training and simulation solutions, passed the critical design review for 28 driver training simulators for the AJAX vehicle programme lead by the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD). This is a key milestone of the programme considering that manufacturing can now begin.

In December 2014, XPI Simulation announced it had won the £20m project to produce 28 driver training simulators for General Dynamics Land Systems – UK, to be delivered to the MOD in support of the AJAX vehicle programme. A mixture of static and full-motion simulators for training drivers on all six variants of AJAX are being developed. The programme is the first of its kind in the UK; use of the ‘six degrees of freedom’ simulator has not previously been used within the British Army Land environment.

The simulators’ modular design is based on proven in-house technology which can be adapted to support other vehicle types. This meets the customer’s aspirations for reusable and reconfigurable training simulators, and is the first solution to follow the MOD Defence, Training and Education Coherence (DTEC) rule set, incorporating approved standard interfaces.

Manufacturing of the simulators will now begin with the first delivery due in 2017. This contract requires specialist engineering skills in training and simulation and, in addition to sustaining employment, has created twenty new roles within Thales whilst also having a positive impact on the UK supply chain.

Simon Skinner, Managing Director of XPI Simulation Ltd, says: “Reaching this milestone has been a true team effort. The excellent design work by the XPI team to get to this stage will provide the MOD with the best Armoured Fighting Vehicle driver simulators available. XPI are looking forward to delivering the first of 28 high-fidelity systems in 2017.”

Notes to Editors

AJAX represents the future of AFVs for the British Army, providing best-in-class protection, survivability, reliability, mobility and all-weather intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and recognition (ISTAR) capabilities. The six variants of AJAX are: AJAX, ARES, ATHENA, APOLLO, ATLAS, ARGUS.

About XPI Simulation

XPI Simulation is a pioneer in using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions to build and deliver high-fidelity simulated environments. The company specialises in innovative techniques for processing LIDAR data, a technology which maps physical environments in ultra-fine detail using a range of light frequencies, and ray tracing, which generates highly-realistic images by tracing the path of light and simulating its interaction with virtual objects. XPI designs and manufactures a range of simulator-based driver training systems – from desktop solutions to full-scale converted vehicles – for customers that include the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MOD), British police forces, advanced driver training providers, Transport for London’s road safety programmes, and Formula 1™ teams. In November 2013, XPI Simulation Ltd. was acquired by the Thales Group. http://www.xpisimulation.com/

About Thales

Thales is a global technology leader for the Aerospace, Transport, Defence and Security markets. With 62,000 employees in 56 countries, Thales reported sales of €14 billion in 2015. With over 22,000 engineers and researchers, Thales has a unique capability to design and deploy equipment, systems and services to meet the most complex security requirements. Its exceptional international footprint allows it to work closely with its customers all over the world.