Andrew Duggan, managing director of Insitu Pacific, said that remote simulation and training had been in the advanced planning stage, but that the impacts of COVID-19 meant the project was prioritised to ensure effective, rapid fielding of training across a number of courses.

"The completion of our first remote course elements for RAN achieved great results, with all students successfully passing the course, and remote instruction remaining at the same high quality as onsite course delivery. Our virtual training design builds on 10 years of expertise in providing quality Australian-based training to the RAN and the Australian Army, and offers flexibility for Navy in the future to conduct standard training courses at bases around Australia or overseas," Duggan explained.

Remote classroom theory lessons, flight simulation training and virtual equipment demonstrations have all been made possible through the use of multimedia technology.

Remote training will also open new opportunities to conduct shorter, cost effective training and simulation based activities, including re-certification and scenario-specific courses in virtual environments prior to operational deployments, or even during deployments as required.

Commander Philip Woodward, Commanding Officer 822X Squadron, said, "The combination of virtual and onsite training has delivered an effective outcome for the RAN. It not only addressed the challenges posed by COVID-19, but also reduced the time away from home for some trainees and some of the instructors. There is significant potential to deliver flexible and cost effective training."

Duggan added, "Our comprehensive training approach delivers the theory, flight simulation and practical experience that our advanced UAS require. We’re embracing remote training methods in virtual classrooms to provide flexible options for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to reduce costs and the need for ADF members to be away from their home locations for lengthy periods."

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All Insitu Pacific training is delivered by highly qualified instructors, many of whom are ADF veterans with operational experience abroad.

The new remote learning course builds on a decade of training with over 600 defence customers, including from Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, gaining qualifications on Insitu Pacific UAS in land and maritime environments.

Located in Brisbane, Insitu Pacific was established in 2009 as a division of Insitu Inc and serves defence customers across the Asia-Pacific region and global commercial customers.

Insitu utilises expert in-house knowledge and skills to deliver trusted and proven UAS and end-to-end solutions for collecting, processing and managing sensor data. To date, Insitu systems have accumulated more than 1.3 million flight hours. Insitu Pacific is a wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing.

Stephen Kuper

Steve has an extensive career across government, defence industry and advocacy, having previously worked for cabinet ministers at both Federal and State levels.