Open Call for Innovative Defense-Related Dual-Purpose Technologies/Solutions with a Clear Air Force Stakeholder Need

The role of RPA pilot is of vital and growing importance for the United States Air Force. Accelerating use of unmanned assets means a challenge to train and field a sufficient number of pilots while maintaining high standards. Industry is meeting this call with new and innovative training systems and tools, however, comparing these competing products from the standpoint of quality is currently difficult. The wide array of training possibilities, some leveraging revolutionary technologies, some traditional, is not matched by better capabilities to determine which training is optimal. There is, for example, no present reliable way to know whether a radical new augmented reality training platform will prepare warfighters for a mission involving cutting-edge swarm technologies. As a result, training strategies between and across units have become fragmented, as those tasked with training the warfighter labor to meet an ever-growing need for pilots. There is a need for reliable, easily communicated metrics linking training interventions to operator readiness for the mission.