Providing Physically Consistent Environmental Data In Support of DoD Modeling and Simulation

.The results from a series of modeling and simulation (M&S) experiments conducted in the summer and fall of 1998 to develop reference procedures for creating physically consistent natural environmental data sets will be presented. Physically consistent data sets are required for the realistic representation of the natural environment in computer simulations. These newly defined procedures use many of the new M&S capabilities developed by the three DoD Modeling and Simulation Executive Agents for the Natural Environment. Three examples of these new resources are the Environmental Scenario Generator, Dynamic Terrain Modeling, and Integrated Ocean Model. Data ensuing from the experiments were obtained from three simulation participants: Two DoD acquisition programs (the U.S. Army's Grizzly Breaching Vehicle and the U.S. Marine Corps' Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAAV)), and the Naval War College's seminar-based Global '98 War Game. The capability to simulate a physically consistent natural environment allows the Grizzly project to improve the design of field engineering experiments and reduce the cost of operational test and evaluation assessments. Similarly, the AAAV project uses this capability to facilitate engineering design assessment, reduce the cost of operational testing and evaluation assessment, and create a more realistic training simulator. The Naval War College is adapting these new reference procedures and M&S resources to improve its ability to readily generate integrated Meteorological and Oceanographic (METOC) information needed by operational-level decision makers in war games. All of the experiments were conducted under the auspices of a partnership formed by fifteen DoD organizations and contractors. The Defense Modeling and Simulation Office provided funding support