QinetiQ, Boeing Open Center for Experimentation, Analysis

July 23, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS

QinetiQ and the Boeing Co. opened the Portal, a new decision-support capability in the U.K.

The center will enable customers to explore and understand implications of proposed network-enabled systems in a real-time, dynamic environment using the latest in modeling, simulation, analysis and experimentation, said Boeing.

Concept warfighting customers can test logistical requirements across a wide range of existing and future operational settings and against a variety of threats.

Experiment designers can create an optimal environment hosting multiple concurrent activities to compare the effectiveness and survivability of competing systems, test future scenarios and assess potential solutions before they are delivered to the front line.

Coalition warfighting interoperability issues also can be addressed by operators participating with live assets and in virtual simulations.

"The Portal will allow customers to explore many alternative scenarios in a fully immersive and interactive environment and to see the effects of introducing new technologies to support current systems and platforms in order to optimize design concepts and performance," said Graham Love, QinetiQ's chief executive.

The Portal's capabilities support the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) Industrial Strategy and Defence Technology Strategy, which recommends U.K. suppliers invest in the tools and technologies to enable future military hardware and software solutions to be assessed in a variety of operational environments, said Boeing.

Boeing and QinetiQ will link their respective networked demonstration and experimentation capabilities from any location and can use the network to develop solutions in the U.S., the U.K. and Australia.

QinetiQ's unified experimental services test bed features networked nodes across the U.K. in multiple domains including land, missile defense, air and sea. Boeing's laboratory network links more than 700 Boeing labs including a systems analysis laboratory in Australia as well as U.S. government labs and industry partners.

The 6,000-square-foot facility features multiple labs, viewing areas, syndicate rooms and a presentation and audio-visual suite that can link to an additional 14,000-square-foot office space and up to 50,000 square feet of additional area for large vehicles or mobile facilities such as a tented headquarters.

The Portal is designed to support all simulation software systems and uses the latest Dual- and Quad-Core Intel Xeon central processing unit technology, said Boeing.

Significant secure storage also is available along with a scalable bandwidth link up to 32 Mbps in size that can securely connect the Portal to other QinetiQ, Boeing, industry and MOD facilities in the U.K. and around the world.

Connection to the Joint Multi National Interoperability Assurance Network for MOD-sponsored programs also is possible.

Source: Boeing Co.