COLUMBUS, Ga -- U.S. defense contractor Raytheon Co. has opened a new center that will test and develop new warfighter technologies and help train soldiers for combat.
Columbus and company officials debuted Thursday the Soldier Works Warrior Integration Center, a 10,000-square-foot facility. Raytheon officials said the new facility should help Fort Benning as it merges with the U.S. Army Armor School — formerly located at Fort Knox, Ky. — and the Infantry School within the Maneuver Center of Excellence. It should also allow for more efficiency and closer collaboration with Raytheon’s primary customers, they said.
“This is a key facility for us,” said Glynn Raymer, vice president of Raytheon Network Centric Systems Combat Systems. “Our focus here is bringing soldiers the technology and innovation they need to do their job.”
Among the center’s features is VIRTSIM, a virtual reality training system that places soldiers in live combat scenarios. During the 3D experience, participants can fire their simulated weapons, interact with other participants and encounter armed adversaries.
“They can do it virtually in a safe environment with as many repetitions as possible,” said Thomas McLaughlin, chairman and chief executive officer of Motion Reality, which partnered with Raytheon to offer the system.
At the new facility’s Human Factors Lab, Raytheon employees will also test and develop combat equipment and technology — and analyze how it can affect real soldiers when they are in the field. In another room, soldiers are trained to improve their visual memory, reaction time, processing time and other cognitive capabilities necessary for battle.
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