BlueHalo has secured a $30 million contract from the Netherlands Ministry of Defense Materiel and IT Command to design and deliver an Advanced Stinger Trainer (AST) system at Lieutenant General Best Barracks in Vredepeel, Netherlands. The next-generation AST is a fully immersive Man-Portable Air Defense System (MANPADS) operator training system, offering Stinger teams operational and tactical training in diverse virtual environments to counter multiple air threats.

“BlueHalo is honored to provide our next-generation technology to the Netherlands, a critical partner and ally to the United States,” said Jonathan Moneymaker, Chief Executive Officer of BlueHalo. “This contract marks a significant step not only for Dutch air defense but for BlueHalo as we continue to disrupt and transform the global defense technology market and serve our Nation’s allies.”

The Advanced Stinger Trainer (AST) developed by BlueHalo can train up to four interoperable Stinger teams simultaneously in a 360° high-resolution virtual reality (VR) environment. This environment replicates authentic terrains and battlespaces, offering a realistic multidimensional experience with surround sound audio. Gunners utilize an untethered MANPADS replica, mirroring a Stinger missile’s size, weight, and operational functions. Team leads employ binoculars with positional auto-zoom to guide their gunner to targets in simulated combat scenarios. The AST incorporates a fully integrated Instructor Operator Station (IOS), granting instructors control over environments, threats, and scenario difficulty and providing detailed scoring and analytics for each session.

“MANPADS weapons require a high level of operator skill to successfully eliminate air threats during battlefield engagements,” said Jimmy Jenkins, BlueHalo Sector President. “Guided by our systematic innovation and our intimate knowledge of the mission, BlueHalo’s Advanced Stinger Trainer gives warfighters the opportunity to become familiar with the equipment and develop the required skills through realistic virtual training, limiting costly and logistically complex live fire testing while increasing warfighter effectiveness with the Stinger missile.”

BlueHalo has developed similar Stinger training facilities for the U.S. Army Air Defense School at Fort Sill, OK; the North Dakota Army National Guard in Grand Forks; and the U.S. Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton, CA; and Cherry Point, NC. The Advanced Stinger Trainer leverages technology developed for BlueHalo’s Virtual Systems Trainer (VST) family of products. VST-Stinger is the first and only fielded VR-based MANPADS training device that supports portable or fixed-site Stinger team training. Learn more about VST at bluehalo.com/air-missile-defense.

About BlueHalo

BlueHalo is purpose-built to provide industry-leading capabilities in Space, C-UAS and Autonomous Systems, Cyber, and AI/ML domains. BlueHalo focuses on inspired engineering to develop, transition, and field next-generation capabilities to solve the most complex challenges of our customers’ critical missions and reestablish our national security posture in the near-peer contested arena. Learn more at http://www.bluehalo.com.

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Post Image Credit: BlueHalo