Not Really Combat but It Sure Seems Like It

Lockheed formally opened an $87-million weapons simulator Monday at its Kelly Johnson Research and Development Center near Saugus. Company officials described it as the most advanced such aircraft development facility in the world. The simulator, funded by Lockheed, is expected to play a key role in the Advanced Tactical Fighter program, in which Lockheed is competing against Northrop for eventual production contracts worth more than $50 billion. The centerpiece of the facility is a 28-foot diameter dome in which three-dimensional visual images, created by a network of large-scale computers, simulate aerial combat. Scenes projected onto the walls of the dome respond to the actions of a test pilot in a prototype cockpit in the center of the dome. Images of adversary aircraft can also be projected onto the walls of the dome and can interact with the test pilot to create a “real time” combat scenario. Although other aerospace companies have such simulators, Lockheed officials said, the Kelly Johnson simulator “leapfrogs” existing facilities in its ability to simulate enemy weapons in a number of classified areas, such as surface-to-air missiles and combat beyond visual range. The simulator is a high-security facility and once operations begin in a few weeks it will be off limits to visitors.