AERALIS working on sixth-generation training aircraft

AERALIS is working closely with defence primes to ensurethat it can deliver the advanced training required for sixth-generation fighterjets. The United States, the U.K., France, Germany, Japan, China and Russiahave already announced the development of a sixth-generation aircraft program.

Whilst these conceptual aircraft of the future willundoubtedly share many of the stealth and other technologies offifth-generation aircraft like the F35, its evermore complex sensor,communication and weapons systems are certain to place even greater demands onthe pilot, making training those pilots even more challenging.

In order to manage increasing amounts of data at the sametime as flying the aircraft, sixth-generation pilots are set to becomeincreasingly interoperable with the aircraft itself. The integration betweenhuman and machine will be one of the dominant features in sixth-generationfighter jet development.

Much of the required skills can be learnt in a benignclassroom or simulator environment, but the AERALIS training aircraft willenable trainee pilots to bring all the elements together – receiving,interpreting and reporting information whilst flying in possibly poor weatherconditions or over difficult terrain.

By incorporating in-cockpit monitoring tools that can trackeye movements and measure stress levels in a number of different ways, AERALISwill be able not only to facilitate the training of individual pilots but alsobuild an anonymised database that will significantly enhance the efficiency andcost-effectiveness of future pilot training programmes.