Survitec-Supplied IWTS Selected By 1 Mercian

The British Army’s 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (1Mercian), the Salisbury-based unit specialised in urban warfare, has takendelivery of a Inflatable Walls Training System (IWTS). It is the first ever UKreference for the technology developed to create temporary urban structures foruse in combat training exercises.

Survitec supplied the battalion with the IntermediateMilitary Package, which can be used to recreate urban structures with up eightdifferently sized rooms.

The flexibility of the system allows different tacticalchallenges to be presented to trainees that can evolve to deliver a widevariety of training objectives. The modularity of the system ensures more wallsections can be added to construct larger and more complex structures.

Martin Beagan, Defence & Aerospace Sales manager, Survitec, explained that the battalion approached Survitec independently having seen earlier incarnations of the modular system being used by other armies around the world to train their personnel.

“As defence budgets continue to fall under increasingscrutiny, the IWTS provides a cost effective, innovative and future-proofsolution capable of providing enhanced training for urban conflict orprotection,” he said.

“Typically, urban warfare training is carried out usingstatic structures which can be very expensive to set up. These facilities alsorequire transportation to and from the training location, so use of IWTS can bevery cost effective, not least in reducing transportation costs and trainingtime. The system is completely portable, allowing personnel to transport andbuild temporary structures wherever suits the training requirement. Unlikestatic structures, IWTS can be easily adapted so that personnel don’t get useto the layout of a particular building,” added Beagan.

1 Mercian and three other affiliated regiments will useIWTS, although Survitec hopes that the UK Ministry of Defence will specify theequipment for use throughout the UK armed forces.

Charles Bagshaw, Survitec Category Manager – Land, said: “Asa former British Army Officer, I am very aware of the physical and mentaldemands urban operations place on all levels of command. The use of this systemwill enable the soldiers of 1 Mercian and other battalions to train morefrequently, harder and more realistically, developing the tactics required tofight and win in these demanding environments.”

Survitec is exhibiting at the DSEI event at Booth S10-310,Excel Exhibition Centre, London, from the 10th to 13th September.