EADS opens U.K operation simulation center

The European Aeronautics Defense and Space Company (EADS) Defense & Security Systems is expanding its synthetic modeling capabilities to encompass solutions aimed at U.K. homeland security applications. EADS-DS will provide a synthetic simulation environment which will allow U.K. emergency services and other first response organizations to design, develop, evaluate, and scale responses to a variety of emergency scenarios, among them terrorist threats, major accidents, and natural disasters. “Synthetic modeling enables homeland security agencies to generate interactive scenarios which evaluate the performance and interoperability of existing and future homeland defense capabilities in a network centric facility. All without the need to undertake expensive and disruptive real-life, large-scale exercises,” said Philippe Meleard, head of public safety, EADS-DS.

EADS’ Network Centric Operations Simulation (NetCOS) experimentation centers combine the latest simulation and data fusion technology in order to reproduce realistic military and civil management and crisis-management scenarios in national and international contexts. EADS has several NetCOS centers already in operation in Germany, France, and Australia. A fourth center is scheduled to open in Spain during 2006. In addition to offering emergency teams the ability to develop tools for and train on how to responsd to large disasters, the NetCOS system also allow emergency responders from different countries to create systems and solutions which are interoperable, thus allowing for easier cross-border collaboration in emergency response.

“With governments establishing Network Centric Organizations to efficiently exploit information technology, and integrating sensors, decision makers, weapon systems and support capabilities, facilities such as those offered by EADS become indispensable for testing and perfecting sets of innovative defensive moves suited to today’s homeland security challenges,” concluded Meleard.