PARATROOPERS are testing out an innovative new facility to train them for the demands of the urban battlefield.
The Urban Training Facility (UTF), built at Colchester’s Merville Barracks, includes moveable walls, interactive smoke, light and sound effects and a video monitoring system so soldiers can review their performance.
It is designed to let troops practice moving through buildings, clearing the enemy as they go.
These skills are the starting point for being able to operate in the complex surroundings of cities.
The UTF has been developed in recognition that the world’s population is increasingly living in built-up areas.
Colonel Martyn Wills, deputy commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade, said: “We’ve invested in this innovative facility to give our soldiers the best training possible for the urban battlefield.
“It allows soldiers to really focus on getting their skills and drills right, starting simply and then adding complexity through the built-in effects system.
“These effects make training a more immersive experience, adding extra pressure to what the soldiers are doing.
“We can then take the skills that have been perfected here into more challenging training in the villages built on the Army’s training areas, adding the scale of larger units operating together.”
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