MH60S/R helicopter multi-platform & Web-based crew trainer with FLIR

The US Navy´s PMA-205, in conjunction with the training and simulation industry, has developed and deployed OMIA: a flexible, multi-platform, Web-based crew trainer for the Navy´s new MH-60S and MH-60R helicopters. OMIA is currently in use by HSC-2, HSC-3 and HSM-41 and is available to all crewmembers throughout the Navy. To maximize access to the trainer and to make deployment easier, OMIA is written in Java, and deployed both as a portable application and as a web application. A portable application does not require any special user rights to install; a web application is run over the internet from a browser. OMIA includes a simulation of the MH-60S/R Common Cockpit, including a FLIR capability that includes using an actual hardware FLIR hand-control unit when attached through USB. OMIA has been designed and implemented to be flexible to changing Navy needs, a design aspect which proved itself again in 2009 when OMIA´s FLIR was converted for use in the fixed wing EP-3E aircraft. OMIA illustrates solutions to three critical issues in developing low-cost training software for aircraft: quickly responding to the ever-changing demands, re-use of interface components across multiple aircraft, and providing training that can be accessed where and when it is needed.