Ep. 016: Horizontal Scaling of Synthetic Environments - Jason Kennedy

Warfighter Podcast

Following on from our previous episode with Joe Robinson, we are joined by Jason Kennedy who is the VP of Engineering at Improbable. Jason has an impressive background in, having previously directed large teams of engineers to push the boundaries of simulation technology for defence and space applications.

In a full and frank discussion, Jason describes the challenge for scaling simulation applications for serious training and decision support applications. Coining the term ‘Horizontal Scaling’.

Jason covers the demand signal first, laying out the need for improved collaboration between government, academia and industry across simulation technologies. Partly to reduce costs, but more importantly to model and rehearse things that just can’t be done live due to the need for scale, complexity or things that are too dangerous to do in the real world on a live population.

Jason goes on to describe what isn’t working and proposes some approaches for improved collaboration and argues the case that there may be some dominant platforms for our ecosystems (such as we see with Apple and Google) but that’s not necessarily a bad thing if it lifts the rest of the industry and academia to innovate. Like the rail network, some monopolies are just a reality we may have to live with, rather than a fragmented approach to developing our infrastructure.

As ever we are joined by Andy Fawkes from MS&T, who has curated some of the best stories from the last two weeks across training and simulation. One story that doesn’t seem to go away is the problems with UK MFTS. Andy also covers initiatives to lower the environmental impact of flying training and of course next week is ITEC in Rotterdam, which no doubt will provide a whole host of more interesting news to come!

Episode Sponsor: Improbable Defence

Improbable Defence is a mission focused technology company working to transform the national security of our nations and their allies in the face of increasing global competition and evolving threats.

Today, national security is defined by technological superiority. We believe that software more than any other capability will redefine how war is fought and who will be on the winning side. Those entrusted with the preservation of our freedom, prosperity and safety deserve the best software-defined capabilities available.

Since the end of the Cold War, the UK, US and their allies have been unchallenged in military technological dominance. Today, we are facing a different reality: our adversaries are seizing the technological edge.

Improbable Defence chooses to stand up and not stand by. We are building cutting-edge software products to help our nations retake the technological advantage. We believe in defending our democratic values against those who seek to undermine them. Supporting those tasked with this mission is at the heart of all we do. We seek to radically transform the mission outcomes of those whose responsibility it is to keep us safe.

Hosts:

• Tom Constable: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-constable/
• Colin Hillier: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinhillier/

Guest:

• Jason Kennedy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-kennedy-65611710a/

Links:

• Website: https://www.warfighterpodcast.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/warfighter-digital/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkgiH-cwmyc2I2Iyc8MLYtg
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/WarfighterPod

News Stories Related Links:

• Exhibitors Line Up for IT²EC 2023: https://www.halldale.com/articles/21016-mst-sneak-peek-exhibitors-line-up-for-itec-2023
• RAF Pilot Pipeline Not Keeping Pace: https://www.halldale.com/articles/20991-mst-raf-pilot-pipeline-not-keeping-pace
• Babcock Enters Partnership to Minimise Environmental Impact of Flight Training: https://www.halldale.com/articles/21004-mst-babcock-enters-partnership-to-minimise-environmental-impact-of-flight-training
• Pentagon leak traced to video game chat group users arguing over war in Ukraine: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/11/pentagon-leak-traced-to-video-game-chat-group-users-arguing-over-war-in-ukraine
• STARCOM Ramping Up Space Readiness: https://www.halldale.com/articles/21009-mst-starcom-ramping-up-space-readiness