The Army has picked up the second-year option on a contract with DiSTI Corporation to continue supporting virtual maintenance training (VMT) simulators for the UH-72A Lakota helicopter.

The option was picked up after successful completion of the initial $4.4 million deal in which DiSTI delivered twelve workstations to train forces on how to perform maintenance tasks for the helicopter within an interactive 3D environment. The VMT’s were delivered to the Western Army National Guard Aviation Training Site in Marana, Arizona in 2016, and in June 2017 the first group of forces completed the virtual helicopter training.

“The cornerstone of the program was based on our proven software toolchain called VE Studio and our patented end-to-end solution for requirements analysis and traceability, design, development, and testing. What is especially unique about this solution is that we have provided the Army the ability to conduct training on large screens, desktop size screens, as well as mobile devices,” President of DiSTI Joe Swinski said in a statement. “In addition, their solution has also been designed to be deployed on Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) platforms. As the Army looks to take advantage of the new capabilities that these technologies offer, their current UH-72A trainer can be easily expanded.”

The UH-72A helicopter is an Army variant of a commercially-available Airbus helicopter, so the Army utilizes the VMT training system to ensure forces are able to maintain the aircraft to FAA standards.