Military.com quotes Brent Scowcroft Center Nonresident Senior Fellow for Defense James Hasik on new computer simulation software that determines vehicle combat readiness:
Computer simulations could be a “middle ground” to lessen the number of prototypes needed and battlefield testing, said analyst Jim Hasik with the Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan international affairs think tank in Washington, D.C.
Still, there will always be a need for real-world testing and feedback from vehicle users. UW-Madison engineers plan to conduct physical experiments, in addition to simulations, to demonstrate things like how a wheel moves in sand.
“It will be quite a while before simulation replaces, to a great degree, field testing,” Hasik said.
“You still have to run vehicles up and down hills, through sand, and try to sink them in the mud. I think that’s important,” he said.