Korean Military opens high-tech training camp

Military opens high-tech training camp

The Defense Ministry said on Wednesday (Sept. 7) that it has built a training camp equipped with sophisticated systems as part of efforts to enhance the military's combat readiness for high-tech future warfare.

The Korea Combat Training Center (KCTC) of the Army has completed its seven-year project to set up a science-based training system equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, including the Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES), an Army spokesman said.

The simulation training camp of battalion level, located in Hongcheon of Gangwon Province, is the 10th of its kind in the world, following those in the United States, Japan, Germany and others, Col. Choi Sung-soo, vice-head of the KCTC, said in a briefing. In scale, the new training camp is the second largest after the U.S.

South Korea already has several simulation training camps at the company level.

The MILES is a training system that provides a battlefield environment for soldiers involved in training exercises. It offers tactical engagement simulations for direct fire force-on-force training using eye-safe laser bullets.

Each individual, weapon and vehicle in the training exercise has a detection system to sense hits and perform casualty assessment. Laser transmitters are attached to each individual and vehicle weapon system and accurately replicate actual ranges and lethality of specific weapon systems.

About 5,600 kinds of weapons systems will be used for the high-tech simulation training exercise, the colonel said. These weapons systems include K2/K3 rifles, K201 grenade launchers, 106mm cannon rifles, anti-armor vehicles, machine guns and other ancillary items.

“The simulation exercise system will help solve many problems that have resulted from the field training of the armed forces, such as noise pollution and environmental destruction,” Choi said. He said the system is also expected to greatly cut the defense budget by about 270 billion won.

“The construction of this advanced training system is a first and important step toward developing the country's armed forces into future-oriented units with quality soldiers,” said Brig. Gen. Shin Hyun-don, spokesman for the ministry.

The Army plans to designate five battalions for its pilot program of the simulation training system this year and officially implement the system next year for 51 battalions, according to the ministry.

The opening ceremony for the training camp took place on Wednesday in Gangwon Province. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Jang-soo and members of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly attended the ceremony.

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