LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, TEXAS –
In a dark room completely covered in camouflage netting, four Airmen stand, calling out orders and placement to each other while firing M-16 and M-4 weaponry.
These men are practicing for an upcoming mission in Lackland's Fire Arms Training Simulator room.
While most military bases only have one FATS, Lackland has three simulators. The three different systems allow personnel training for team missions to break away and explore different sections of the virtual mission.
Each simulator allows up to five virtual weapons to be used at once. The system itself costs $30,000, and guns can cost between $6,000 and $9,000.
The FATS is primarily used for remedial tutorials. It allows for one-on-one training that isn't always available during the busy basic military training schedule.
"We can measure how many shots are fired and where they are aiming," said Staff Sgt. Randy Bedard, 342nd Training Squadron.
"We can also check how much ammo they are using. Basically we can check all of the fundamentals," Sergeant Bedard said.
The FATS can also be used to set up virtual missions. By using pictures and other information, FATS administrators can construct scenarios that can help minimize the likelihood of injury and death.
The weapons used for the FATS have the same weight and physical dimensions as the guns they replicate.
They also recoil with the same force and velocity of real guns.
The FATS also recently introduced wireless guns to better replicate real-life scenarios.
"The older models have wires connecting them to the system, which kept us from holding the weapon in various ways," Sergeant Bedard said.
The wireless guns have magazines filled with nitrogen, while the wired weapons have magazines filled with carbon dioxide.
The system can create smoke and jam weapons to see how Airmen will react to these occurrences under real circumstances.
The system can also fire back small rubber balls to help troops refine evasion tactics. The balls feel similar to being shot by a paintball gun.
"I wish we had enough personnel to have the FATS active all the time," Sergeant Bedard said. "The potential for training troops in various situations is endless."