CAE’s Gene Colabatistto: Warfighters Need Space Training to Counter Future Threats

Gene Colabatistto, president of defense and security group at CAE, has said he believes warfighters should be trained at strategic, operational and tactical levels to defend against future space threats as the U.S. military works to establish a new space force, National Defense reported Monday.

“Clearly when we build a flight simulator and a high-fidelity cockpit, that cockpit will be outfitted with avionics that depend on GPS,” Colabatistto said in an interview.

“Whether it’s GPS, satellite communications, or some other service provided by space-based assets, the operator needs to know that they’re there.”

He added that operators should learn how to use the space systems and know the limitations and capabilities of such platforms.

He noted that mission planners should undergo training in order “to understand what other systems are out there to include ones they may not know about today.”

Colabatistto also cited the opportunities offered by space training to industry.

“I’m encouraged because I think that’s a market segment where more funding will flow and it connects directly to our core users — the operational users of aircraft, ground combat systems and ships,” he said of space training.