Scalability issues in enhancement of the MAGTF Tactical Warfare Simulation system

The Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Tactical Warfare Simulation (MTWS) system is a computer-assisted, two-sided warfare gaming system designed to support training of U.S. Marine Corps commanders and their staffs. Primary requirements for the system were written in the early 1980s. Since then, a transition in training from uni-service to joint and coalition warfare scenarios has occurred. Primary use of MTWS will continue to be within the Fleet Marine Force and USMC University settings. However, there are growing demands for the system to participate in joint exercises involving other constructive simulations and diverse virtual simulations. Therefore, the requirement to support exercises from Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) through Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) levels is being extended to cover larger force structures with an order of magnitude increase in the number of game objects. The technical challenge is to significantly enlarge system capacity without sacrificing essential system performance and fidelity. Several issues are being investigated to achieve this expanded capability. The paper describes hardware and software approaches and alternatives relating to architecture and functionality. For each alternative, the current capability is briefly presented, followed by a description and analysis of scalability issues and alternatives.