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Swedish Air Force Combat Simulation Centre, FLSC

The Swedish Air Force Combat Simulation Centre (Flygvapnets Luftstrids Simulerings Centrum, FLSC) is a world-leading simulation facility for manned air combat, many-to-many.

training courses in flightsimulator

The facility is regularly used by all Swedish Air Force fighter aircraft and air combat control units. It is also used for joint exercises involving air force personnel from several other countries.

Since 1998, the Air Combat Simulation Centre (FLSC), FOI and the Swedish Air Force have jointly run simulation training courses for pilots, fighter controllers and other staff.

SBA (simulation-based acquisition) is an important area of activity. It is a rational method for developing and assessing the tactical capability of new aircraft systems, making them available to users in a simulated environment at an early stage.

The simulation facility is unique in Europe, combining manned simulators and computer-generated forces. Powerful visual tools contribute to visualising skills and results. We can also offer large-scale simulations involving linking the facility with other similar installations around the world.

FLSC provides simulation support in the following areas:

  • Materiel acquisition (comparing alternatives, requirements and the like)
  • Operational requirements (decision support, new concepts, network-based defence) 
  • Tactics development (testing concepts associated with new technologies) 
  • Exercising and training 
  • Pre-deployment exercises

FLSC's principal customers are the Swedish Armed Forces but the facility also has clients from other countries as well as international assignments. We customise training courses, exercises and studies to meet individual customers’ requirements.

Concept and tools

The concept of simulation based acquisition, SBA, is an instrument for the management of study planning and the process of materiel development. In addition it is a tool for cooperation between users, research bodies and industry, both nationally and internationally. In this case the simulation environment functions as a laboratory environment for the acquisition of future materiel systems by comparing alternatives and assisting the formulation of requirements.

Acquisition studies in a simulated environment offer a tool for the effect-based evaluation of the capability of future systems. Users, industry and research bodies can then meet in an operational environment which can also give the users the possibility of influencing in a practical way the development of new systems with regard both to design and the choice of systems.
The purpose of this work is to support the acquisition and development process through the conduct of simulated operational exercises with models of future systems in relevant scenarios.

The main thrust of the work is to create a powerful tool focused on the development of operational capability, interoperability and increased cost-effectiveness. The ambition is also to create, through the multi-use of existing resources, the necessary conditions for future training and exercise activity.

Simulator environment

FOI offers a simulator environment that is matched to the operational requirement to conduct scenario simulations for training, exercising and development purposes. This is a unique tool in the form of a complex simulated environment which can be used for a broad spectrum of civil and military applications.

We combine manned simulation with computer generated actors on a number of levels ranging from an operational/tactical level to a technical/research level. Under the supervision of staff with operational experience we conduct training courses for personnel such as pilots and fighter controllers.

The facility consists of the following:

  • Simulator Hall (approx. 25 m x 15 m)
  • Associated operational spaces (control room, order rooms etc.)
  • 8 in no. aircraft cockpits in a network
  • 4 positions for fighter controllers.
  • MTS 890 (Mission Training System 890)
  • Overview presentation for analysis and demonstration
  • Computer generated (rule-governed) vehicles
  • Simulator control
  • 1 position for Forward Air Controller, FAC/JTAC

Eight pilots can, for example fly four against four, or six against two, in a scenario that includes a large number of other rule-governed simulated units such as other aircraft, air defence systems or ships. All pilot stations are based on general models which means that, apart from JAS 39 Gripen, it is possible to fly other aircraft types at the same time in the same scenario. The facility is also capable of so-called distributed simulation in which the facility is networked with others via a secure computer link.

Current training philosophy is based largely on holistic learning. The object is to activate the participants in a simulation by allowing them to play an active part in the planning, conduct and analysis of runs carried out in which facility staff take part as instructors during the training weeks. The aim is that pilots and fighter controllers should find their own ways of handling the different sortie tasks that they are faced with during the training.

The training courses range from operational training in existing systems, or for new materiel before this becomes physically available, to advanced command and control training. This can consist, for example, of pre-deployment exercises that cover the entire chain from planning to execution of an international operation.

The facility also offers an environment in which to conduct complex scenario exercises in which many participants exercise together in decision-making roles, for example in pre-deployment exercises in preparation for participation in international operations.

A simulated exercise environment offers a cost-saving, efficient, operational meeting place for a range of different authorities and actors with a focus on creating a common problem-awareness in both civil and military applications in the field of crisis management.

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Last updated: 2025-12-11