Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract by the US Marine Corps to provide four new systems and upgrade 36 gunnery trainers for M1-A1 main battle tanks and LAV-25 light armoured vehicles.

The $24m system upgrades include a realistic visual image-generation system as well as updated instructional system for greater flexibility in training exercises.

Additional upgrades also include trainer usage data and record-keeping capabilities, as well as an upgrade to the fire ability of M1-A1 weapons in closed-hatch mode to protect from snipers and improvised explosive devices.

The US Marine Corps gunnery trainers, also known as combat vehicle training systems, include Lockheed’s advanced gunnery training system (AGTS).

AGTS is a simulator used for training in precision gunnery skills for quick transition to real-time combat gunnery.