Entrol upgrades police helicopter simulators with Unreal Engine 5

Spanish flight simulator manufacturer Entrol has expanded the capabilities of its Envision visual system to support more realistic training for police helicopter crews.

Developed using Unreal Engine 5, the system allows instructors to simulate police pursuits, suspect tracking, and coordinated air-to-ground operations in urban environments featuring moving vehicles, pedestrians, and crowds.

The upgraded system incorporates simulated forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, thermal imaging modes, searchlights, and night vision goggles compatibility, enabling crews to practice surveillance and target identification.

Instructors can adjust traffic density, control suspect movements, and introduce changing conditions during exercises. Scenarios involving vehicle pursuits, arrests, and coordination with ground officers can also be saved and repeated for training and assessment.

Envision uses real-time terrain generation to recreate buildings, vegetation, power lines, and other obstacles from geographical data, reducing the need to manually model individual locations.

The system also allows instructors to monitor exercises using the same visual environment as the flight crew, including switching perspectives to follow activity from the viewpoint of suspects or ground officers.

Entrol said the upgrades were intended to improve mission-specific training while reducing reliance on operational aircraft for complex tactical exercises.