A year ago The Portal opened its doors. The facility, located at QinetiQ’s Cody Technology Park site on the north side of Farnborough airfield, is an advanced experimentation and analysis suite. Established by Boeing in partnership with QinetiQ, The Portal draws on advanced simulation techniques, virtual operations and the insertion of live operations to run complex scenarios to aid a variety of functions.
QinetiQ principally uses the facility to assist the UK Ministry of Defence in the front end of the CADMID (concept/assessment/demonstration/manufacture/in-service/disposal) life cycle. It simulates future systems and aids the MoD in its procurement decisions and in devising CONOPS. According to Boeing’s director for The Portal, Shane Arnott, “We can use simulation to fast-forward into the future. We can simulate different options in the same environment to aid decision-making.”
Boeing, meanwhile, principally uses the facility for the back-end of the CADMID cycle, particularly to evaluate the effects of new processes in manufacturing and support functions.
