Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) Facility
(Photo Credit: Caroline Horn - WILL Interactive, Inc.)
The Challenge
Modern warfighters need to train in real-life environments, and the Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) facility at Fort Knox makes it happen. As part of a contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Barge Design Solutions was tasked with designing a simulated city that includes buildings, a mock airstrip, and an “African Shanty Town” to provide a realistic warfare training environment at the Zussman MOUT facility in Kentucky.
The Solution
Barge Design Solutions provided project management, structural design, and mechanical design for the project. Buildings in the urban mock-up consisted of four two-story residences with basements, seven one-story residences, a three-story hotel with basement, a three-story municipal building, and a one-story operational warehouse with a perimeter wall. A 2,000-square foot range operations center was also part of the design, built in a retro-fitted water tower on the site.
The MOUT facility allows military teams to role-play different scenarios for training or to prepare for real-world engagements without fear of a true enemy presence. Operations areas are under full video monitoring and recording for review and critique.
The Barge Factor
Barge Design Solutions offered all multidisciplinary services for the project in-house. The company’s experience and dedication to serving the Federal government, as well as its soldiers, and their families renewed the company’s resolve towards projects with similar impacts.