Photos: Australian Navy buys $10m warship simulator

The Royal Australian Navy has invested $10 million in a new computer simulator to train junior officers to pilot warships.

Linked gallery: Inside the Navy's $10m warship simulator

The simulator was made by Norway's Kongsberg Maritime Simulation & Training.

The Navy claimed it was one of the most advanced systems in the world, capable of a simulating a "240-degree view of a computer-generated 2D scene through the bridge windows".

It included two full-mission simulators and four part-task simulators, allowing up to six bridge teams to participate in joint exercises.

"Our Navy is the first in the world to use multi flex touch screens in a warship bridge simulator, which increases functionality without cumbersome hardware," Commander Australian Fleet Rear Admiral Steve Gilmore said.

The simulators replicated "the full range of maritime operations likely to be experienced while on the bridge of a warship and can be reconfigured to match most classes of ship in the Navy's current fleet".

"New functionality includes boat operations, interdiction, and docking and beaching evolutions pertinent to the new Landing Helicopter Dock ships, the first of which is due to enter service in 2014," the Navy stated.