FLAMES® includes a number of ready-to-run applications referred to as the “standard applications”, the most important of which are FORGE™, FIRE™, FLASH™, and FLARE™. These applications come bundled with the FLAMES example models and give you the tools you need to develop, execute, and analyze scenarios without any software development on your part. The applications can also serve as the starting point for the development of your own custom applications.
The FLAMES Operational Requirements Graphical Editor (FORGE) is the primary application used to create and execute FLAMES scenarios. FORGE employs a friendly, graphical user interface to greatly simplify the task of entering scenario data. It stores the data you enter in the FLAMES multi-user scenario database. Models included in the scenario are used during execution to simulate such things as the environment, platform motion, sensor detection, jamming, communication processes, weapon exchanges, and human behavior and decision processes. Two- and three-dimensional color displays allow you to visualize your scenario as you create and execute it.
The FLAMES Interactive Runtime Executable (FIRE) is another program that can be used to execute FLAMES scenarios. FIRE retrieves a scenario from the FLAMES database and executes it using the models specified in the scenario. Unlike FORGE, FIRE executes in batch mode and contains no graphics or built-in user interface. The Enhanced Analysis option allows FIRE to execute a scenario repetitively to perform complex parametric trade studies and Monte Carlo analysis.
One of the files that can be generated by FORGE or FIRE as it executes is a Playback file. This file can be used as input to the FLAMES Scenario Highlighter (FLASH) to visualize scenario activity using 2D and 3D graphic displays. When FORGE or FIRE is configured with the Interactive Server option, FLASH can also be used to visualize activity as a scenario executes.
Inputs in a scenario can direct FIRE to record selected execution results in disk-resident data files. The FLAMES Analysis and Reduction Environment (FLARE) can read any recorder output file and convert the data into memory-resident relational database tables. Queries defined using an extended subset of the industry standard Structured Query Language (SQL) analyze recorded data and generate tabular output.