The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has awarded BAE Systems and Pitch Technologies UK a contract to support the British Army to deliver a new virtual training programme.

The Land Training Test & Reference Capability, part of the Army’s Collective Training Transformation Programme (CTTP), will help define the Army’s approach to future collective training and select a strategic partner to deliver an integrated, mobile and digitalised system. This will allow the British Army to train its soldiers wherever and whenever it needs to across the globe.  

BAE Systems and Pitch Technologies UK have decades of experience providing training and simulation solutions to the UK MOD and other governments around the world, working closely with NATO and other organisations in promoting interoperability between allied nations.

The two companies will work with the British Army to define the technical assurance requirements for synthetic warfare training systems which utilise virtual environment to allow military personnel to conduct a range of battlefield scenarios and locations. These systems facilitate hugely complex warfighting scenarios that would be either too dangerous or costly to conduct on a training range. This helps to provide soldiers with broader training opportunities whilst also greatly reducing overhead costs.

Suranga Wickramasekera, Pitch Technologies' UK Business Development Manager, said: "We look forward to working alongside the Army and collaborating with other specialists from the community to provide independent and impartial technical advice to procure and develop future training systems with improved coherence, system interoperability and reuse."

The collaboration, along with Pitch Technologies UK and supply chain partners including D3A Defence and Envitia, supports more than 10 highly skilled jobs across southern England. At least three new roles will be created within the UK SME supply chain as well as opportunities for innovation and skills development in line with the UK Land Industrial Strategy.

Brooke Hoskins, BAE Systems’ Director of Products and Training Services, said: “Our teams will be co-located with our customer, allowing us to act as the Army’s trusted advisor and maximise the value of our technical, synthetic training and integration expertise.”