I/ITSEC: Reflecting on Last Year’s Lessons — and the Questions Driving 2025

At last year’s I/ITSEC, one theme cut across every aisle, every briefing, and every hallway conversation: simulation and training technologies were moving faster than ever before. The discussions that dominated 2024 — around AI, data ecosystems, and digital twins — signalled a clear shift from experimentation to implementation.

Across the show floor, exhibitors and delegates alike explored how intelligent systems, data-driven feedback loops, and immersive environments could better prepare operators for complex, multi-domain scenarios. It was a year that reminded us the defence training community is not just adopting new tools — it’s redefining what learning and readiness look like in the digital era.

Among the highlights was the growing maturity of AI-enabled analysis and adaptive learning platforms. These were no longer abstract research projects, but operational capabilities. Aptima, Esri, Workera, GitLab, and others demonstrated how data and AI could refine training performance in real time, while Oversight and VRAI showcased new ways of harnessing data analytics to drive safety and efficiency. The presence of “AI” and “data” across booth signage — as noted in our post-show coverage — underlined how deeply these technologies had permeated the sector.

Meanwhile, integration and interoperability took centre stage. Solutions demonstrated by Aero Simulation Inc., 3D Perception, Kongsberg Digital, and VSTEP exemplified how hardware, software, and human factors are converging — from flight decks to naval bridges to ground control centres. Cross-domain collaboration became a key talking point: how do we ensure seamless learning experiences across platforms, services, and allies?

Looking Ahead: I/ITSEC 2025 and the Next Leap Forward

With the release of the 2025 I/ITSEC agenda, those questions evolve further. This year’s programme builds directly on the momentum of 2024, tackling the intersection of AI, human-machine teaming, cyber resilience, and live-virtual-constructive (LVC) interoperability — all framed around the central goal of training transformation.

Sessions promise to examine how synthetic environments can be fused with real-world data, how digital twins can support predictive decision-making, and how the defence community can balance human performance with autonomous capability.

It’s a forward step that mirrors the discussions taking place across aviation, maritime, and land domains: how do we train not just faster, but smarter — and how do we maintain readiness when the pace of technological change itself becomes a variable?

Last year, I/ITSEC showcased an industry defining the future of learning.
This year, it will challenge us to go deeper — to explore how intelligent simulation, human insight, and data-driven systems can combine to deliver the next generation of mission readiness.

The Halldale and MS&T team will be on site, get in touch to arrange a meeting with our team.