Pacific Forces Rehearse Joint Combat Through Simulation

U.S. joint and combined forces trained together in a live, virtual, and constructive environment during Valiant Shield 2026, held June 22 to July 1. Live pilots, virtual simulators, and computer-generated forces operated across air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains, linking command nodes across the Pacific.

"We are integrating from Guam to Japan to Hawaii," said Dr. Mike Foust, U.S. Army Portfolio Acquisition Executive-FIRES exercise lead and Valiant Shield 26 technical director. "We are connecting geographically dispersed participants into a common synthetic environment, integrating training capabilities across the Pacific."

The exercise, enabled by U.S. Pacific Command's J7 Pacific Multi-Domain Training and Experimentation Capability, featured an integrated air and missile defense scenario coordinating the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Missile Defense Agency.

A debrief tool called SPEAR let teams review missions using sensor tracks and command data. "We can play back the entire two-hour mission in a 30-minute window," said Foust.

The exercise also marked Japan's first virtual training contribution, using F-35 simulators, and the first live-virtual integration of Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Joint All Domain Artificial Intelligence generated autonomous entities to build a more complex force picture. The Space Development Agency tested its tracking layer satellites as sensors within the Guam Defense System for the first time.

PMTEC also worked with industry partners to conduct cognitive load testing for pilots and battle captains, informing future training needs.