Military Training at a Turning Point: Seven Trends Reshaping Defence Readiness

Military training is entering a period of unprecedented change. Reporting from DSET, MS&T's editorial team spoke to defence companies from across the training and simulation sector, and a consistent message emerged: armed forces are being forced to rethink not only what they train for, but how quickly they can develop and deliver training capability.

The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have compressed defence timelines. Procurement cycles once measured in years are giving way to an operational tempo measured in months, with industry under pressure to deliver training solutions that evolve as quickly as the battlefield.

Across the sector, seven themes emerged that are likely to shape the next generation of military training.

1. Speed has become the defining requirement

Perhaps the strongest consensus was that the pace of change itself has become the challenge.

"The word I'd use is agility," said Adam Easton, CEO of defence simulation specialist SimCentric. "Companies have to be innovating faster and developing faster. The gap from new ideas and prototypes through to building has been shrunk dramatically."

That acceleration is being felt throughout the sector.

Chris Waldron, Regional Manager at defence simulation specialist ST Engineering Antycip, said the geopolitical environment has fundamentally changed expectations.

"The recent geopolitical situation, both in Ukraine and now in the Middle East, has been an unwanted wake-up call," he said. "We're trying to now move at a pace that I've never seen in 30 years working in the simulation market."

The challenge is no longer simply producing better training systems. It is producing them quickly enough to remain relevant.

2. Training itself has become a strategic deterrent

Another recurring theme was the growing importance of multinational readiness.

Waldron argued that collective training has strategic value beyond developing military skills.

"People are moving towards wanting to train together because a lack of global training or a lack of NATO-based training sends a signal that we're not prepared," he said. "If we do it right, this is a deterrent. Showing that we are ready is something we probably need to do."

He believes collaboration between nations, NATO and industry is becoming more integrated, reflecting a shift towards interoperable training environments capable of supporting coalition operations.

3. AI is moving from novelty to necessity

Artificial intelligence was impossible to ignore at DSET, but the conversation has matured. Rather than viewing AI as a solution in itself, companies increasingly see it as one of several technologies that can help militaries respond more quickly to changing operational demands.

Steve Yates, Simulation and Training Capability Lead at UK defence company QinetiQ believes the training and simulation community must evolve alongside the technologies reshaping modern warfare.

"The pace of technology development—unmanned vehicles, autonomy, AI—is a revolution in technology. The modelling and simulation community needs to adapt to that and make use of those new technologies, AI in particular where appropriate. AI isn't the answer to all problems. It's the answer to a lot of problems."

His emphasis is on applying AI intelligently rather than indiscriminately, ensuring it supports military decision-making while keeping pace with rapidly evolving operational requirements.

Mission Decisions' Nikita Maksimov, Data Science & Insight Consultant at the defence AI and data analytics specialist, highlighted one practical example already finding its way into defence workflows. His company's natural language query capability enables users to interrogate large collections of military documentation using conversational language, helping planners and instructors quickly identify relevant information while maintaining links back to authoritative sources.

4. Data infrastructure is becoming a capability in its own right

Behind every synthetic environment lies an increasingly demanding data architecture.

Dan Arnold, Business Development Manager at Novatech, a UK provider of specialist computing platforms for defence training and simulation, said one of the biggest shifts is growing demand for sovereign data storage.

As concerns over security and ownership increase, many defence organisations are favouring high-capacity on-premises infrastructure over cloud-based solutions. Control of training data is becoming almost as important as the simulations themselves.

5. Synthetic environments will increasingly replace live activity

While armed forces need training capability immediately, David Head, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Thales Training & Simulation, believes synthetic environments will increasingly underpin the entire defence capability lifecycle.

"Customers need training now. They need equipment now that is available to be delivered and to deliver training for the near term."

Meeting that demand, however, will increasingly rely on the expansion of synthetic environments across the defence capability lifecycle.

"Simulation and synthetic is going to be used a lot more for the development process of equipment, which then, as a by-product, will turn into training equipment that can be used in synthetic worlds."

Head believes the trend is being driven by economics as much as technology. As military platforms become more expensive to acquire and operate, while access to airspace, land and live training areas becomes increasingly constrained, synthetic environments provide a realistic and cost-effective alternative for developing tactics, evaluating new capabilities and preparing personnel.

"As equipment design moves more into the synthetic world, it allows cost-effective training in a realistic environment while keeping it safe, secure and protected."

6. Scale matters as much as realism

If the defining challenge for militaries is to prepare forces more quickly, the next question is how to do so at scale.

Nick Williams, a Senior Sales Director at Varjo, the Finnish developer of military-grade virtual and mixed reality (XR) technology for defence training, believes the industry is responding to a clear operational signal.

"We know there's a signal that we need to train more soldiers, and more effectively, particularly in a resource-scarce environment where real estate or systems aren't simply available. We need to be able to meet the demand of the commander and deliver training for an operational requirement."

For Williams, immersive technologies such as XR are no longer simply about increasing realism. They are becoming a practical way to expand training capacity, allowing armed forces to train larger numbers of personnel despite shortages of ranges, instructors and equipment.

The emphasis is shifting from building isolated, high-fidelity simulators towards creating flexible digital environments that can deliver operationally relevant training wherever it is needed.

7. Drones are changing every discussion

Everywhere, the influence of uncrewed systems was impossible to ignore.

Their impact extends well beyond operator instruction. Drones are forcing militaries to rethink tactics, command structures, electronic warfare and combined-arms training, meaning synthetic environments must evolve just as rapidly.

From technology to readiness

Taken together, these trends point to a broader transformation than the adoption of individual technologies.

AI, XR, synthetic environments, sovereign data infrastructure and multinational interoperability are all responses to the same challenge: defence organisations can no longer afford training systems that arrive after the capability they are designed to support.

The focus is shifting from delivering simulators to delivering readiness, at the speed of modern conflict.

With reporting from Moritz Clauder.