PEO STRI is the focal point for US Army training and simulation activities as well as providing a route for many overseas sales through its international programme office. Requirements such as the US Army’s Transformation Initiative and Synthetic Training Environment provide challenges for the future but new procurement processes such as Other Transaction Authorities are assisting in helping to manage this period of change.
Located at the Central Florida Research Park (CFRP) in Orlando, the Program Executive Office, Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) is tasked with providing testing, training and information operations solutions for the US Department of Defense (DoD). Working closely with the end-user, industry and academia, most of the organisation’s output is directed towards the US Army.
In many ways, PEO STRI is the envy of the world as it provides a focal point for the US Army’s simulation and training activities and a conduit for discussion and debate for extant and future programmes. Not only does this assist the military in honing its specific training requirements but it also allows industry to target those requirements in a more cost-effective manner. Located alongside the US Navy Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD), US Marine Corps (USMC) Training Systems Command (PMTRASYS) and US Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation (AFAMS) training procurement hubs at the CFRP and adjacent to the University of Central Florida, this group is known as ‘Team Orlando’ and provides a focused point of contact for the DoD’s simulation and training activities.
Orlando is also home to a contracting centre that is part of Army Contacting Command (ACC). According to the Director of ACC Orlando, Col Lisbon Williams, “we sit side-by-side with PEO STRI and advise and provide different types of contracting vehicles for new programmes,” adding “we are a bridge between industry and PEO STRI.”
PEO STRI reports to the US Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA ALT) with its mission of modernising the US Army “as part of the Joint Force, through rapid and timely development and delivery of soldier capabilities that deter adversaries and win our nation’s wars”. PEO STRI is an acquisition office that also serves as a development centre to transition technology and capabilities to meet US Army requirements. An example of this is the work currently being undertaken on the US Army’s Synthetic Training Environment (STE) programme.
As part of its feedback process, PEO STRI has a number of Liaison Representatives (LRs) that form what is known as its ‘global operations team’. LRs “are deployed at military installations around the world and provide a critical communications link between PEO STRI’s project managers/leads and customers in the field.”
Travelling to Orlando for an annual LR wash-up in June 2025, Justin Fortune, Deputy Project Lead for TSO and Global Operations manager explained, “the LRs’ key value is synchronising and implementing PEO STRI’s programmes and products at the regional and installation level(s). They translate high-level programme goals into actionable, locally-coordinated efforts, ensuring PEO STRI products and services align with the realities and priorities of the warfighter to enhance readiness and lethality.”
As mentioned previously, PEO STRI is considered by many in industry as an exemplar of training procurement when it comes to opening communication channels between procurer, user and industry. Each year the organisation takes part in the two-day Training & Simulation Industry Symposium (TSIS) organised by the US National Training & Simulation Association (NTSA) where the four services brief industry on future procurement plans and the status of current programmes.
Other activities such as ‘soldier touchpoints’ where the military have the opportunity of using prototype equipment that is still in development, provide industry with valuable feedback. In July 2025, another initiative saw PEO STRI organise what it referred to as a Tabletop Exchange that drew 130 attendees “to address current challenges to soldier training, performance analysis, and the acquisition process”.
Other opportunities to interact with PEO STRI are provided by the annual Inter-service/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) that is held in Orlando and organised by NTSA along with other smaller events that are scheduled throughout the year. A key part of this process is engagement with Congressional leaders that have duties associated with the military and the nation’s defence and aerospace industries.
Such events are supplemented when PEO STRI staff take part in a technical exchange panel during the monthly Procurement Administrative Lead Time (PALT) events. Normally held at the Central Florida Tech Grove in Orlando. In the latest iteration, PEO STRI staff addressed and answered questions about current priorities, programme updates, and how PEO STRI is supporting the US Army’s modernisation strategy and transformation efforts. Held monthly, these PALT/technical exchanges are designed to improve communication between PEO STRI, Army Contracting Command-Orlando, and industry stakeholders.
This promotion of open dialogue between key stakeholders is in stark contrast to other mature users of simulation and training systems from around the globe.
Structure
With a staff of around 1,100 personnel, PEO STRI currently has a portfolio of more than 260 programmes managed by six teams:
- Project Manager Synthetic Environment (PM SE)
- Project Manager Training Devices (PM TRADE)
- Project Manager Cyber, Test and Training (PM CT2)
- Project Lead Training Aids, Devices, Simulations and Simulators (TADSS) Support Operations (PL TSO)
- Project Lead International Program Office (PL IPO)
- Project Lead Enterprise Transformation & Integration (PL ETI)
Acting as a backdrop to current and future US Army training requirements is the Army Transformation Initiative (ATI) that was elucidated by Dan Driscoll, Secretary of the Army and its CoS, Gen Randy George in their ‘Letter to the Force’ dated 1 May 2025. In essence, ATI offers a vision of future warfare and argues that many of today’s weapon systems are obsolete. The letter states that: “To maintain our edge on the battlefield, our Army will transform to a leaner, more lethal force by adapting how we fight, train, organize, and buy equipment.” This initiative will have a clear impact on the US Army’s future approach to simulation and training.
In essence, ATI looks to achieve three goals: deliver warfighting capabilities, optimise force structure and eliminate waste and obsolete programmes. As far as training is concerned, established multi-billion-dollar training systems such as CAE’s Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (AVCATT) and Lockheed Martin’s Close Combat Tactical Trainer (CCTT) are set to be cut. These will be replaced by STE and specifically, derivatives of the Reconfigurable Virtual Collective Trainer (RCVT) Air (A) and Ground (G) respectively. These devices will use a common visualisation package referred to as One World Terrain (OWT).
Another area gaining traction is a growing emphasis on the US military services working more closely to undertake joint development and eventually, procurements where appropriate. This initiative is also designed to aid interoperability between the services and break down single-service silos. Announced in mid-2025, one such initiative is to establish a joint Army/Navy simulation lab that focuses on maritime operations to foster, “a new level of interoperability and efficiency in cross-service maritime training”.
Commenting on this new enterprise that is expected to begin in 2026, Donna Veil, PEO STRI’s deputy product director of Virtual Training Systems stated that: “From an Army perspective, we are excited for the opportunity to drive change and deliver capabilities through inter-service combined forces with NAWCTSD.”
“This effort fits right in the Secretary of Defense’s Army Transformation Initiative with cross service collaboration to optimize capability while rapidly putting modernized capability into the hands of the warfighter,” Donna Veil added.
Another new initiative to impact PEO STRI’s organisation has been Warfighter – Training, Readiness & Solutions (W-TRS). In effect, this programme replaced the USD 3.53 billion Army TADSS Maintenance Program (ATMP) won by Lockheed Martin in 2018. This sees W-TRS prime contractor, V2X, working with PEO-STRI and take responsibility for supporting over 300,000 TADSS systems at more than 400 locations in the continental US and overseas.
The main change over the previous ATMP contract is that W-TRS encompasses the partial, “addition of Foreign Military Sales (FMS) cases and other Army training maintenance and services contracts around the globe”, said W-TRS Director, Zachary Lindsay in June 2025 following its declaration of Full Operational Capability (FOC).
Foreign programmes
As well as looking after the US Army’s training needs, PEO STRI also manages FMS through its International Program Office (IPO). Its mission is “building partner capacity by providing training systems, training and sustainment in conjunction with PEO STRI PMOs portfolio of products” which is undertaken within three departments; IP Aviation, IP Ground and IP Train, Advise, Assist and Mentor (TAAM).
At present, IPO Aviation has five live programmes, four of which are expected to see a Request for Proposals (RFP) release by the end of 2025. Two represent Contractor Logistic Support requirements for Latvian and Swedish Blackhawk training systems that will be awarded through W-TRS and two for the integration of Tactical Engagement Simulation Systems (TESS) for the Australian and Polish AH-64E programmes. The AH-64E TESS will be awarded as Directed Source programmes to Inter-Coastal Electronics. The fifth programme is for a CH-47F full flight simulator for Saudi Arabia, the RFP being scheduled for release in 1QFY27 as a competitive programme.
As far as IPO Ground requirements are concerned, these are numerous and cover 13 programmes for Tunisia, Poland, Taiwan, Romania and Morocco. Only two are competitive, a Joint Fires Stationary Classroom for Tunisia and a Portable Joint Fires Trainer for Taiwan. The remaining programmes are either directed or sole source with companies such as CAE, Lockheed Martin, DiSTI, Bohemia, Cubic Defense, Theissen and Fidelity Technologies, all set to benefit.
IPO’s TAAM has seven programmes in hand at the time of writing. The countries included in these projects are Georgia, Egypt, Iraq, Romania and Kosovo, with programmes focusing mainly on the provision of new and upgraded software systems.
Domestic needs
The majority of PEO STRI’s activities are centred on the provision of training systems for the US Army. The major requirements that are now in process are detailed below.
PM SE is tasked with providing virtual, constructive and gaming training solutions to operate in concert with live training systems. Considering the Army’s emphasis on ATI and the introduction of STE, PM SE will have to shoulder a significant workload over the coming years. Current active programmes include a six-year enhancement to One Semi-Automated Forces (OneSAF), a constructive simulation software and modelling system and, the development of an associated Next Generation Constructive (NGC) simulation based on STE software. In late July 2025, Battle Road Digital was awarded a USD 40 million contract to develop the core simulation for NGC through an Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement.
The other major PM SE programme is the highly ambitious One World Terrain (OWT) visual environment to provide, “a synthetic/virtual world representation that supports land, air, maritime, and space operations”.
Two remaining major PM SE projects include the Training Simulation Software /Training Management Tool (TSS/TMT) requirement to provide “the capability to conduct multi-echelon Combined Arms Maneuver Training in support of Multi-Domain Operations in a Complex Operational Environment at the point-of-need from Squad through Brigade. This contract will address hardware/software development, production, procurement, fielding, and sustainment”. This USD 350 million plus programme is set to be awarded by 4QFY26.
On the same award timescale is the RVCT-A and RVCT-G. These devices are designed to provide “the interface to the STE with minimum hardware necessary to represent form, fit, and function to enable execution of mission rehearsal, gunnery, and collective maneuver training.”
Following on from the award to Cubic Defense of the Live Training Ranges and Combat Training Centres (LTRaC) programme in April 2025, PM TRADE is now looking at a range of supporting contracts that include range targets, digital range training systems and logistic support.
Turning to PM C2T, this group currently has three major programmes that it is supporting: the Persistent Cyber Training Environment (PCTE); Test Enterprise Network Modernisation (TENM); and the Aerial Target Flight Services (ATFS) requirement. All three contracts are due to be awarded in the 2026/2027 timeframe.
PL TSO’s major programme is focused on Artillery and Chemical Training (ACT). This future contract provides worldwide Life Cycle Contractor Support (LCCS) for extant air defence, field artillery and chemical training systems. Like many US DoD training programmes, ACT features an initial one-year award and four one-year options.
Finally, PL ETI is tasked with developing systems to “enable agile acquisitions, rapid prototyping, and modernization to transform the product line”. One of its goals is to, when possible, use common software across numerous platforms. The group is currently working on seven major projects that include automating after action reviews for use at CTCs and enhancing the storage and accessibility of cloud-based data for future simulations.
Closing thoughts
One of the major benefits provided by PEO STRI is that it is a focal point for industry and a repository of all things ‘training and simulation’. With a staff comprising military and civilian personnel, the organisation provides long-term continuity and a well of experience that provides industry access to discuss current and future requirements. This open communication channel serves PEO STRI and industry in that the former is kept abreast of the latest technical simulation capabilities whilst the latter is provided with insights as to requirements and possible new and innovative desired training methods.
Although working closely with ACC, like all contracting/procurement authorities overcoming friction is always an issue. Some industry members would like to see the procurement process made more simple and although the US ACC is moving to digital systems where appropriate, as well as OTA vehicles, larger programmes are always potentially set for delays due to their costs, the need to provide incontestable contracts and the pervasiveness of ‘risk aversion’ by some contracting staff.
Dr Trevor Nash
