Team Orlando Army Organizations Collaborate with Industry over NGC Software

By Shane Klestinski, Associate Editor

Professionals representing two organizations from Program Executive Office Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) and the Army Futures Command’s Synthetic Training Environment Cross Functional Team (STE-CFT), led a co-development engineering meeting focused on next-generation constructive (NGC) technology in Orlando, Florida, Oct. 4.

This event featured collaborative discussions between private firms and Army entities to integrate ideas for industry’s collective efforts toward establishing a division-level, NGC training capability by fiscal year 2026 for the Army.

John Gillette, project manager for PEO STRI’s Project Manager Synthetic Environment, spoke briefly on NGC capabilities at last June’s Training & Simulation Industry Symposium. He described NGC’s acceleration as the future of constructive training for division commanders, their staff, and lower command levels. Gillette explained that NGC will enable the Army to close command staff training gaps against near-peer threats in a multidomain operations environment, scaled through the Army service component command level.

STE-CFT, alongside PM SE’s Product Director Next Generation Constructive and Product Manager Common Synthetic Environment offices, hosted the discussion attended by NGC best-of-breed vendors. The goal of the meeting was to help establish government objectives for collaborative development of all NGC software.

According to Army Brig. Gen. Scott Woodward, deputy commanding general for the U.S. Army’s Combined Arms Center-Training, NGC will be the simulation engine that will drive exercises preparing corps and division warfighters for near-peer threats. It will replace the current Joint Land Component Constructive Training Capability (JLCCTC) program, which the Army developed 10 to 15 years ago for its divisions and corps. Woodward stated in a recent interview that JLCCTC provides sufficient training for the land and air domains, and “a little” for maritime. However, it provides no training capability for cyber or space, and NGC will better connect all five warfighting domains.