The world of modeling and simulation is highly dynamic with new technologies constantly popping up on the horizon. With this constant flux and change in modeling and simulation, the military training community must be able to integrate the new technology quickly and mentally adapt to the changes it requires.

Recently at MODSIM World 2019, we heard from a few different experts in both the public and private sectors, as well as academia, about updates in modeling and simulation and how these updates are being applied to training our warfighters. Here are some of the key trends they touched on:

Dr. Syed Mohammad, Director of Modeling and Simulation Technology Center, DHS Science and Technology Directorate

Prioritizing cross-agency collaboration – According to Dr. Syed Mohammad, Director of Modeling and Simulation Technology Center, DHS Science and Technology Directorate, the ability to effectively collaborate across different agencies, academia, and industry is crucial to progress in the military training arena.

During the Defense and Homeland Security panel at MODSIM World 2019, he posed these questions: “What can we learn from the agency space? What can we learn from the academic space and the industry space? What can we leverage as much as possible from across the spectrum for our [ideal] price points?” This importance of collaboration is something that has permeated the defense community and remains a priority in the modeling and simulation community to bring the best technology possible to fruition.

Integrating new tech into everyday operation – During the same panel, Dr. Eric Weisel,

Dr. Eric Weisel, Executive Director, Virginia Modeling Analysis & Simulation Center (VMASC)

Executive Director, Virginia Modeling Analysis & Simulation Center (VMASC), spoke to the prevalence of digital transformation in the academic community and why the integration of new technologies into everyday operations is a best practice the defense community should adapt.

Dr. Weisel touched on several different modeling and simulation programs VMASC is currently working on with the Department of Defense that exemplify their digital transformation initiatives and ultimately contribute “to a fleet that’s ready, relevant, and sustainable.” Pushing the defense community towards a more modern training approach via these initiatives is what will ultimately benefit tomorrow’s warfighter.

Dr. Sae Schatz, Director at ADL Initiative

Bringing learning out of the industrial age and into the information age – Dr. Sae Schatz, Director at ADL Initiative, dug deeper into the actual learning process and peeled back the

layers on outdated educational approaches that don’t fit well in an era where the modernization of processes and technology is a priority for the Department of Defense across all branches and missions.

During her keynote address, Dr. Schatz urged attendees to qualify the education of trainees based on their merit and demonstrated competence, as opposed to an amount of time spent training. “It doesn’t matter how somebody learned to achieve the [goal]; it just matters that they achieve it,” she stated. This sentiment really speaks to ongoing conversations in the defense community around more personalized training approaches and how they contribute to training efficacy.

Moving towards an open source approach – In an exclusive interview with Modern

Richard Boyd, CEO of Tanjo AI

Military Training, Richard Boyd, CEO of Tanjo AI, shared his perspective from the private sector about how military training will benefit from a modeling and simulation industry that can overcome the challenges of proprietary solutions and embrace open source technology.

In our conversation, Boyd explained how embracing open source will open up more opportunities for military training and the “democratization of how you contribute to simulated exercises or systems.” By prioritizing collaboration, it’s much easier to bring the best possible simulation and training solutions  to the table without recreating the wheel.

Modern Military Training looks forward to seeing how the modeling and simulation community continues to evolve and shape the training offerings put forth for tomorrow’s warfighter.