USAFWC breaks ground on Virtual Test and Training Center

  • Published
  • By Rebekah Mattes
  • 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

Gen. Mike Holmes, Air Combat Command commander and Maj. Gen. Peter Gersten, U.S. Air Force Warfare Center commander, broke ground Feb. 8 on the Virtual Test and Training Center (VTTC), which will enable full-spectrum readiness through next-generation battlespace environments.

The live-virtual-constructive training environments will equip the next generation of lethal, world-class Airmen and warriors.

“The Virtual Test and Training Center will provide a crucial capability for today’s warfighters to experience, train and dominate today’s threats, across multiple domains through a combination of live, virtual and constructive environments,” said Gersten. 

Operators from across platforms and domains will have the capability to plan, brief, execute and debrief together in one location, according to Col. Dean Caldwell, VTTC director. 

“The center will have a full complement of Air Force fighter aircraft simulators, and a tactical command and control simulator. We’ll also house space and cyber missions to ensure multi-domain integration required for the high-end, near-peer fight outlined in the National Defense Strategy,” said Caldwell.

In addition, the VTTC offers a simulator capability that will augment live fly training, said Caldwell.

“It’s the first step toward a truly blended solution, in which the simulators can participate in the same scenario as aircraft flying over the Nevada Test and Training Range or in a completely separate scenario somewhere globally,” said Caldwell.

Finally, the VTTC training allows warfighters to adapt to the future fight, while strengthening security on the home front. 

“Looking to the future, exercises won’t be exclusively live-fly,” said Caldwell. “Our range spaces are finite, and as we bring new capabilities online, we’re outgrowing them. What’s more is that with the combination of live, virtual and constructive training, we’re actually bolstering operational security through innovative uses of live, virtual and constructive technologies.”

The $38 million VTTC ops facility is scheduled to open in the summer of 2021.

The USAFWC is the Air Force’s focal point for development, production and evolution of integrated, multi-domain combat capabilities for major commands and combatant commanders. The mission of the USAFWC is to lead and influence advanced readiness for the high-end fight through air, space and cyberspace combat capabilities.

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