Armed Forces: Training
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 68 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of supplementing live training with virtual training environments on the (a) British Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones
All of the Single Services view the potential impact of supplementing live training with virtual training environments positively.
Mixed use of the live environment and simulation should not be thought of as an ‘either/or’ situation, but rather as identifying the optimal blend between them to achieve optimal training outcomes; on rare occasions this will be 100% live, sometimes 100% simulation based - but in most cases it will be a combination of both.
The British Army is committed to enhancing its training capabilities by harnessing the strengths of both live and virtual training. By adopting an innovative and transformative approach, it aims to achieve an optimal blend of training methods that will meet all its objectives. This forward-thinking vision is outlined in the Land Environment Training and Education Simulation Sub-Strategy, which focuses on seamlessly integrating Live, Virtual, and Constructive (LVC) environments by the middle of the next decade.
The Royal Navy has consistently supplemented live training with the use of virtual training environments, underpinned by research over the last 15 years, which has assisted in improving training capacity and quality.
The Royal Air Force has used synthetic training capabilities for operator training for over 30 years.
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