{"id":58904,"date":"2019-12-03T19:27:36","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T19:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/12\/03\/the-us-air-force-wants-to-network-all-its-weapons-together-will-simulators-be-included\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:24:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:24:16","slug":"the-us-air-force-wants-to-network-all-its-weapons-together-will-simulators-be-included","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/itsec\/2019\/12\/03\/the-us-air-force-wants-to-network-all-its-weapons-together-will-simulators-be-included\/","title":{"rendered":"The US Air Force wants to network all its weapons together. Will simulators be included?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 As the U.S. military prepares for the release of its fiscal 2021 budget request<\/a>, Air Force leaders have made clear that a massive financial hike is needed for multidomain command-and-control efforts<\/a> to connect weapon systems across the joint force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of that initiative, it will also be critical for the military to link together simulators so service members can replicate combat on a massive scale, Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Stephen Wilson said during a speech Tuesday at the Interservice\/Industry, Training, Simulation and Education Conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know you spent a lot of time yesterday about how to connect and integrate simulators from across our various weapons systems. I can’t overstate how important that is,\u201d he said. \u201cIndividual weapon system simulators can help our men and women become proficient tacticians, but it\u2019s their ability to integrate and connect that will differentiate us against a peer threat. And no one is going to win alone.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here for more from I\/ITSEC.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilson said the Air Force plans to spend \u201ca lot of money in this next five-year defense plan\u201d on multidomain command and control, but he did not detail how much funding the service might ask for, or whether that sum will include investments in technology to network together simulators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The service is still in the earliest stages of identifying how to connect its aircraft and space assets with the joint force to fight advanced, near-peer threats like Russia and China. The same goes for its aircraft simulators, which are largely detached from each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\t