Leonardo and Valiant, the US-based global government services contractor, will pool their expertise to pitch for the Collective Training Transformation Programme’s (CTTP) Army Collective Training Service (ACTS). ACTS will be a 15-year contract which will see around 60,000 troops trained each year in a blend of live, virtual and constructive simulated environments.
With a depth of experience in providing modern collective training and the engineering expertise to develop innovative new approaches to both the training enterprise and soldier experience, Leonardo and Valiant are well-positioned to compete for this programme. The team will put forward plans for a transformative digital infrastructure that will underpin the British Army’s ability to train consistently and measure results, whenever and wherever in the world it is required.
Leonardo is a digital and technology innovator, with the specialist skills required to develop the new technology, architecture and digital capabilities that will be required to successfully deliver the programme. It also brings experience in modern training, including from its International Flight Training School (IFTS), a highly successful strategic partnership with the Italian Air Force which delivers end-to-end training with a core LVC component. Elsewhere the company’s technologies underpin major distributed training operations, including the recent NATO Spartan Alliance and Spartan Warrior exercises.
Valiant is the main provider of large-scale, complex training programmes for the U.S. Army, Air Force, National Guard and Special Forces, delivering aspects of training including military exercise planning, simulations programming, event design and facilitation and lessons learned analysis for hundreds of thousands of U.S. and partner nation soldiers every year. The company has extensive expertise in Live, Virtual, and Constructive (LVC) training, and is able to generate highly realistic, immersive, multi-domain training environments at installations such as the U.S. Army’s Joint Readiness Training Center at Ft. Johnson, where the company has supported the training of more than 1.5 million soldiers.
Leonardo also brings experience in delivering large-scale support programmes for the UK Armed Forces, with notable examples including the Typhoon Total Availability eNterprise' (TyTAN), a 10-year support solution for the Royal Air Force Typhoon fleet being delivered in close partnership with BAE Systems.
Mark Hamilton, Managing Director Electronics UK, Leonardo, said “Together, Leonardo and Valiant have the skills and experience to deliver on the British Army’s requirement for a long-term, large-scale, highly-complex programme. We’re delighted to be forming a close partnership with Valiant, who are already providing huge and successful training programmes for the U.S. Armed Forces. In the UK, Leonardo will be able to bring our onshore expertise and facilities to bear to support our Army in-country, drawing on the best of our nationwide supply chain, as well as UK SMEs and academia, to provide a transformational service.”
Dan Corbett, CEO, Valiant Integrated Services, said “Valiant is the leading provider of training and readiness solutions to the U.S. Army, and a top training services provider for the U.S. Department of Defense. We’re excited to be joining Leonardo, with its strong UK footprint and expertise in digital and data technologies, to support the British Army. The customer-centric cultures of our two companies are very well matched and I believe that the team will prove to become a highly successful enterprise.”
Leonardo and Valiant understand that data and digitisation will be key to delivering the fresh approach to training and readiness called for by ACTS. Leonardo is committed to becoming a leader in the data and digital domain, and signaled its progress in 2022 with the launch of a new data-driven approach to design and manufacturing called ‘digital electronics factories’ at its electronics sites across the UK. In 2023, the company made further progress in collaboration with Microsoft and Accenture, when it deployed the cloud-based Azure platform across its UK business, making it the first major defence contractor in the UK to migrate key applications onto the secure cloud.