Simulate. Integrate. Dominate.

Advancing defense testing with distributed LVC environments

A swarm of enemy drones emerges over a crowded coastline. Below, commercial ships navigate busy shipping lanes. Overhead, friendly fighter jets patrol contested airspace. From orbit, satellites track the unfolding situation, while adversary ballistic missiles point toward critical infrastructure.

This isn’t science fiction. It’s the kind of multi-domain, high-stakes scenario defense planners and technologists must be ready for today.

But replicating this complexity in traditional test environments is difficult. Live exercises are costly and rarely capture the interconnected nature of modern warfare. Integrating dozens of simulations – often built by different vendors, using different protocols, and designed for separate domains – only adds to the challenge.

To stay ahead of evolving threats, defense organizations need a new kind of testing ground: a distributed Live, Virtual, Constructive (LVC) environment that’s built for today’s complexity.

The problem with traditional test & evaluation

Modern defense systems don’t operate in isolation, and neither do the threats they face. Yet traditional test and evaluation (T&E) methods often treat systems as standalone capabilities, with simulations built for single platforms or domains.

As warfare grows more interconnected, this approach is hitting its limits. Defense leaders must evaluate how different systems – from missile defense platforms and sensors to unmanned systems and satellites – perform jointly under realistic, high-pressure scenarios.

But building complex, multi-domain simulations isn’t easy. Different agencies and vendors often use unique models, standards, and protocols, making integration challenging. Defense organizations need a better way – one that connects diverse systems on demand, scales to mission needs, and adapts quickly as new threats emerge.

A smarter approach: Astrion’s distributed simulation and LVC environment

Astrion has built a distributed simulation and LVC environment designed for today’s defense realities – where interoperability and rapid adaptation are paramount.

At its core, Astrion’s environment connects simulations that weren’t built to work together. Using distributed simulation standards like High Level Architecture (HLA), it enables diverse systems to exchange information in real time. This allows defense organizations to model full-scale engagements across domains, integrating assets like missile defense systems, unmanned platforms, and satellite networks into a single scenario.

What sets Astrion’s environment apart is its cloud-native, microservices-based infrastructure. Built on containerized services, it scales flexibly to support distributed operations across sites, organizations, or security classifications. This architecture allows for rapid updates, isolated testing of components, and seamless integration of new tools – critical advantages for evolving missions and emerging threats.

Astrion also pairs its simulation environment with advanced analysis tools. These web-native toolsets support kinematics, sensor modeling, and AI/ML algorithm development, giving defense technologists the ability to assess performance, refine systems, and develop new capabilities, all within the simulation environment.

By combining robust interoperability, a scalable cloud-native foundation, and integrated analytics, Astrion’s distributed simulation and LVC environment can help defense organizations create the realistic, adaptable testing grounds they need to combat today’s complex threats.

Real-world applications: Modeling complexity in action

With its distributed architecture and advanced interoperability, Astrion’s environment can support a range of high-fidelity use cases, including:

• Sensor and hardware-in-the-loop testing: Evaluating sensors and weapon systems in complex, multi-domain environment.
• Threat system simulation: Developing and testing adversary threat models in dynamic, realistic conditions.
• Platform and crew training: Providing mission rehearsal and crew training within challenging adversarial scenarios that mirror operational complexity.
• AI and machine learning development: Supporting the training and testing of AI/ML algorithms with accelerated, data-rich simulations across varied operational conditions.

Astrion’s prototype environment has already integrated with key Department of Defense simulation platforms like the Next Generation Threat System (NGTS) and the Advanced Framework for Simulation, Integration, and Modeling (AFSIM) – demonstrating its ability to plug into existing defense testbeds.

Core components are already in use supporting U.S. Navy testbeds and other demonstrations. Our work continues to expand integration with Astrion’s full product suite, with future plans to plug in advanced counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) trainers and modeling tools.

Why this matters now

The threat landscape isn’t getting simpler. Adversaries are deploying advanced systems across domains, using emerging technologies like AI, autonomous platforms, and hypersonic weapons. Testing and evaluating defense capabilities in this environment demands more than legacy tools and isolated simulations.

Distributed simulation environments, like the one Astrion has developed, enable defense organizations to prepare for this complexity. By providing a scalable, integrated testing ground, they allow for rapid iteration, mission-focused analysis, and accelerated readiness.

They also support faster integration into large-scale defense initiatives, like the Joint Simulation Environment (JSE) for the F-35, by providing the interoperability and infrastructure needed to plug into broader test and training architectures.

Equally important, this approach helps defense agencies reduce risk, cost, and time. By simulating complex scenarios in a controlled, data-rich environment, organizations can identify gaps, refine capabilities, and make informed decisions before systems ever reach the field.

Astrion’s distributed simulation and LVC environment represents a critical step toward that future. By enabling realistic, integrated testing across systems and domains, it gives defense leaders the tools they need to innovate faster, make smarter decisions, and stay mission-ready.