The US and Australia have launched their first agreement to continuously develop a virtual cyber training range.
Both nations signed the Cyber Training Capabilities Project Arrangement on November 3, which enables US Cyber Command to incorporate ADF feedback into their simulated training domain, the Persistent Cyber Training Environment.
Raytheon’s PCTE is a cyber training platform for real-world defensive missions across boundaries and networks. A shared use and development model means it evolves to sharpen readiness in cyber tactics, techniques and procedures.
"This project arrangement is a milestone for US-Australian cooperation. It is the first cyber-only arrangement established between the US Army and an allied nation, which highlights the value of Australia's partnership in the simulated training domain," Elizabeth Wilson, the US signatory and deputy assistant secretary of the Army for defence exports and cooperation, said.
"To counter known and potential adversarial threats, the Army has recalibrated our strategic thinking; we've made smart decisions to refocus our efforts to invest in the new, emerging and smart technologies that will strengthen our ability to fight and win our nation's wars," she added.
Previously, nations’ cyber forces developed cyber training ranges for specific scenarios that would be used once, a process that could take months. The PCTE is a collaborative training environment, enabling cyber forces around the world to develop and reuse already existing content to train at individual and group levels anytime.
"Australia and the US have a strong history of working together to develop our cyber capabilities and train our people to fight and win in cyberspace," Major General Marcus Thompson, Head of Information Warfare in VCDF Group, said. "This arrangement will be an important part of the ADF's training program, and we look forward to the mutual benefits it will bring."
PCTE is one component of the US military's Joint Cyber Warfighting Architecture, an overarching framework that helps guide capability development across all services for a functional, adaptive system of systems.