Military Simulation and Training Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast (2026 - 2031)

Global Military Simulation and Training Market Trends and Insights

Aerial Segment is Expected to Experience the Highest Growth During the Forecast Period

The increasing adoption of newer aircraft that incorporate complex technologies in the military may require pilots to familiarize themselves with the latest equipment and systems. The growing adoption of advanced aircraft is also driving demand for military aerospace simulation and training solutions, enabling pilots and aircrews to develop operational skills in realistic and controlled environments. In such situations, providing hands-on experience may be difficult due to high-cost involvement. In such cases, the simulators act as the preferred option.

For instance, the operating cost of the USAF's F-35A is estimated to be about USD 44,000 per flight hour. In this regard, the F-35 pilots are first trained on simulators instead of the actual aircraft, which helps in cost-cutting. Pilots are typically trained for about 30 hours on the F-35 full-mission simulators before getting airborne on their first sortie in the F-35.

Lockheed Martin Corporation is also planning to connect full-mission simulators in the US and the UK through a software upgrade, allowing the Air Force pilots in these countries to virtually train with one another across international borders. Furthermore, the US Air Force (USAF) aims to deploy and connect more full-mission simulators in the years to come. Such initiatives also help the militaries increase interoperability without conducting joint military exercises on actual aircraft.

With the interest of the defense departments of major countries in utilizing flight simulator training, the demand for simulators that cater to the needs of aircraft and military pilot training is skyrocketing. As a result, new purchases and product innovations to supply the most advanced military aircraft training activities have been taking place in the market.

Similarly, in August 2022, Northrop Grumman Corporation & Terma A/S signed an MoU to collaborate on electronic warfare simulation & training opportunities in Northern Europe. Fourth & 5th generation aircraft will likely receive realistic air combat training due to the company’s simulation & training capabilities.

North America Held the Largest Market Share

In 2022, the US defense expenditure accounted for USD 877 billion, wherein a major share was invested towards the procurement of several newer generation military vehicles across all platforms amidst the ongoing race for technological superiority. Simultaneously, the country is investing in the development and procurement of related simulator solutions, which is expected to drive market growth in the region. Although the US Air Force has been procuring simulators on a large scale for several years, the US Navy is investing heavily in simulation to improve its navigation training, and it budgeted for new integrated bridge simulators to fill the capacity gaps.

The efforts to increase ship simulator capacity are further supported by constructing new buildings in San Diego and Norfolk to house multiple simulation facilities. The Royal Canadian Air Force plans to combine two training programs under a single, multibillion-dollar project, the Future Aircrew Training Program (FAcT), where the number of pilots trained annually will likely increase.

Furthermore, the government of Canada, with plans to implement fire training simulators for military uses, offered to stand VirTra, Inc. in December 2021. As per the offer, the company was expected to supply advanced military training simulators to the country's land, marine, and air force divisions of the military. Such developments are expected to drive the growth of the market in the North American region during the forecast period.

Market Opportunities and Future Outlook

Long-duration, service-led collective training programs are taking clearer shape, with requirements that extend beyond one-off device delivery. These programs integrate live, virtual, and constructive environments and rely on persistent digital tooling, ongoing content updates, and analytics rather than a single equipment rollout. In the United Kingdom, the Army Collective Training Service (ACTS) has been structured as a 15-year arrangement under the Omnia Training consortium, which favors suppliers that can deliver end-to-end collective training digitalization and sustainment at scale.

In the United States, demand signals are also pointing toward modular, interoperable training software and data-driven architectures, supported by initiatives such as the US Army CPE ST3 Army Training Verse Innovation Prize Challenge (Digital Enterprise Engineering Environment, DE3) and a stated movement toward a marketplace approach that supports multi-vendor capability increments. Platform-specific modernization adds another channel for demand, as advanced aircraft and armored fleets generate new simulator content, image generation, and networked training requirements for allied forces. For example, CAE secured a US Air Force contract to deliver F-16 Block 70 training simulators for Taiwan, while Rheinmetall received a Bundeswehr award to supply Puma infantry fighting vehicle training simulators, reinforcing demand for high-fidelity, platform-representative training systems with through-life support. Within Europe, aviation training and simulation investment continues to be shaped by evolving standards and rulemaking, including EASA regulatory activity in 2025-2026, which supports qualification work, device upgrades, and compliance-ready training environments for military-adjacent aircrew training pipelines.