"Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Center for Experimentation and Simulation (ACES) offers a single, integrated modeling and simulation (M&S) platform that unifies assets, data, and scenarios so NATO allies can plan, rehearse, and assess multinational operations with unprecedented fidelity, speed, and interoperability," Raashi Quattlebaum, Vice President, Land & Maritime Solutions, Lockheed Martin, writes.
Fragmented simulation and the alliance’s readiness
The alliance, the source argues, faces a persistent technical gap: while NATO has advanced joint doctrine and communications, "the simulation and experimentation layer remains fragmented." Member militaries still rely on legacy tools, disparate data sets, and siloed test environments, complicating the alliance’s ability to rehearse joint operations and to sharpen decision‑making in realistic, data‑driven settings. The piece frames this fragmentation as a direct constraint on the alliance’s capacity to respond to "emerging threats, hybrid warfare, and rapid technological change."
Lockheed Martin’s ACES: an integrated M&S platform
Lockheed Martin positions ACES—the Advanced Center for Experimentation and Simulation—as a single, unified environment intended to replace those stovepipes. According to the author, ACES features an open architecture that allows any platform across "air, land, sea, cyber, or space" to "plug and play" within a shared virtual arena. The platform is described as supporting dynamic federation, so nations may contribute live or synthetic models in real time, either by integrating existing simulation capabilities or by adding newly acquired tools.
Technical capabilities: plug-and-play, rapid rerun, and the digital twin
The article emphasizes several technical capabilities ACES brings to multinational exercises. Scenario authoring tools create a common workspace for joint exercise planning and allow multinational staff to co‑create campaign‑level exercises. A "rapid rerun" capability reportedly enables minor adjustments to force composition or rules of engagement to be evaluated within minutes, shortening the planning‑to‑execution cycle. ACES also supports insertion of emerging technologies—hypersonic weapons, autonomous swarms, directed energy systems—alongside legacy platforms for "what if" analyses that link performance data to logistics and sustainment through lifecycle cost modeling.
Commanders are said to benefit from a "real‑time digital twin of the battlespace" that overlays live sensor data with simulated adversary actions. Interactive decision trees allow assessment of alternative courses of action without committing physical assets, and automated after‑action reviews generate performance dashboards that produce "verifiable readiness metrics across the alliance."
What this means for NATO commanders, member states, and Lockheed Martin
- NATO commanders: ACES is presented as a tool for rehearsal and operational awareness, enabling commanders to connect air, land and sea assets, run, pause and rerun scenarios, and evaluate joint performance before deploying forces.
- Member states and procurement leaders: The platform’s open architecture and plug‑and‑play model are described as paths to integrate national simulation capabilities with coalition exercises while protecting "sovereign data"—a feature the author highlights as critical for coalition trust and information sharing.
- Lockheed Martin: The company frames itself as prepared to partner with NATO and member states to "operationalize ACES," positioning the platform as a means to knit together assets, data, and expertise across the alliance.
Operational implications and alliance cohesion
The source makes several operational claims about ACES’ contribution to a collective defensive edge. By delivering a shared sandbox that unites live, virtual and constructive training, ACES is described as shortening the feedback loop between concept, prototype and fielding, reinforcing alliance doctrine, reducing misinterpretation, and building trust among partners. The piece argues that these capabilities will let NATO "anticipate and outpace emerging challenges" and "ensure the alliance’s collective edge remains sharp, resilient, and adaptable."
Operationalize ACES — a named next step
The author concludes by stating that Lockheed Martin "stands ready to partner with NATO and its member states to operationalize ACES." That phrasing frames the immediate, concrete next step as a partnership and an integration process: moving ACES from a platform proposition to an exercised, coalition‑wide capability. The account leaves the timeline, governance arrangements among the 32 member states and partners, and specifics of sovereign‑data protections as implementation details to be defined as the platform is taken into service.
Original story: https://breakingdefense.com/2026/06/how-integrated-modeling-and-simulation-accelerates-europes-defensive-edge/
