Navy’s Carrier Air Wings to Master Joint Combat Tactics with At-Sea Simulators

The Navy has introduced a groundbreaking training capability called Simulators at Sea, allowing aviators to conduct joint mission rehearsals while deployed. These connected desktop trainers signify a substantial advance in readiness for American aviators, according to NAWCAD Commander Rear Adm. John Dougherty IV.

“Simulators at Sea brings American aviators a level of readiness our carrier air wing has never experienced while deployed,” remarked Dougherty. “This training is a game-changing advantage that keeps our forces the most dominant in the skies.”

Aviators with Lincoln’s Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9, flying F-35C Lightning II, F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, and E-2D Hawkeyes, are the first to utilize Simulators at Sea. These simulators enable the rehearsal of complex naval missions, including wartime scenarios, without the associated risks and costs of live training.

NAWCAD Joint Simulation Environment Director Blaine Summers highlighted the necessity of this capability. “Naval aviators train extensively working up to deployment, but those skills begin to atrophy the day they pull out of port,” Summers said. “This was a capability gap we had to plug with a fully integrated carrier air wing solution—one we’re ready to scale across the Navy’s fleet of carriers.”

Since its deployment in July 2024, CVW-9 aviators have been training daily with the new simulators. The project, which took less than 12 months to integrate, draws on lessons learned from the 2023 deployment of F-35 simulators on USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). The integration required collaboration from various divisions within the Naval Aviation Enterprise, as well as industry partners.

The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) plans to expand Simulators at Sea to other aircraft carriers in the future. Employing over 17,000 military, civilian, and contract personnel, NAWCAD supports the test, evaluation, research, development, and sustainment of naval aviation capabilities. Based in Patuxent River, Maryland, it also has significant operations in St. Inigoes, Maryland, Lakehurst, New Jersey, and Orlando, Florida.