Capability Program Executive Simulation, Training, Test and Threat (CPE ST3)
CPE ST3 buys how the Army trains and how the Army tests. Simulators, instrumented ranges, synthetic training environments, targets, threat representations, and the instrumentation that makes a test event measurable. It is the former PEO Simulation, Training and Instrumentation, redesignated 6 February 2026.
| Type | Capability Program Executive (CPE) |
| Headquarters | Orlando, FL |
| Capability Program Executive | Christine_Beeler (BG, Christine A. Beeler) |
| Deputy CPE | Lee_James_III (SES) |
| Senior Enlisted Advisor | Chuck_Houston (SGM) |
| Subordinate to | PAE_C2_CC2 (Aberdeen_Proving_Ground, MD) for portfolio direction; ASAALT for acquisition authority |
| Scale | More than 1,100 soldiers, civilians and contractors; roughly 300 active programs; about $2.6B annual acquisition budget |
| Redesignated | 6 February 2026, from PEO_STRI |
Parent PAE correction
The ASAALT org chart of 23 March 2026 grouped this office under PAE_Layered_Protection_CBRN by inference. The reform documentation and 2026 reporting place most of the former PEO STRI under PAE_C2_CC2 (Command and Control and Counter-C2). Treat PAE C2/CC2 as the parent unless a newer org chart says otherwise. “Instrumentation” was dropped from the title but remains in the portfolio under the test domain.
Mission
Deliver simulation, training, test, and threat capability for the Army and the joint force. That spans live training instrumentation at the combat training centers, virtual and constructive simulation, the Synthetic Training Environment, test range instrumentation, targets, and the threat systems used to stress friendly capability in test and training.
No Title 10 section establishes this office by name. Army capability program executives are designated by the Army Acquisition Executive, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology at 10 U.S.C. § 7016(b)(5)(A), acting under the Secretary of the Army’s authority to organize the Department of the Army at 10 U.S.C. § 7013(b)(2), and the portfolio acquisition executive role such an office performs is defined at 10 U.S.C. § 1732, added by Pub. L. 119-60 in December 2025, as explained at Title_10_Structure.
Subordinate Organizations
- PM_Simulation (PM SIM) — activated 12 March 2026 by merging PM Synthetic Environment and PM Cyber, Test and Training; led by Natashia_Coleman (COL). Product lines include:
- PdM Fielded Training Systems — IEWTPT, SOF aviation and SOF training, OPFOR
- PdM Cyber Ranges and Training — PCTE
- PdM Simulated Weapon Systems — RVCT, Squad Virtual Trainer, IVAS Simulation and Virtual Training
- PdM Common Synthetic Environment — One World Terrain, Training Simulation Software
- PdD Next Generation Constructive — NGC, OneSAF, Games for Training
- PdL Constructive Simulation Support — JLCCTC, LVC-IA, SIMCI
- PM_Training_Devices (PM TRADE) — the live training and training device portfolio: PdM Combat Training Instrumentation Systems (CTC-IS, JPMRC-IS, HITS, Shoot House), PdM STE Live Training Systems (I-MILES, rapid-fielding mortar, Stinger and grenade trainers), PdD Virtual Training Systems (family of maintenance trainers, Abrams, Bradley and Stryker trainers, HIMARS and Paladin trainers), PdM Targetry and Threat Systems, TReX II, CTIA
- PL_Threat_Systems_Management_Office (PL TSMO) — activated at Redstone_Arsenal 23 March 2026; threat representation, EW threat, threat UAS, foreign materiel exploitation support
- PL_Training_Support_Operations (PL TSO) — the services side: crew, CTC and ranges, live, mission command training, and the large training-support contract vehicles including ACT, ARCENT, TADSS/ATMP, FS XXI, and TRIOSS
Program Element families
- 0604121A Synthetic Training Environment
- 0604715A Non-System Training Devices
- 0604742A Constructive Simulation Systems Development
- 0604760A Distributive Interactive Simulations
- 0604256A Threat Simulator Development and 0604258A Target Systems Development
- 0605718A Army Modeling and Simulation X-Cmd Collaboration
- 0602785A and 0603007A Manpower, Personnel and Training Technology
- Test infrastructure shared with ATEC: 0605601A Army Test Ranges and Facilities, 0605602A Army Technical Test Instrumentation, 0604759A Major T&E Investment
See Program Elements and Budget Activities.
Why it matters
Orlando is a market, not just an address. The Team Orlando cluster concentrates the modeling and simulation industry in one place, and I/ITSEC each December is the industry day for the whole domain.
Services and software dominate the spend. Roughly 300 programs against a $2.6B annual budget, much of it in training support services, courseware, instrumentation operations and maintenance, and simulation software sustainment. Vehicles like TRIOSS, TADSS/ATMP, and FS XXI are large multiple-award services contracts and the accessible entry point for mid-tier firms.
Commercial game engines and AI are being pulled in deliberately. The office has stated an emphasis on open architectures, commercial gaming technology, agentic AI, digital twins, and immersive augmented reality, and ran an Army Training Verse innovation prize challenge in 2026 for digital engineering modernization. This is one of the few Army portfolios where a commercial game or simulation company has a credible path.
Threat systems is a niche with few competitors. PL TSMO buys threat representations, threat UAS, and EW threat emitters. Small, technical, and persistently funded.
Test instrumentation is a hidden line. Every program in every other CPE needs instrumented test. The instrumentation and targetry lines here are demanded by ATEC and the ranges, not by the training community.
See Also
- PAE_C2_CC2 — parent portfolio
- PEO_STRI — predecessor organization
- ATEC — the test and evaluation command that consumes much of the instrumentation
- T2COM — the training and requirements demand signal, through Combined Arms Command and the Centers of Excellence
- CPE_C2_Information_Network — sister CPE
- Synthetic_Training_Environment, Project_Convergence
- ASAALT, Program Elements, Defense_Acquisition_System