Cyber Training Environment (CTE)

The Persistent Cyber Training Environment (PCTE) program, managed by the United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), is designed to fulfill the Department of Defense's Cyber Mission Force (CMF) training needs. It provides a standardized training capability that maximizes shared content across all military services. The program emulates network environments and connects with other range environments and cyber training assets, enhancing the overall training experience. The Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) leads the acquisition efforts for PCTE, as directed by the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act.

In FY 2025, PCTE focuses on capability improvements to enhance CMF operations and support mission readiness. Planned enhancements include feature updates and capacity expansion to deliver accelerated schoolhouse training and improved Joint Qualification Requirements (JQRs) training. Efforts are underway to increase mission rehearsal capabilities with improvements such as instructor course management, enhanced notifications and alerts functionality, and automated environment building. PCTE will also integrate scalable enterprise platforms for SECRET/RELEASABLE and TOP SECRET enclaves.

The PCTE platform continues collaborating with stakeholders within the Joint Cyber Warfighting Architecture (JCWA), focusing on integration efforts across the JCWA portfolio as prioritized by USCYBERCOM. It maintains accreditations at all required classification levels to serve DoD CMF user training across all domains. Infrastructure and licensing will be maintained to support the full DoD CMF user base, ensuring readiness objectives are met.

Testing and evaluation efforts in FY 2025 will include integration and validation testing of scalable enterprise solutions supporting USCYBERCOM priorities. These efforts aim to verify capability features' operational status while gathering user feedback to assess effectiveness and suitability. An increase in scalability testing is planned to assess capacity improvements, ensuring that PCTE remains a resilient capability through cybersecurity testing conducted by certified teams.