Northrop Grumman has secured a $225-million contract modification to design and deliver advanced training systems and courseware for the US Navy’s E-130J aircraft under the service’s Take Charge and Move Out recapitalization effort.
The award, issued under an existing cost-plus-incentive-fee contract, will fund full development of training materials and simulation tools for the E-130J platform — a critical component of airborne early warning and command and control capabilities.
Work is slated to occur primarily in Florida and Oklahoma through March 2027, and is funded with fiscal year 2026 research, development, test, and evaluation money.
Training systems in this program are expected to encompass classroom instruction, live-fire rehearsal content, and interactive instruction that mirrors real mission environments, helping prepare crews for complex roles in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations.
Modernizing US Training Systems
In parallel with the navy’s investment in E-130J training systems, the US Department of Defense has moved forward with several other notable modernization efforts in military training technology in recent years.
In January 2024, the US Air Force awarded HII’s Mission Technologies a $195-million contract to develop the Joint Training Synthetic Environment, a synthetic live-virtual-constructive training environment that integrates exercises across multiple services and combatant commands.
By August 2024, SAIC won a $120-million contract to support advanced tactical training for the US Navy Pacific Fleet, including fleet synthetic training and live-virtual-constructive wargaming exercises designed to enhance readiness for fleet operations and joint exercises.
The army has also enhanced its virtual training capabilities with an upgrade to its Virtual Battlespace 4 system, selected in 2025 to provide improved desktop-based simulation, better networking, and more immersive mission rehearsal tools under the Games for Training program.
Meanwhile, in March 2025, HII secured another contract worth $182 million for sustainment work on US Air Force F-16 mission training devices, ensuring that critical simulators continue to support pilot readiness across the Air National Guard, Navy reserve units, and active duty forces.
