Patuxent River, Maryland. (April 12, 2025): The military’s age-old problem, how to evaluate expensive aircraft while training pilots to fly them at the same time. The Navy feels it has found the answer. In this photo by Terri Thomas, a pilot trains in the Joint Simulation Environment (JSE), a computer program originally developed to evaluate the Navy’s F-35 fighter aircraft and is now a vital training tool for pilots.

When the F-35 advanced strike fighter came onto the scene, the military needed a way to test various components under extreme conditions but could not afford to use real thing. Aircraft engineers developed the JSE to evaluate features on the F-35 that were too complicated or advanced to test in an open-air environment. Also, due to the extreme secrecy surrounding the F-35, these evaluations had to be kept away from prying eyes. The solution was a physics-based computer simulation capable of simultaneous interaction among multiple aircraft and enemy surface and aerial entities. Along the way, the Air Force Weapons School realized the JSE could be an excellent tool to provide realistic pilot training.

Today, the JSE is the centerpiece for mission rehearsals and training scenarios to simulate real world battle conditions. Beginning this year, the Air Force plans to establish new JSE facilities at Nellis Air Force Base and to eventually expand to every F-35 base in the country. The Navy has also adopted the JSE for its Fighter Weapons School, better known as “Top Gun.” Eventually, the JSE will incorporate other aircraft including the E-2D Hawkeye, EA-18G Growler, and F/A 18 Super Hornet into its programs.

What began as a tool to evaluate highly sophisticated aircraft has evolved into the Department of Defense’s most advanced digital pilot training program as well.