I/ITSEC 2022: QinetiQ throws its hat into the British Army’s CTTP ring

QinetiQ has formed Team Paladin with KBR and PA Consulting to compete for the British Army’s Collective Training Transformation Programme (CTTP), the partners announced on 28 November at I/ITSEC 2022 in Orlando, Florida.

QinetiQ said that by drawing on the team’s collective expertise and experience in designing and integrating training capabilities and implementing digital, data-driven transformative solutions for defence customers, Team Paladin is well positioned to work with the British Army.

The UK MoD is set to announce the strategic training partner for the programme in 2025. During the next two years, QinetiQ said, Team Paladin will work with broader industry to refine and tailor its offering to meet the army’s evolving requirements.

When Shephard asked what each partner would bring to the bid, QinetiQ’s global campaign director for training and mission rehearsal Christina Balis said that first and foremost Team Paladin is carrying a common vision and a truly collaborative approach.

‘Building a long-term trusted relationship with the British Army starts with forming a strong, cohesive industry team that combines the right capabilities, collaborative behaviours and long-term commitment to the programme,’ she added.

'Building a long-term trusted relationship with the British Army starts with forming a strong, cohesive industry team that combines the right capabilities.'— Christina Balis, QinetiQ’s global campaign director for training and mission rehearsal

QinetiQ has experience delivering complex collective training systems for the UK. This includes a recent contract awarded to the company (in partnership with Inzpire and BAE Systems) by the RN to deliver the next concept demonstration phase of the synthetic training solution Platform Enabled Training Capability (PETC).

Phase 2 of PETC will allow the RN to undertake combined simulated warfare training as a carrier task group while placed at different locations.

Talking about KBR’s technological input into the CTTP bid effort, the company’s director strategic development for land environment Geoff Maple said: ‘Building on our joint global scale, the experience of the front line, dedicated collective training and data-driven approaches, we will offer soldier-focused support to the future of the British Army’s collective training.’

Paul Finley, PA Consulting's public sector defence lead, added: ‘We are excited by the opportunity to bring end-to-end innovation, a wealth of sector expertise and our disruptive digital and data capabilities, in support of the British Army’s vision of future collective training needs.’

The partners stressed that the 15-year (with an initial ten-year contract) CTTP will be a constantly evolving effort that will require an evolving approach as well.

Balis said that although this may change in the future, the programme will require budget prioritisation and resource optimisation. She added that, just like in other areas of defence, the team delivering CTTP will face cultural and organisational challenges to implementing new technologies.

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