Australia hosted its first Persistent Cyber Training Environment (PCTE) Forum in May, marking a milestone in how Defence delivers cyber training and capability development.
Modelled on a forum held annually in the United States, the event was brought to Australia to enhance the way the ADF employs the PCTE - its primary cyber operations training platform.
The SO1 for Cyber Capabilities, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davenport, said holding the event locally allowed more Defence personnel to benefit.
"It provided an opportunity to engage a broader audience and expose more of our workforce to the platform's capabilities," Lieutenant Colonel Davenport said.
Sixty ADF personnel from Cyber Forces Group joined representatives from New Zealand, Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) and Joint Training Command at HMAS Harman and Fairbairn for the event from May 19-23.
"We extended the invitation to the New Zealand Defence Force, and their participation reflects the growing regional cooperation in cyber training," he said.
Cyber operators built advanced network simulations during the forum, running scenarios such as attacks on maritime systems to test cyber teams under pressure.
'It provided an opportunity to engage a broader audience and expose more of our workforce to the platform's capabilities.'
It was one of several technical workshops conducted by personnel from US Cyber Command, aimed at improving cyber readiness through realistic and scalable environments.
Scenarios can replicate anything from home networks and enterprise systems to classified Defence environments and Defence platform ICT networks.
The forum also allowed users to provide feedback, explore new system features and strengthen collaboration with Five Eyes partners.
It gave insight into upcoming system enhancements and encouraged contributions to future training content and capability development.
Representatives from DSTG and Joint Training Command contributed insights on integrating simulation technologies into broader Defence training frameworks.
Lieutenant Colonel Davenport said the event supported Defence's long-term goal of developing a sovereign cyber capability.
"We're working to expand Australia's access to the PCTE and deepen integration with our US partners through ongoing content development," he said.
