Multimedia and simulation enhancements to a nuclear security experience-based BattleBoard Culmination Exercise

Abstract

Nuclear fuel-cycle operations present critical proliferation risks, yet simulation-based training remains underutilized in defense modeling. Experience-based learning assesses the effectiveness of BattleBoard Culmination Exercises (BBX) in developing simulation-driven capabilities for secure nuclear facility design and transportation. At the University of Tennessee, students participate in BBX scenario simulations where they model a nuclear facility, transportation logistics, and security systems to anticipate threats. This simulates the development of a workforce with the technical and operational capacity to safely and securely manage nuclear technology and materials. Students gained a deeper understanding of the planning required in the design, production, and maintenance of a nuclear facility, learning effective strategies to prevent proliferation. As part of the exercise, students assess deficiencies in their facility designs by applying the core principles of nuclear security—Deter, Detect, Delay, and Defeat. BBX enhances applied modeling and simulation skills essential to nuclear security. By integrating scenario-based simulation into defense education, individual students and peers across the nuclear realm can improve training fidelity, vulnerability identification, and resilience planning. Future work should expand on the use of BBX to increase training effectiveness in identifying, analyzing, and mitigating vulnerabilities within nuclear facility systems.