What Is Central Florida Research Park and Why Are So Many Defense Jobs in Orlando?

Orlando is famous for theme parks. Yet sitting beside one of America's largest universities is a 1,027-acre research park containing military organizations, federal employees, engineers, defense contractors, simulation researchers and some of the country's most important military training-technology work.

If you didn't know that side of Orlando existed, you're hardly alone.

But it has been developing here for decades.

First: What Exactly Is Central Florida Research Park?

If you've driven around UCF, you may have passed pieces of Central Florida Research Park without realizing how large the whole thing is.

Central Florida Research Park sits immediately adjacent to the University of Central Florida's main campus. The park currently reports 1,027 acres, 68 buildings, more than 140 companies and more than 9,500 employees.

Those numbers establish the scale, but they don't really explain what makes Research Park unusual.

This isn't simply an office park that happens to sit beside UCF.

Military organizations, university researchers and private industry have developed around a common technical specialty: modeling, simulation and training.

The University of Central Florida describes Orlando as the modeling, simulation and training capital of the world and says Central Florida secures about $7 billion annually in modeling, training and simulation contracts.

That's the first clue to why there are so many defense jobs here.

The Navy Was Working on Simulation Long Before Anyone Called It Virtual Reality

The story starts well before Research Park existed.

The organization now known as the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, or NAWCTSD, traces its history to 1941, when the Navy established an organization dedicated to developing what were then called “synthetic training devices.”

According to the Navy's history of NAWCTSD, its World War II work included devices for aircraft-gunnery training, precision-bombing training and terrain modeling.

The technology was obviously different from today's simulation systems.

The underlying problem wasn't:

That question still drives simulation today.

The Navy organization evolved through several names and missions. During the mid-1960s, it moved from Long Island to Orlando. In 1988, it moved into its present headquarters near UCF, and in 1993 it became NAWCTSD.

Today the Navy describes NAWCTSD as its principal center for modeling, simulation and training systems technologies, supporting training-system research, development, testing, acquisition and product support.

So Why Did This Industry Grow in Orlando?

This is where the story gets more interesting.

The Navy's simulation expertise didn't arrive in Orlando and remain isolated.

Central Florida began building around it.

UCF's historical records show that plans were being considered in 1978 for a university-related research park that would serve as a center for simulation and space- and defense-related research.

UCF initially committed 260 acres. Additional land was later acquired, and Research Park received its first tenant in 1982.

Then Something Powerful Happened: Everybody Got Close to Everybody Else

This may be the simplest explanation for why the cluster became so durable.

The Navy was here.

UCF was here.

Research facilities were here.

Other military organizations involved in simulation, training and acquisition established a presence here.

Defense contractors had good reason to be close to the government organizations developing requirements and acquiring systems.

The university had good reason to develop research programs and technical talent relevant to those employers.

Students gained access to internships and specialized careers.

Graduates became part of the local workforce.

Companies gained access to experienced workers.

And that made the region more attractive for additional work.

Eventually you don't have a collection of unrelated organizations that happen to share a ZIP code.

You have an ecosystem.

Wait — There's Still a Navy Installation in Orlando?

Yes.

This surprises people because the former Naval Training Center Orlando closed decades ago.

But Naval Support Activity Orlando is still very much here.

And physically, it is tiny.

The Navy describes NSA Orlando as a roughly 40-acre facility and arguably one of its smallest installations. Yet it plays an important role supporting military training-system development and other Department of Defense organizations in Central Florida.

That's one of my favorite Orlando contradictions:

You won't see carrier piers.

You won't see fighter squadrons lined up beside a runway.

Much of the important work happens in laboratories, offices, acquisition organizations, engineering teams and contractor facilities.

The Army Is Part of the Orlando Story Too

The Navy isn't the only military service with a major simulation and training presence here.

The Army's Orlando-based organization is now known as the Capability Program Executive Simulation, Training, Test & Threat, or CPE ST3. The organization was formerly known as PEO STRI and received its current name in 2026 as part of Army acquisition reform.

CPE ST3 says its mission is to rapidly develop, deliver and sustain testing, training and information-operations capabilities. Its headquarters remain in Orlando.

The broader Central Florida military-training community also connects Navy, Army, Air Force and Marine Corps organizations with academia, industry and other federal partners.

That collaboration is commonly known as Team Orlando.

Team Orlando says its participating organizations use their proximity and relationships to collaborate across military training and simulation and collectively leverage more than $5 billion in annual obligation authority across the services.

And there's another big piece of the answer.

Defense companies aren't simply coming to Orlando because Florida happens to be a pleasant place to put an office. Their customers, partners, researchers and workforce are already here.

Why Defense Contractors Followed

Imagine your company develops military training software, simulation hardware, synthetic environments, human-performance systems, augmented or virtual reality, cybersecurity tools or another training technology.

Some of the government organizations responsible for identifying requirements, acquiring systems and supporting those capabilities are sitting in Orlando.

So are companies you may partner with.

So are researchers.

So is a major university producing technical graduates.

Being nearby becomes useful.

The Navy itself cites Central Florida's concentration of military acquisition and research organizations, UCF and the region's simulation-based entertainment industry as advantages of its Orlando location.

That last connection is particularly interesting.

Simulation technology does not live entirely inside the defense world. Gaming, virtual environments, visualization, human performance, artificial intelligence and immersive technologies can cross industry boundaries.

Central Florida has several of those worlds colliding in the same place.

What Kinds of Jobs Does This Ecosystem Create?

This is why the phrase “defense jobs” can be misleading.

People sometimes picture active-duty military personnel or manufacturing weapons.

Much of the workforce around Research Park looks very different.

• systems engineers;
• software developers;
• cybersecurity professionals;
• modeling and simulation specialists;
• program and project managers;
• acquisition and contracting professionals;
• instructional-system specialists;
• human-performance researchers;
• test and integration engineers;
• data and artificial-intelligence professionals;
• federal civilian employees;
• university researchers;
• contractor support personnel; and
• military veterans beginning second careers.

The military mission helps anchor the cluster.

The employment ecosystem surrounding it is considerably broader.

UCF Is a Big Reason the Cluster Keeps Reproducing Itself

This is where the university relationship becomes particularly important.

Research Park wasn't built across town from UCF.

It's next door.

That proximity creates opportunities for university research, industry partnerships, internships, technology transfer and career development.

UCF's Institute for Simulation and Training is itself located in Research Park.

The result is a talent loop that is difficult to reproduce quickly somewhere else:

Research creates expertise. Employers create opportunities. Students become graduates. Graduates become employees. Experienced employees attract more employers and programs.

A mature employment cluster needs more than companies.

It needs a way to keep producing talent.

Why Veterans and Military Retirees Fit Into This Story

This part is particularly familiar to me.

Military careers produce people who understand systems, programs, operations, training, technology and the rather unique way the Department of Defense gets things done.

Some leave the service with direct experience in modeling and simulation. Others bring technical skills, acquisition knowledge, leadership experience or security clearances that transfer naturally into the defense industry.

Put a large defense-and-training ecosystem in Central Florida and it isn't surprising that military retirees and veterans become part of the workforce.

My Veteran REALTOR® in Orlando page explains more about my own transition from a Navy career into the civilian world and, eventually, real estate.

Taking One of Those Jobs? That's Where the Real Estate Question Begins

Understanding why Orlando has so many defense and simulation jobs answers one question.

Accepting one of those jobs creates another:

Where should you live?

And that is not as simple as drawing a circle around Research Park.

Your onsite schedule matters. Your spouse or partner's job matters. SR 417 and SR 408 matter. Whether you prefer Seminole County, established East Orlando, a planned community or more space farther east matters.

That's why I built a separate guide specifically around the housing decision: Moving to Orlando for a Defense, Simulation or Research Park Job: Where Should You Live?

This article explains why the employment cluster exists. That guide tackles what happens when you actually need to move here.