John Bell is chief technology officer for HII Mission Technologies. Named to this position in August 2024, he is responsible for technical excellence and innovation in growth, product and services delivery, and internal research and development (IR&D). He manages the investments and teams of subject experts needed to ensure that HII remains a thought leader in its markets during the ongoing industrial and operational revolution.  

Bell previously served as the technical director for Mission Technologies’ Live, Virtual, Constructive (LVC) Solutions business group. As an expert in modeling and simulation for training, test and evaluation of advanced weapons systems, he was instrumental in the development and implementation of technology solutions in advanced modeling and simulation, networking, information systems, communications and cybersecurity for global U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force enterprise LVC training programs. He served as the HII’s technical lead for the Navy Continuous Training Environment (NCTE), supporting engineering development and operations since its inception in 2006.

Bell began developing Department of Defense modeling and simulation software systems in 1995 for DARPA’s Synthetic Theater of War (STOW), which later formed the basis for NCTE’s LVC technologies. He began his career as a software developer and systems administrator supporting NASA real-time satellite data collection and monitoring systems.

Bell holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Old Dominion University.