Introduction to a New Era of Military Pilot Training
For a few years, training military pilots to fly, fight, and win has been done on the bottom inside simulators and within the air actually flying. However, such flying could be very costly to taxpayers and doesn’t accurately replicate modern-day threats. The current methods of coaching against outdated fighter jets aren’t any longer sufficient, and using modern-day F-35s or F-22s to coach against is solely too costly.
The Problem with Current Training Methods
The United States Air Force (USAF) is facing a major shortage of pilots, with a requirement gap of about 75 percent. The current methods of providing adversary air, also often called "Red Air," are unable to simulate near-peer adversaries corresponding to China’s J-20 or Russia’s Su-57. The USAF alone is 2,000 pilots short and spending $1.2 billion per yr to offer adversary air that’s unable to simulate modern-day threats.
The Solution: Augmented Reality (AR) Technology
Red 6, a Florida-based defense tech company, is developing an Airborne Tactical Augmented Reality System (ATARS) to boost training capabilities with highly accurate simulation within the air. ATARS uses AR technology, which is different from virtual reality (VR) in that it allows pilots to see the true world while adding synthetic objects, corresponding to aircraft, into it. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the best way military pilots are trained.
How ATARS Works
ATARS allows pilots to take off, look out the cover, and see an aircraft in wide-field of view, in full color and high resolution, which is in a position to maneuver against them. The system is made up of 4 key modules: one to trace the aircraft, one to trace the top, one to create the wide-view AR, and one which is the predominant brain of all the pieces. The cockpit itself is amazingly modern, with a simulated tactical display providing information on position relative to the goal.
Real-World Applications
Red 6 is developing ATARS by flying an experimental piston-powered Berkut because the test platform. The USAF has recently signed a $70 million contract with Red 6 to put in the AR right into a T-38 training jet inside the following yr. The goal is to validate that it’s secure and evaluate it in their very own scenarios. Ultimately, the plan is to include ATARS into F-16s and make it an operational a part of USAF pilot training inside the following five to seven years.
Expanding the Technology
While Red 6 began with addressing USAF combat pilot training problems, the corporate intends to totally expand from there to a Joint Augmented Battle Space aiding all branches of the U.S. military. The possibilities are limitless, and the technology has the potential to be utilized in quite a lot of applications, from training to actual combat missions.
Conclusion
The development of ATARS by Red 6 is a game-changing innovation that has the potential to revolutionize the best way military pilots are trained. With its ability to simulate modern-day threats and supply highly accurate training, ATARS is a vital tool for the USAF and other branches of the military. As the technology continues to evolve and expand, it’s likely that we’ll see a major improvement within the effectiveness and preparedness of military pilots, which is crucial in today’s fast-paced and ever-changing world of military aviation.
