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For years, pilots from different branches have seen how important training and air operations are using synthetic simulators. An environment where different conditions can be recreated and practiced like emergencies, procedures and even use of weapons and tactics in the case of fighter pilots.
The high cost of these systems (it can reach up to 100% of the value of the simulated aircraft), has been overshadowed by the drastic decrease in air accidents in recent decades, allowing a rapid evolution with more capable (and smaller) computers, providing a unique experience with high quality visuals and specific movements with hydraulic arms.
But there is a company in Florida that is determined to change the way future pilots train. They are RED6 (https://red6ar.com) and its innovative ATARS system (Airborne tactical augmented reality system) and are attracting attention in all the countries where they are presented. It is a tool that can project an enemy (of any characteristic) in real time, on the visor of the pilot’s helmet, with which you can simulate a maneuver or practice aerial combat. This allows you to connect that virtual or computerized world with the real one and provide a futuristic high-level training at a much lower cost.
This is very important today, since it is very difficult to recreate the specific capabilities of 5th generation aircraft, beyond the high cost involved in each hour of actual flight to train new generations of pilots. This also adds to the shortage of pilots that exists globally and the challenges of intercommunicating member countries of alliances such as NATO in real time for exercises.
According to the red6 press release, the U.S. Air Force has already contributed $70 million in a 5-year contract for the development of ATARS, with testing scheduled to end in the last quarter of 2022 on T-38 aircraft to then be adapted to 4th generation aircraft such as F-16.
