Air Force unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) pilots use virtual reality for training and mission rehearsal
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. – The U.S. Air Force has started using virtual reality to get hunter-killer unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) pilots and sensor operators up to speed at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. Stars and Stripes reports. Continue reading original article
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
7 June 2021 -- Trainees at the base have begun using Oculus Quest 2 headsets that enable them to simulate being in a unmanned aircraft cockpit, and watching instructors remotely pilot an MQ-9 Reaper aircraft, Air Force officials say.
Reapers, made by General Atomics of San Diego, can carry 3,000 pounds of bombs and missiles, and first saw combat in Afghanistan in 2007 and Iraq the following year. They’ve conducted missions there and in other parts of the Middle East and Africa.
The virtual reality technology powering the Reaper training is from Moth + Flame, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based company that has worked with the Air Force since 2019.
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John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics
