Red 6 wins deal to bring augmented reality to F-16s

WASHINGTON — An F-16 pilot slices through the sky on a training mission when suddenly an enemy jet appears on his helmet’s visor. Then another, then another. Luckily the visor is also displaying friendly fighter jets in formation and, for this exercise, unmanned drones playing the role of loyal wingmen. The fight begins.

The pilot may actually be flying an F-16, but other than that, none of the other aircraft are real — only illusions projected on the pilot’s helmet visor as part of a new augmented reality training capability the Air Force has decided to try out on a couple F-16s.

Following a contract award from the service last week, defense tech firm Red 6 will now be tasked with integrating its helmet-mounted technology, called the Airborne Tactical Augmented Reality System (ATATRS), “initially” into two F-16s over the next 12 to 18 months, Red 6 CEO Daniel Robinson told Breaking Defense.

“The F-16 was obviously high on our priority list, just because it’s such a widely used and exported aircraft around the world,” Robinson said, adding that being selected to add ATARS to the fighter “unlocks a tremendous amount of potential” as the firm’s first operational combat jet candidate. “So it’s a really big milestone for us, and one we’re really excited about.”

ATARS, an optical system that can integrate with helmets pilots wear in the cockpit, essentially projects images of adversary threats like fighter aircraft, missiles and more, enabling pilots to maneuver against them as if they were real. Red 6 says ATARS can depict friendly assets too, like drone wingmen, as the Air Force ramps up its collaborative combat aircraft program. Red 6 has previously been integrated with platforms like the T-38, MC-130 and British Hawk T2 and hopes that air forces around the world will equip their pilots with ATARS technology to aid their training. 

Pointing to the “downward spiral” of pilot shortages across the West, Robinson said air forces are typically constrained by one of two solutions for training. The first is to fly in real time and train against friendly pilots posing as enemy or “red air” targets — a solution that Robinson called “negative training” for the red air foes that further carries considerable costs that limit the ability to scale it up. The second is advanced simulation, which Robinson, a former British Royal Air Force pilot himself, said “in no way emulates the cognitive loads” pilots face in the cockpit. 

Using simulated adversaries projected by ATARS, which can link multiple units together, pilots will be able to train more frequently against a range of threats that can effectively simulate battlefield conditions, Robinson said. On the F-16 specifically, Robinson said engineers will first have to ensure ATARS can communicate with other onboard systems smoothly, then move to “networked, multi-ship training” from basic formations “all the way up to large force engagements in complex environments.” 

Calling ATARS “minimally intrusive,” Robinson said the hardware-software system consists of the helmet-mounted optical system, cabling and a computer in the aircraft. He added that ATARS is meant to be both platform and helmet “agnostic.” 

Should the Air Force be pleased with the F-16 work, it’s possible the service could scale it up for training missions, with Robinson highlighting the goal of landing a program of record. According to Robinson, the combat air force alone would save roughly $10 billion over the Pentagon’s five-year spending horizon known as the future years defense program through ATARS in large part by cutting back on the need for red air flights, while increasing pilot production. 

In the meantime, Red 6 is working to join emerging programs, and has already entered a partnership with Boeing for the Air Force’s T-7 trainer. The firm also announced Thursday that it would team with SNC on a bid for the Navy’s next training jet as well. 

Red 6 is eyeing other applications for its ATARS technology, ranging from the air to the ground spanning military platforms to civilian ones, with Robinson pointing to a patent the company has for visual ADS-B technology, which is used to track flight paths. 

“Watch this space,” he said.