‘Touch the Sky’ in Indian Air Force Simulator

India’s Air Force wants to put you in the cockpit of a Sukhoi Su-30 MKI—not the multi-million dollar fighter jet, but its digital avatar. It is planning to create flight simulators in the hope that young Indians will enlist.
 

The Air Force announced July that it plans to develop an “air combat game based on the Indian Air Force.” It plans on Aug. 8 to meet with game developers to build a game for smartphones, and possibly game consoles.
 

 

              A formation  by  Indian Air Force’s Surya Kiran team  at an exhibition in Bangalore, February 14, 2009
 

 

The Air Force, whose motto is “touch the sky with glory,” hopes that the experience of flying a jet fighter on their phones will lure youngsters to sign up.
 

While the transition from iPhone gamer to Top Gun is not immediately obvious, the Air Force is facing a real problem. A.K. Antony said in November that the Indian Air Force faces a shortage of 882 officers.
 

The idea that video games can drive recruitment is not as far-fetched as it may seem.
 

The U.S. Army in 2009 created America’s Army, an online multiplayer game, hoping that experiencing the reality of combat would lead young people to join up. Even Hezbollah has tried its hand at attracting recruits with a video game called Special Force 2, a simulation of the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon.
 

A study by academics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology suggested that video gamers make the best drone operators in pressurized situations because they are good at multitasking.
 

Depending on the content of the game, India’s Air Force simulator could be controversial. The Chinese online game Glorious Mission Online, created in partnership with the People’s Liberation Army, simulates the invasion of disputed islands, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan.
 

No bombing runs over the Line of Actual Control then.
 

The game could work as a recruitment tool, by increasing the “cool quotient” of the Indian Air Force, said Jehil Thakkar head of media and entertainment practice at consulting firm KPMG.
 

He did, however, caution that the quality of the game would be important. “The Air Force though will have to be mindful to make sure that these games are high quality – otherwise the effort could backfire,” said Mr. Thakkar.
 

So, no cutting corners like Al Qaeda, the game’s cheap graphics inspired laughter not fear.

 

 

The Indian Air Force plans to introduce the games for phones powered by Google Inc.’s Android- as well as Apple Inc.’s iPhones and iPads. Should the game prove popular, it could make the game available on consoles, such as Sony Corp.’s Playstation and Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox, as well as on social gaming and networking portals.


Courtesy: The Wall Street Journal