The military is using Valve Index headset for helicopter training

The Kratos Aircrew Combat Mission Training (ACMT) system uses Valve Index to teach military personnel how to operate a combat helicopter, and the experience looks wild!

Kratos Defense & Security Solution Inc., which makes solutions for military organizations, this week revealed a combat helicopter simulation training system that uses virtual reality to put soldiers through a simulated battle experience in an attack helicopter.

Kratos's ACMT solution includes the shell of a helicopter, complete with the switches and knobs you would find in the real thing. It also features Valve Index VR headsets for the whole crew, including one for the pilot, another for the co-pilot, and two more for gunners on each side of the cockpit. Kratos calls is a Multi-Position - Aircrew Virtual Environment Trainer (MP-AVET).

The ACMT system is a true mixed reality experience mapped to the helicopter's real hardware, with a virtual flight and battle experience displayed in the headsets. The system includes hardware that gives trainees force feedback through the seats and weapons and consists of a wind simulation system.

Kratos bundles the whole package as a turnkey solution built inside a shipping container for convenient transport to the client. These systems are not available to civilians, but it's exciting to see VR technology used in such advanced training systems. It's unlikely that games will ever require a helicopter fuselage, but this would make one heck of an arcade experience!