A virtual reality simulation system costing £300,000 is being trialled by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in an effort to make combat training more immersive and realistic. The'first-person shooter' -style combat game is being developed under contract with the UK Ministry of Defence by the veteran-run software company SimCentric. The simulation software -- dubbed'SAF-TAC' -- is built on top of Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4, which also powers the popular video games Fortnite and Borderlands 3. SAF-TAC features bespoke training scenarios, high-definition surround sound, high-fidelity graphics, haptic feedback and intuitive gesture-based controls. SAF-TAC will also be put through tests this year with members of the British Army and the Royal Marines, alongside the air force. It is intended that the virtual simulator will become a routine part of the armed forces' wider training programme to support and enhance real-life exercises.

A recently-developed AI program dubbed ALPHA is being described as the most aggressive and responsive flight simulator to-date, having outwitted a veteran fighter pilot with thousands of hours of flight experience. Since the 1980s, a fighter pilot's first experience of flying a plane has typically been in the confines of a computer combat simulator that would teach them the hazards of in-flight combat without fears of any causalities. In 2016, this method remains ever-present and more important than ever, with programmers and researchers regularly updating a simulator's AI to help it prove more of a challenge to skilled human pilots. Now it seems those pilots have finally met their match. A University of Cincinnati (UC) graduate, Nick Ernest, has developed his own AI – dubbed ALPHA – as part of his own start-up, Psibernetix, with aims of making it a research tool for crewed and uncrewed teaming in a simulation environment. Having wiped the floor with other AIs earlier last year, a newer version of ALPHA has been pitted against retired United States Air Force Colonel Gene Lee, who has been besting combat simulator AIs since the 1980s.