Both the Army and the Navy need help when it comes to training their soldiers. And they're looking towards virtual training programs to help accomplish said goals, and who will help produce such technology? The world of video games, naturally.
Polygon reports that both branches of the US military are looking to award contracts for PC-based game technology that can fill their needs. According to Brian Waddle, vice president of sales and marketing of Havok, which is a physics engine that is used in many games today, the military still uses outdated simulation software.
As a result, soldiers do not take the training exercises very seriously, because they aren't up to snuff to what they're playing in their barracks. As a result, the Army is currently holding a competition to replace Virtual Battlespace 2, which they have been using since 2007 (and which sports visuals that definitely shows its age). The prize is $44.5 million over five years for a FPS with better graphics, the ability to move a large group of players across large area, just like in an MMO, and the ability to play across PC and mobile devices.
Meanwhile, the Navy will award three separate $100 million contracts for virtual training programs that will hopefully provided 4,500 training hours in shop maintenance and 2,250 hours in anti-submarine, surface and mine warfare. The platform that the Navy desires is Crytek's CryEngine 3, which was recently licensed by the Australian Navy.
