Augmented Reality fighter jet training company Red 6 appoints Retired Air Force General Mike Holmes as Chairman of the Board

In Augmented Reality News 

February 16, 2021 – Red 6, a technology firm at the forefront of synthetic air combat training, has today announced that Retired US Air Force General Mike Holmes has been appointed to Chairman of the Red 6 Board. Ret. Gen. Holmes originally joined the Red 6 advisory board in early October of 2020. 

Red 6 has been working with the US Air Force (USAF) by providing an augmented reality (AR) solution for military training applications as part of the AFWERX program, a USAF program with the goal of fostering a culture of innovation within the service.

“It goes without saying that General Holmes is an incredible addition to the Red 6 board and will be instrumental in guiding us towards achieving our vision,” said Daniel Robinson, Founder and CEO of Red 6. “As the company continues to grow, and our capabilities mature, we will draw heavily on the experience, leadership and unique insight that General Holmes brings to the table,” added Robinson.

“I am delighted to join the Red 6 board as chairman and I’m eager to play a role in the continued growth of such an important company,” said Ret. Gen. Holmes. “Over the past few months, I’ve spent a lot of time with Dan and the Red 6 team and I am extremely impressed with his vision and unwavering commitment to addressing a critical national security readiness issue. Red 6 is ushering in a new training paradigm for our combat aviators that redefines what is possible and provides compelling financial benefits. I’m excited to play my part in helping to bring this technology to the cockpit, and I believe the Red 6 approach will ultimately scale across all domains.”

According to Red 6, the Pentagon has pivoted its training readiness focus from supporting two decades of ground-based operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, to building the readiness required to defeat a near-peer threat. Robinson continued: “Control of the skies is not the pre-ordained right of the United States and its allies.” He continued, “Our adversaries are innovating more quickly than we are and we are not adequately prepared. We should be deeply concerned.”

Red 6 states that it is addressing this perceived readiness shortfall within the US’ aerial combat capabilities by focusing on a future vision whereby a combination of augmented reality and artificial intelligence (AI) is used to generate a realistic synthetic training environment that allows flight crews to visually maneuver against any number of current, near-peer threat aircraft.

“We must change and improve the way we train today, or we risk losing an airborne combat mission within the next 3-5 years,” stated Ret. General Holmes. 

For more information on Red 6 and its AR training applications for the USAF, please visit the company’s website.

Video credit: Red 6 / Vimeo

About the author

Sam Sprigg

Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.