Red 6 receives investment from Lockheed Martin Ventures to further develop its Airborne Tactical Augmented Reality System for fighter pilot training

In Augmented Reality News 

June 19, 2020 – Red 6, a technology firm that provides military training applications, has announced that it has received a strategic investment from Lockheed Martin Ventures, the strategic investment arm of aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin Corporation. The company did not disclose the total investment amount, although stated that the funds will be used to accelerate the development and commercialization of Red 6’s ATARS (Airborne Tactical Augmented Reality System).

“ATARS allows real pilots in real airplanes to fly and visually maneuver against any synthetically generated enemy in real time, which is a new paradigm in training and operations,” said Daniel Robinson, CEO of Red 6. “The Red 6 team is passionate about providing the quantity and quality of training that our warfighters deserve. Working with aerospace leaders such as Lockheed Martin, who understand the value of our technology and how to integrate it into current and future platforms, is incredibly important. In that sense, we view Red 6’s relationship with Lockheed Martin as an important long-term working relationship.”

Chris Moran, Executive Director and General Manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures, commented: “Our charter is to strategically invest in smaller companies focused on innovative technologies that can be utilized within Lockheed Martin’s existing businesses. Red 6 fits this mission”. Moran added, “We are excited to add Red 6 to our investment portfolio and look forward to working with their team and gaining access to their synthetic training capability that could be applied to both current and future platforms.”

Red 6 has been working with the US Air Force for the past two years through AFWERX, a United States Air Force program with the goal of fostering a culture of innovation within the service. Red 6 states that its technology has received praise from the US Air Force and the company was also awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase III grant. Previous investors in the company include Moonshots Capital, Starburst Accelerator and Irongate Capital Partners.  

The investment by Lockheed Martin Ventures builds upon Red 6’s continued momentum following the recent award of a MegaGrant from Epic Games, the creator of popular video game Fortnite, and a key collaborator in the ATARS development process. “I couldn’t think of a stronger team of players for simulation and training development than the ones we have now,” stated Robinson.

For more information on Red 6 go to www.red6ar.com.

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.