AN F-16 fighter jet hurtles through the skies above the Dutch countryside, banking and turning, diving and climbing as if in battle with enemy planes and missiles. But apart from the F-16, the sky is empty. That's because its pilot is playing what is arguably the world's most exciting and expensive computer game: flying a multimillion-dollar plane against computer-generated opponents.
Cuts in defence spending, lack of airspace and noise complaints from the public have combined to make traditional plane-on-plane training a logistical and economic nightmare for many air forces. So instead of engaging in mock dogfights against colleagues flying other aircraft, the Royal Netherlands Air Force pilots are honing their skills by chasing virtual planes and dodging simulated surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles conjured up on their own plane's radar by a battle simulation computer installed in the cockpit.
"We are being squeezed environmentally and airspace-wise," a spokesman for the UK's ...
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