Red 6 Contracted for Augmented Reality System for U.S. Air Force F-16 Pillot Training

Red 6 has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Air Force to integrate its ATARS (Airborne Tactical Augmented Reality System) into the F-16 Fighting Falcon, commonly known as the Viper.

Awarded through Air Combat Command and the Air Force Research Laboratory, this positions Red 6 as the first company in the world delivering real-time, in-flight synthetic air combat training directly into the cockpits of operational fighter jets.  

“This is more than a contract — it’s a validation of our vision and a signal that the future of air combat training has arrived,” said Daniel Robinson, co-founder and CEO of Red 6.

Robinson added, “ATARS is the only system capable of replicating the cognitive complexity fighter pilots face in real-world engagements — and now we’re delivering it in the cockpit of a frontline tactical jet. The F-16 is just the beginning.”  

The contract builds on Red 6’s successful integration of ATARS into the T-38 Talon. ATARS allows pilots to train against intelligent, maneuvering virtual adversaries in real-time during live flight, delivering immersive, repeatable and measurable training that blends the realism of live operations with the flexibility of simulation.  

Built on a low-latency, network-agnostic architecture, ATARS delivers high-resolution, full-color synthetic entities without compromising performance or safety. The system supports next-generation collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) development, enables training in constrained airspace and generates structured datasets to objectively assess pilot readiness.  

In addition to the F-16 and the T-38, ATARS is integrated into the MC-130 with the U.S. Air Force and the BAE Systems Hawk T-2 with the U.K. Royal Air Force. Red 6 also holds active integration partnerships with Boeing, Aeralis, Palantir, SNC and Northrop Grumman.