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IAF plans air combat game to attract young recruits - Mumbai Mirror
With an aim to boost recruitment, the Indian Air Force (IAF), for the first time, plans to develop a gaming app that gives the youth a taste of air combat using advanced weapons and aircraft.
The IAF has issued a request through the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) to interested gaming companies. 'Air headquarters, Vayu Bhawan, New Delhi, invites expressions of interest for a mobile gaming application for the IAF. The aim is to develop a high-end air combat game based on the IAF which appeals to the youth and motivates them to join the actual league,' it says.
Sources in the force revealed that there was an acute shortage of staff, including officers and personnel below the rank of officer. Going by official figures quoted by Defence Minister A K Antony in December 2012 (these figures are released at the end of every year), the armed forces were facing a shortage of around 13,000 officers and 53,700 personnel below the rank of officers, with the IAF facing a shortage of 962 officers and around 7,000 airmen. The force hopes that more youngsters will want to apply to the IAF once they have used the application.
Those who aspire to join the force have to take either the National Defence Academy (NDA) entrance test (for undergraduates) or the Combined Defence Services (CDS) examination (for graduates), both of which are held twice a year. Aspiring pilots have to take the Pilot Aptitude Battery Test (PABT), an aptitude test which one can take only once.
THE APP
Targeting youngsters aged 13 years or above, the gaming app will run on Android and iOS (previously iPhone OS) platforms. However, the game can also run on the PlayStation and be integrated with social media platforms. It will support multiple players.
The plan is to expose the player to digital versions of the aircraft used by the IAF, including the Sukhoi series, Hawks, MiGs, Jaguars, Mirages and high-end choppers. The player will get to use the force's most advanced weaponry during combat and mock air bases in the multi-level game. Sources also said that IAF would like to include several of its past operations as missions in the game, including the recent relief and rescue operations at Uttarakhand, during which the force saved over 25,000 stranded people.
MEETING WITH TOP GAMING COMPANIES
The IAF has called for a pre-bid meeting on August 8 with top gaming companies that are interested in the project to discuss the modalities of the application. When Mirror contacted Wing Commander Gerard Galway, the IAF's public relations officer, said he was unaware of the development.
With an aim to boost recruitment, the Indian Air Force (IAF), for the first time, plans to develop a gaming app that gives the youth a taste of air combat using advanced weapons and aircraft.
The IAF has issued a request through the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) to interested gaming companies. 'Air headquarters, Vayu Bhawan, New Delhi, invites expressions of interest for a mobile gaming application for the IAF. The aim is to develop a high-end air combat game based on the IAF which appeals to the youth and motivates them to join the actual league,' it says.
Sources in the force revealed that there was an acute shortage of staff, including officers and personnel below the rank of officer. Going by official figures quoted by Defence Minister A K Antony in December 2012 (these figures are released at the end of every year), the armed forces were facing a shortage of around 13,000 officers and 53,700 personnel below the rank of officers, with the IAF facing a shortage of 962 officers and around 7,000 airmen. The force hopes that more youngsters will want to apply to the IAF once they have used the application.
Those who aspire to join the force have to take either the National Defence Academy (NDA) entrance test (for undergraduates) or the Combined Defence Services (CDS) examination (for graduates), both of which are held twice a year. Aspiring pilots have to take the Pilot Aptitude Battery Test (PABT), an aptitude test which one can take only once.
THE APP
Targeting youngsters aged 13 years or above, the gaming app will run on Android and iOS (previously iPhone OS) platforms. However, the game can also run on the PlayStation and be integrated with social media platforms. It will support multiple players.
The plan is to expose the player to digital versions of the aircraft used by the IAF, including the Sukhoi series, Hawks, MiGs, Jaguars, Mirages and high-end choppers. The player will get to use the force's most advanced weaponry during combat and mock air bases in the multi-level game. Sources also said that IAF would like to include several of its past operations as missions in the game, including the recent relief and rescue operations at Uttarakhand, during which the force saved over 25,000 stranded people.
MEETING WITH TOP GAMING COMPANIES
The IAF has called for a pre-bid meeting on August 8 with top gaming companies that are interested in the project to discuss the modalities of the application. When Mirror contacted Wing Commander Gerard Galway, the IAF's public relations officer, said he was unaware of the development.
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