US technology start-up Red 6 hopes to begin production of its cockpit augmented reality system by the middle of 2026.
Speaking to FlightGlobal at the Paris air show, Red 6 chief strategy officer Kevin Fesler says advancements in manufacturing have allowed the company to solidify partnerships for the hardware portions of its Advanced Tactical Augmented Reality System (ATARS).
“We didn’t want to be a hardware company, but we had to start building our own visors because there were none on the market to buy,” says Fesler, a retired US Air Force officer with ratings on the Boeing F-15E and Lockheed Martin F-22.
“Our vision is to be a software company,” he adds.
Recent improvements to industrial components such as hyper-wide field-of-view lenses and curved screens have allowed Red 6 to shift most of its internal focus to software and move forward with ATARS – a helmet-mounted system able to project images directly on to a pilot’s visor.
These projections could include enemy aircraft for drilling aerial combat manoeuvres, a simulated aircraft carrier to practise landings at sea, or even degraded environmental conditions like rotorwash brownout.
The technology could also be used to simulate the control and management of autonomous support fighters while flying inside an actual cockpit.
Originally launched for fixed-wing jets, Red 6 has since expanded ATARS to include rotary-wing aircraft. On that front, the company hopes to announce an agreement with the US Army later this year.
However, the augmented reality technology will likely launch first with the US Air Force (USAF), integrating ATARS into a portion of the service’s Northrop T-38C trainer fleet in 2026 following the start of production.
Fesler says Red 6 and the USAF will likely start with 8-12 T-38Cs, while also working to certificate and install individual ATARS demonstrators into other platforms operated by the air force, including the Lockheed F-16, F-22 and F-35 jets.
Red 6 also has an ongoing partnership with Boeing to integrate the system into the new T-7A trainer currently in flight testing.
A similar agreement with Leonardo will see ATARS integrated into the M-346 supersonic trainer jet used at the International Flight Training School in Sardinia, Italy – a collaboration between Leonardo, CAE and the Italian air force.
Fesler says Red 6 hopes to expand its partnership with Leonardo to include the latest Block 20 variant of the M-346, including both the trainer and light fighter configurations.
In 2024, Red 6 completed ATARS demonstration flights with the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) to assess the viability of augmented reality aboard the service’s BAE Systems Hawk T2 trainers.
“It is hoped that [the] interoperable nature of this rapidly growing technology will be embraced by the RAF and augmented reality displays form part of its future flight training strategy,” the service said in December.
Fesler says the Red 6 technology received “very positive reviews” from the service’s leadership.
“We believe that’s going to put us in a position to continue that fleet integration,” he adds.
Notably, London is expected to seek a replacement for its Hawk T2s sometime in the next decade, although no firm plans exist. Fesler says Red 6 will pivot to a new aircraft as necessary in support of the RAF.
The company is particularly excited about its UK prospects, with Fesler noting that ATARS adoption outside the USA will signal to other prospective customers that the technology is ready for wider use.
