Army recruiting gamers in UK
Headhunters are targeting kids who play video games to become helicopter pilots, reports the Sunday Mirror.
The UK Army is looking for teenagers who extensively play video games, as their hand-to-eye coordination and other abilities used while gaming apparently make them a perfect fit for piloting Apache helicopters.
Helicopters are extremely complicated vehicles to fly, and it often takes years for a pilot to master the controls. The Army has deployed the Apaches to Afghanistan where it says they have played "a crucial role," but more pilots are desperately needed.
A senior Army Air Corps source told the tabloid, "The skill in flying the aircraft is to absorb large amounts of information from different sources without becoming flustered. The new generation of computer-game-playing youngsters glued to their PlayStations, Xboxes and Game Boys already have some of those skills."
The UK ordered a fleet of 67 Apache helicopters in 2002, at the cost of approximately £37 million (around $71 million) per aircraft. The move was criticised after the machines had to be kept in storage due to a lack of pilots who could fly them--the original training programme had been put back from April 2004 until February 2007.
Content you might like…
Users who looked at this article also looked at these content items.
Hot Stories
Newsmakers
-
Tekken 6 Interview: Katsuhiro Harada
The father of the fighting franchise's discusses the new characters and mechanics, development difficulties, downloadable content plans, and the series' evolution. Full Story
- Posted Nov 3, 2009 1:47 pm AEST
-
BioShock 2 Interview: Two Characters
Creative director Jordan Thomas discusses two non-player characters from the upcoming BioShock 2. Full Story
- Posted Nov 3, 2009 8:43 am AEST
Featured Stories
-
Modern Warfare 2 breaks GameStop preorder record
Activision and Infinity Ward's anticipated military FPS becomes most anticipated game in specialty retailer's history. Full Story
- Posted Nov 4, 2009 4:57 am AEST
- 678 Comments
-
Rock Band franchise unprofitable in Q3
Despite "strong" start of Beatles, Viacom CEO says MTV Games and Harmonix's rhythm game series negatively impacted margins during July-Sept. period. Full Story
- Posted Nov 5, 2009 4:44 am AEST
- 125 Comments
-
No Doubt belts out Band Hero lawsuit
Gwen Stefani and company claim Activision had no contractual right to allow group's in-game avatars to be used to perform other artists' songs. Full Story
- Posted Nov 5, 2009 12:00 pm AEST
- 232 Comments
-
Thor, Captain America games due in 2011
Marvel reveals Sega titles will bookend a busy summer season for interactive adaptations of comic company's films. Full Story
- Posted Nov 4, 2009 7:23 am AEST
- 90 Comments
-
Xbox Live Rewards program launches
[UPDATE] Microsoft unveils invite-only program that lets XBL Gold subscribers get MS points for renewing subscriptions, taking surveys, buying items on XBL Marketplace. Full Story
- Posted Nov 4, 2009 8:59 am AEST
- 225 Comments








63 Comments
Sign in / Sign up