{"id":55664,"date":"2019-12-06T19:17:22","date_gmt":"2019-12-06T19:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/12\/06\/wanted-virtual-reality-headsets-that-arent-made-in-china\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:07:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:07:19","slug":"wanted-virtual-reality-headsets-that-arent-made-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/itsec\/2019\/12\/06\/wanted-virtual-reality-headsets-that-arent-made-in-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Wanted: Virtual reality headsets that aren\u2019t made in China"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 The U.S. Air Force <\/a>wants to tap into the augmented and virtual reality technologies<\/a> that are proliferating in the commercial market, but the service has run into a problem: Many have parts from China, limiting their ability to be used by the U.S. military in operational environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan we not have an AR [augmented reality] solution that\u2019s made in China? I don\u2019t think that\u2019s good for us,\u201d Col. Gerard Ryan, chief of the Air Force\u2019s operational training infrastructure division, said during a panel discussion Tuesday at the Interservice\/Industry, Training, Simulation and Education Conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think the security policy is going to pass. And I say that sarcastically, but it\u2019s true. If we\u2019re going to use a gaming engine, let\u2019s make sure it\u2019s not made by a foreign country that we don\u2019t like,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here for more from I\/ITSEC.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force is dipping its toes into using virtual reality through its Pilot Training Next program<\/a>, which seeks to get airmen through basic pilot training more quickly and cheaply. While the PTN program is currently considered an experiment, with only a handful of airmen participating at any given time, the Air Force has already shown it may be able to shave months off the existing training timeline by supplementing live flights spent in the T-6 trainer with virtual ones using Vive virtual reality headsets and flight simulation software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An unclassified environment like basic pilot training is a perfect place for the Air Force to use the augmented and virtual reality devices currently on the market. But for such products to ever see use by fighter and bomber pilots \u2014 or any operator that deals with secure information \u2014 the service must be sure that no part of the device is made by China, or any other foreign entity that could insert technology that allows for data collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force has begun talking to companies about its concerns, Ryan said. The hope is those firms can examine their supply chains and shift away from buying Chinese components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve talked to some people in industry. A smaller company has said they\u2019ve found a set of goggles that\u2019s American-made. I\u2019m like: \u2018Great, you\u2019re the first person to tell me that. The only one so far, too,\u2019 \u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another challenge is connecting commercial devices in a classified environment, where Bluetooth and Wi-Fi use may be restricted.<\/p>\n\n\n\t