Red 6 raises $30M to expand its in-flight military AR training platform

Santa Monica, California-based AR tech firm Red 6 has raised $30 million to expand its military aircraft training platform, bringing its valuation to $130 million. Founded in 2018, the company developed the Airborne Tactical Augmented Reality System (ATARS), which uses AR in training planes for pilots to experience simulation scenarios while flying. The ATARS helmet-based AR display has a 150-degree field of view and can operate in outdoor brightness.

Red 6’s primary goal is to solve the shortage of combat-ready pilots in the U.S. military. While the military has been using VR-based flight simulators for decades, Red 6 allows this training to be done in the sky for the first time. The company believes this approach will provide a faster and more cost-effective way to train while significantly increasing realism.