Uk Turns To Videogames To Recruit Future Drone Pilots With The...

Remember some years back when the US Army formed an esports team to be more hip with the youths, and then tried its hand at streaming and was promptly bullied off of Twitch—not just once, but twice? You might have expected that to be the end of it, and in some ways it was: The US Army esports team hasn't streamed on Twitch since 2022. But the Battlefield-to-battlefield pipeline is alive and well, and a new initiative in the UK aims to go harder on it than ever.

The International Defense Esports Games, announced today by the UK Ministry of Defense, is an esports tournament that "builds a bridge between defense readiness and the fast-paced world of competitive gaming," the IDEG website says. Not too far removed from, say, putting up recruitment booths at esports majors, except that the goal here, stated far more explicitly than I've seen in the past, is to leverage the games to sign up the kids.

This is emphasized in particular by the IDEG26 launch event, a one-day affair in partnership with arms manufacturer BAE Systems, defense firm Babcock International, the British Forces Broadcasting Service, and British Esports. The event promises "high-level conversations" with military and game industry figures on topics like "esports as a catalyst for recruitment, training, and skills development," including a panel on "how esports is shaping the future of recruitment, skills, and training."

"The IDEG acts as a collaborative arena for allied nations to sharpen the cyber skills that are critical for modern warfare," the MoD said in a press release. "With over 90,000 cyber-attacks targeting the UK annually, the initiative builds digital skills essential for keeping Britain secure at home and abroad."

Those skills, the statement says, include "tracking multiple threats at once, directing soldiers on the ground, performing under intense pressure, and changing tactics based on live intelligence." The announcement also notes the applicability of gaming skills to drone warfare, which has taken on vastly increased importance in recent years due largely to their widespread use in the war sparked by Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

"Lessons from Ukraine have shown how gaming technology can train drone operators and develop the rapid decision-making skills essential for modern warfare," Minister for Veterans and People Louise Sandher-Jones said. "The International Defence Esports Games (IDEG) positions Britain at the forefront of this transformation, ensuring our

Source: PC Gamer