If you have always been fascinated by the idea of flying a fighter aircraft on a combat mission for the Indian Air Force (IAF), you can doit right from the comfort of your living room now.
The IAF launched an app on Wednesday that allows you to playa combat game on 10 different missions, including the surgical strike, usingyour mobile phone.The game named 'Indian Air Force -- A Cut Above' was launchedhere by Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa.
The game features a character similar to Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman with a gunslinger moustache as the mascot pilot, but thiscan be customised by a user. Varthaman was captured and later released byPakistan after his aircraft was shot down in an aerial dogfight soon after theBalakot airstrikes.
The missions on the app are dramatic. Take the surgicalstrike mission for example. Inspection of a damaged dam reveals that it wassabotaged by a terrorist group from a neighbouring country. India's diplomaticengagements with the neighbouring country to mete out justice to the terroristgroup fails. You go on a surgical strike mission to strike deep into the enemycamp with precision weapons.You choose a multi-role Mirage 2000 aircraft armedto the teeth with weapons such as the MICA, Griffin LGB, Spice 2000 bombs and30 mm autocannons.
With these, you drop laser guided bombs on the enemy camps,provide support to a team of 'Garud' commandos and also provide it cover toexfiltrate from the area.The game, which has been launched with a single-playerversion, includes nine other combat missions of similar nature.In the 'naturaldisaster event', the challenge for the player will be to provide humanitarianassistance after a dam breach occurs high up in the mountains.A player isrequired to carry out a combat air patrol and intercept incoming enemy fightersand bombers in 'air defence ops'. In the mission 'combat support ops', a userwill fly a heavy transport aircraft to provide much-needed supplies in forwardareas. The player will provide close air support to on-ground troops flying anattack helicopter in the combat mission 'anti-tank and SEAD'.
The 'offensive cap' mission requires a player to usestate-of-the-art electronic weaponry deep into the enemy's airfields.In'air-to-air refuelling', a player will be challenged to fill up tanks mid-airand provide fuel to teammates. The mission 'maritime strike' challenges aplayer to provide support to naval forces by intercepting incoming enemywarships.
The 'base defence mission' challenges players to use SAMs,AA guns and shoulder fired weapons to protect the base. A player faces thechallenge to take on enemy mothership and unmanned aerial vehicles in the'futuristic weapons' mission.The game can be downloaded from Google Play Storeon Android and iOS platforms. In order to play the game, one has to register onthe app using a valid e-mail id and password.
There are also features of free flight and training apartfrom the game which can be played at three levels of difficulty -- easy, mediumand hard.
The user has the option to choose between seven differentaircraft including the Hawk, Mi-17, C17, Apache, Mirage 2000, Su-30 and Rafale.This set of aircraft does not include the Tejas, Bison or the MiG-29.
There are three training missions available for the players,i.e., take off and navigation, armaments training and landing.The app has beenlaunched with the collaboration of India-based developer Threye Interactive. Italso contains a link to careers in the air force apart from the game.The IAFhad earlier launched another mobile gaming app called 'Guardians of the Sky'.However, the new game has more features and is a lot more interactive.