Cutting-edge, multi-scenario experience provides hands-on look into Navy technology and STEM careers
This weekend, Saturday, October 26 – Sunday, October 27, at the Wings Over Houston Airshow, the U.S. Navy will showcase the brand-new ‘Strike Group,’ a cutting-edge, multi-scenario, mobile mixed-reality experience designed to showcase the breadth and depth of Navy STEM careers, from nuclear engineering and aviation to special warfare and medicine. Through leading-edge mixed reality, the ‘Strike Group’ provides users with a fully immersive, hands-on look into the technology and teamwork that are central to every role in the Navy.
“From the depths of the sea to the heights of the stars, America’s Navy is the most highly skilled, technologically advanced military force in the world,” says Rear Admiral James P. Waters, Commander, Navy Recruiting Command. “A career in the Navy provides a life-changing experience filled with adventure, teamwork, and support, and the ‘Strike Group’ brings all these aspects to life in the most realistic ways possible.”
Strike Group comprises 4 distinctive, interactive challenges and experiences:
All Hands
Players will test their skills on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier in a five-person virtual reality game. Participants will don a Meta Quest 3 headset and be transported out
to the USS Gerald R. Ford where they will team up to launch an F-35C Lightning II jet. Working together in different roles – from loading fuel to flying helicopters to piloting
the aircraft itself – each player will be immersed in the experience of what it is like to serve aboard an aircraft carrier and have their efforts influence a Navy mission.
Dive
Navy Underwater Construction Teams always are on call if an undersea repair is needed. In this interactive, virtual mission, participants will take on the role of a Navy
diver, driving a boat to a location after a storm, then use their dive and welding skills to help repair a damaged pier.
Achieve
America’s Navy has hundreds of roles available in every field – from nuclear engineering to aviation to special operations. To help participants see themselves in one of these careers, they can take a personality quiz that will pair them with a list of jobs best suited for them. The best part? Participants also will receive an AI-generated image of themselves in their recommended role.
Train
Navy SEALs have a legacy of strenuous training and intense qualifications. In this experience, a Navy SEAL trainer will guide participants through a series of challenges that will test their physical strength, mental fortitude, and willpower.
Why It Is Called the Strike Group
The new Strike Group interactive experience is named after the Navy’s forward deployment formation known as a Carrier Strike Group. Comprised of roughly 7,500 personnel, 1 aircraft carrier with an air wing of 65 to 70 aircraft, 2 Guided Missile Cruisers, 2 Anti-Aircraft Warships, and 1-2 Anti-Submarine Destroyers. Carrier Strike Groups epitomize the leading-edge technology and teamwork that are synonymous with Navy life. The Navy currently maintains 11 Carrier Strike Groups, 10 of which are based in the United States and one that is forward deployed in Japan.