US Army drafting new first-person shooter

The United States Army is considering making another first-person shooter to head up its Games for Training program. The title is tentatively planned for 2013, and hopes to incorporate a host of new features that will more realistically simulate battlefield conditions in current conflicts.

Kotaku reports that among other realistic touches, the game will feature the ability to call in artillery fire, medevac missions, and Arab and Afghan female suicide bombers. The Army also reportedly wants updated graphics and tech underpinnings, and so it is proposing that it gains input from the gaming industry.

The Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) put together nearly 250 pages of technical requirements and a 13-page checklist -- most of which is extremely specific detail about terrain and equipment. The current simulator, Virtual Battlespace 2, has been adapted to be used for cultural awareness training and IED detection, so this follow-up would probably be used for similar purposes.

The new title seems targeted at "small wars" and counterinsurgency training. It would replace Virtual Battlespace 2 from Bohemia, and both Bohemeia and America's Army are expected to bid on the Pentagon contract.