Soldier skills for Nintendo players (From Oxford Mail)

Soldier skills for Nintendo players

5:27pm Monday 20th July 2009

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A FORMER Bicester school pupil has been training a select few troops to operate a life-saving remote control spy plane.

Lieutenant Jason Jump, 25, used skills he picked up during a tour of Iraq to teach other soldiers how to use the ‘eye in the sky’ plane.

The Desert Hawk spy plane protects troops and bases by silently watching from above.

The plane has three cameras in its belly which pass high-definition aerial pictures to soldiers on the ground.

It has a 4ft wingspan, looks like a model aircraft, is made of foam and can be launched within 10 minutes.

It uses a Nintendo X-Box controller to operate the three cameras.

Lt Jump, a former Bicester Community College student, had to travel to Camp Roberts, in America, to pass on his skills as the plane is not yet licensed in the UK.

He said: “It really helps the soldiers on the ground.”

Lt Jump, a troop commander in 47 Regiment Royal Artillery, based at Thorney Island, Hampshire, added: “It is the ultimate game for our PlayStation generation of soldiers — they take to it so easily.”

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