Video game-style respawns keep Air Force jets in the sky during Cope North dog fights

ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam — Pilots staging mock dog fights over the Pacific this month took a leaf out of video gamers’ playbooks.

Gamers are used to respawning to rejoin cyber-battle when their characters are killed in massive multiplayer combat.

During this month’s Cope North drills in the Northern Marianas, aircraft “shot down” in simulated air battles had to fly to a regeneration point before they could rejoin the fight, said the exercise director, Air Force Col. Mike “Skid” Rowe.

This year’s exercise, which began Feb. 12 and concluded Friday, involved more than 100 aircraft and 2,100 military personnel from the United States, Japan and Australia honing skills they’ll need to engage a well-equipped enemy force.

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