Killer Military Sims - Diego Garcia Naval for FSX

By Bill Stack
12 July 2009

Screen shots by Killer Military Sims

Diego Garcia is the largest island in the Chagos archipelago, which stretches roughly from India southward for about 1,000 nautical miles (1,600 kilometers). The atoll forms an oblong rim around a lagoon that shelters naval and marine vessels. Diego Garcia Naval Air Station occupies the entire atoll with the airstrip and associated facilities on the western side. The entire atoll is off limits to unauthorized persons. The Naval Air Station is used as a base for bombing runs to Iraq and Afghanistan. It is also an alternate landing site for space shuttles, one of five worldwide monitoring stations for the global positioning system, and site of a deep-space surviellance telescopes.

Killer Military Sims is a new company, "primarly making military scenery for virtual militaries in FSX," its developer says.

In response to my question, KMS says it created this scenery for GPEO, "a virtual Military in the FSX world: www.freewebs.com/gpeo2." For those who are unfamiliar with this virtual military entity, GPEO stands for "Global Pioneers Elite Organization," and its website describes an organization with magnanimous visions of "Global Peace, Humanity, Freedom, Life, Liberty, & Justice for All."

		Source: US CIA (public domain)
Diego Garcia Location Screen shots by Bill Stack

Major Features

The package is conveniently available for instant downloading from the Flight Sim Pilot Shop.

Installation is easy. The installation program installs all needed files into the correct folders. Users must engage "Add-on Scenery" in their World/Scenery menu, however.

The scenery features the following items:

• Guarded Headquarters
• B-52 Bombers
• Open Hangars
• Hangared F-22
• Large Squadron F/A-18
• Large Squadron Su-27
• Army Blackhawks
• Medium BMP battalion
• Large barracks with heavily armed gate/checkpoint leading to airport.

Killer Military Sims	FSX
Killer Military Sims	FSX
Killer Military Sims	FSX
Screen shots by Bill Stack

Killer Military Sims	FSX
Killer Military Sims	FSX
Killer Military Sims	FSX
Screen shots by Bill Stack

Guards move their heads, arms, and legs Screen shots by Bill Stack

Issues

This scenery is not realistic. Photos I found on the Internet show an airbase quite different from this depiction.

• The real airbase has two hangars on the southern ramp, fuel-storage tanks between the north and south ramps, and a base containing personnel facilities north of the northern ramp. Photos also show B1 and B2 bombers, C5 transports, P3 Orion turborprops, and KC-135 tankers. Photos do not show helicopters, tanks, or barracks on ramps. I cannot use those photos on this website because of copyright restrictions, but they are easily found through internet searches.
• The helicopters, tanks, and barracks on ramps in this scenery are fictitious.
• No SU-27 jet fighters are stationed on the real airbase. The product description says they are, and there's a row of aircraft looks like them. But this island is owned by the United Kingdom and this naval base is operated by the United States. The notion that any Soviet Union fighter aircraft would be stationed here is not realistic.
• No airbase support facilities such as fuel storage and personnel facilities are included. "The scenery is solely for the airbase only," the developer explained in response to my question.
• The animated guards guarding the helicopters are a nice touch, but I doubt that such guards wear civilian "Secret Service" or "Men-in Black" suits.

In response to my question about this lack of realism, the developer agreed his scenery is fanciful. "This is what GPEO has placed and constructed at the base," he said. He explained that the Soviet Union SU-27s are there because "in the FSX Virtual World, Diego Garcia Navy was jointly operated by GPEO and Uatia (ally of GPEO) www.uathq.webs.com. Uatia uses Soviet style aircraft for their missions and requested to have a squadron there." He also explained that the guards wear civilian suits because "the base is used as a corporate headquaters in Europe for GPEO and high security is needed."

As a result of my review, the FlightSim Pilot Shop's product description was revised as follows: "This airport is not intended to accurately represent the actual buildings, planes, personnel, etc., located on the base. It is made to represent the buildings, planes, personnel, etc., a virtual military in the FSX world uses there. The scenery is more fanciful then realistic."

Summary

This scenery was not as developed for the general flightsim market but for users of the GPEO virtual military organization. Such users might find its fanciful nature appropriate, but flight simmers seeking realism in their sceneries are unlikely to find this scenery useful.

Bill Stack

Learn More About Killer Military Sims' Diego Garcia Naval for FSX

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Bill Stack is author of several books about flight simulation, a regular author in flight-sim magazines, and a contributor to Flight Sim Com. His website is www.topskills.com

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