KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa — To a layman, they look like the coolest video games ever.

But to 18th Wing fighter pilots, each of the four Boeing flight simulators unveiled Friday at the F-15 KC-135 simulator building will prove an invaluable training tool, said base officials and pilots.

“This is opening the door to a training era that, years from now, will be totally unlike anything we have today,” said Col. Dave Freaney, 18th Operations group commander.

The early flight simulators were simplistic, Freaney said. They became more advanced from the mid-’80s onward and now allow the Air Force to incorporate training aspects never before possible outside of the cockpit, he said.

Freaney said he envisions virtual versions of the annual Nellis Air Force Base Red Flag exercise becoming commonplace one day, through the use of simulators.

The simulators also will help offset the loss of flight hours, said 18th Wing Commander Brig. Gen. Jan-Marc Jouas.

Pacific command recently cut flying hours at its air bases as part of Air Force-wide budget cutting efforts.

The simulator “allows us to do things that otherwise involve a lot of expense and travel,” Jouas said.

The simulator cockpits can be linked, allowing pilots and their wingmen to fly against several enemy aircraft.

The simulator can be programmed to include different locations, weather patterns and light conditions. Virtual enemies can be armed with the latest technology, or barely any, depending on training needs.

Capt. Kirby “Gat” Ensser of the 67th Fighter Squadron said he tried similar simulators at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

“We’ve been waiting a long time for this,” Ensser said. “It has some capabilities that no other training can provide.”

For example, pilots don’t fire live ordnance at each other during training flights. In the simulator, pilots get quick tactical feedback when an enemy plane explodes, he said.

The ability to reconstruct missions and study mistakes also should boost pilot proficiency, said Capt. Jonathan “Brute” Esperanza, also of the 67th Fighter Squadron.

The pilots who tried the simulator Friday flew over a moving video layout of Okinawa that seemed almost like looking out a cockpit window.

“The visuals are incredible,” said Capt. Brian Gyovai of the 67th Fighter Squadron. “In my mind, the only thing you don’t really have are the G forces.”