DARPA said the test demonstrated how artificial intelligence can change the way fighter jets fight.
The U.S. military conducted a groundbreaking test pitting manned aircraft against artificial intelligence-controlled F-16s. The AI-controlled two-seat F-16D X-62A is also known as the Variable Stability Flight Simulator Test Aircraft (VISTA).according to edgeThe dogfight took place last year, but an update was released by the U.S. Air Force and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The U.S. military said the tests showed machine learning could change the way fighter jets enter combat.
Watch video of the melee:
Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program ranks first in the world #AI In the aerospace field. 7-minute video highlights air combat test between AI and human-piloted F-16s @edwardsAFB Advances are transforming human-machine collaboration and trusted autonomy. https://t.co/NewcjI4UjP
— DARPA (@DARPA) April 17, 2024
edge stated that DARPA began experimenting with artificial intelligence in December 2022 as part of its Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program. It is working on developing artificial intelligence systems capable of autonomously piloting fighter jets.
During the September 2023 melee, humans turned off the AI via controls on the X-62A, but the kill switch was not required to be used “at any time.”
“Both aircraft demonstrated head-on engagement at high altitudes and approached 2,000 feet at 1,200 mph,” DARPA said. However, it did not reveal which aircraft was involved in the melee.
The media quoted chief test pilot Bill Gray as saying: “Dogging is a problem we need to solve so that we can start testing autonomous artificial intelligence systems in the air. Every lesson we learned applies to what you can hand over to autonomous system for every mission,” the Air Force Test Pilot School said in a statement.
The ACE program launched in December 2022 and has conducted 21 test flights, resulting in more than 100,000 lines of flight-critical software changes. Weekly newspaper explain.
U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told the U.S. Senate that they plan to launch “an autonomous F-16” later this year that will have a pilot watching the technology in action. “Hopefully neither he nor I will have to fly the plane,” Kendall said.
