US Air Force is doing test flights with AI as the pilot

The US Air Force says it has conducted 12 test flights, with all pilot work, including combat operations, performed by software. The tests should lead to more help from AI in aerial combat.

It is a combination of various systems, says the US Air Force. The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Autonomous Air Combat Operations system conducted a one-on-one combat against an opponent not in sight. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Air Combat Evolution conducted dogfights with other AI systems in sight.

The X-62A Variable Stability In-Flight Simulator Test Aircraft, or VISTA, flights were real, but the combat obviously wasn’t. All flights had a human pilot to intervene if things went wrong. In addition, employees could adjust the systems within minutes to make the AI ​​systems respond differently.

The experiments should lead to better AI support for pilots in the air or possibly even eventually to autonomously flying systems. A regular X-62 fighter plane was modified for this experiment.

X-62A Variable Stability In-Flight Simulator Test Aircraft