- The first aerial combat between a human plane and an AI has taken place
- Citing national security concerns, the military did not say who won the fight.
- The two planes flew at speeds of up to 1,200 miles per hour around each other.
The US Air Force has confirmed the first successful aerial combat between an AI fighter jet and a human-piloted aircraft.
The air combat was carried out as part of an Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program that launched in 2019.
Last September, a manned F-16 took on the X-62A VISTA (Variable Flight Simulator Test Aircraft) over Edwards Air Force Base in California.
The two planes flew at speeds of up to 1,200 miles per hour and practiced a variety of dogfighting scenarios.
Images released by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) show the two planes maneuvering in the sky around each other.
Citing national security concerns, the military is not saying who the fight between the two was about.
A manned F-16 took on the X-62A VISTA, seen here, flying in the skies over Edwards Air Force Base, California.
Images released by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) show the two planes maneuvering in the sky around each other.
Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Hefron, DAPRA program director, told reporters: ‘Things are progressing as well or faster than we expected. But unfortunately we cannot offer more details.’
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said in a press release: “The potential for autonomous air-to-air combat has been imaginable for decades, but the reality has remained a distant dream until now.
‘In 2023, the X-62A broke one of the most important barriers in combat aviation.
“This is a transformative moment, all made possible by the significant achievements of the X-62A ACE team.”
Test pilots had been aboard the X-62 and had the power to turn off the AI, but it was not necessary during dogfights.
Hefron added: “We have to be able to trust these algorithms to use them in a real-world environment.”
DARPA and the US Air Force Test Pilot School will continue to test AI, providing lessons for future tests and programs.
Test pilots had been aboard the X-62 and had the power to turn off the AI, but it was not necessary during dogfights.
The two planes flew at speeds of up to 1,200 miles per hour and practiced a variety of dogfighting scenarios.
Citing national security concerns, the military will not say who the fight between the two was about.
Bill Gray, chief test pilot at the Test Pilot School, said: “It’s very easy to look at the X-62A ACE program and see it under autonomous control, it can do dogfights, but that doesn’t make sense.”
«Dog fighting was the problem to be solved in order to start testing autonomous artificial intelligence systems in the air.
“Every lesson we’re learning applies to every task that could be assigned to an autonomous system.”
While it’s unclear who won the fight, AI has a successful track record in this area.
In August 2020, the AI won a simulated dogfight against a human operator, in which the pilot was unable to hit the automated aircraft.