A ground crew preps the X-62 Variable In-flight Simulator Aircraft (VISTA) at Edwards Air Force Base to fly on Nov. 30, 2023 (Michael Marrow/Breaking Defense)
WASHINGTON — High in the skies above the desert sands of Edwards Air Force Base in September 2023, a team composed of members of the Air Force, DARPA and industry had an AI-controlled F-16 and a human-controlled one maneuver against each other in dogfights — a feat the team is claiming to be a “world first.”
In the span of a couple weeks, a series of trials witnessed a manned F-16 face off against a bespoke Fighting Falcon known as the Variable In-flight Simulator Aircraft, or VISTA. A human pilot sat in the VISTA’s cockpit for safety reasons, but an AI agent did the flying, with results officials described as impressive — though they declined to provide specific detail, like the win/loss ratio of the AI pilot, due to “national security” reasons.
The AI agents employed by the team “performed well in general,” meaning that “our ongoing research is a clear signal that we’re moving in the right direction,” Air Force Test Pilot School Commandant Col. James Valpiani said in a briefing with reporters today. READ MORE...
In the span of a couple weeks, a series of trials witnessed a manned F-16 face off against a bespoke Fighting Falcon known as the Variable In-flight Simulator Aircraft, or VISTA. A human pilot sat in the VISTA’s cockpit for safety reasons, but an AI agent did the flying, with results officials described as impressive — though they declined to provide specific detail, like the win/loss ratio of the AI pilot, due to “national security” reasons.
The AI agents employed by the team “performed well in general,” meaning that “our ongoing research is a clear signal that we’re moving in the right direction,” Air Force Test Pilot School Commandant Col. James Valpiani said in a briefing with reporters today. READ MORE...
