It’s taking control of the military: US defense researchers conducted the first dogfight between an AI-controlled fighter jet and one piloted by a bipedal biological entity over the skies of Edwards Air Force Base last year, the first time an autonomous aircraft engaged in a combat exercise, military sources say.
According to the defense industry blog DefenseScoop, researchers equipped the X-62A VISTA (Variable In-flight Simulator Test Aircraft), a modified F-16, with AI technology developed after running hundreds of computer simulations as part of DARPA’s AlphaDogFight trials. The team then ran more than 20 test flights with the autonomous plane alone.
In September, the team put the X-62A in the sky against a human-piloted F-16, with the two engaging in an unscripted dogfight after completing various trials, including a head-on encounter that brought the two craft within 1,200 feet of one another. Officials did not announce which aircraft “won” the simulated dogfight.