US military announced the first-ever dogfight between an AI and a human pilot

The US military recently announced the first known test dogfight between an AI-run fighter jet and a human pilot. The historic event took place over Edwards Air Force Base in California, where two F-16 fighter jets engaged in aerial combat, reaching speeds of up to 1,200mph.

One of the aircraft was piloted by a human, while the other was a modified version of the F-16 known as the X-62A or VISTA (variable in-flight simulator test aircraft) controlled by AI. The AI algorithm onboard the X-62A used machine learning to analyze historical data and make decisions during the dogfight.

Despite the potential risks, the AI-controlled jet operated effectively without the need for human intervention. The test, marked a significant milestone in aerospace history, according to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall praised the achievement, stating that the event has brought autonomous air-to-air combat from a distant dream to a reality. The successful test demonstrates the potential for AI to play a key role in complex and dangerous environments such as aerial combat.

Colonel James Valpiani, a commandant at the US Air Force test pilot school, emphasized the importance of machine learning in the context of dogfighting. He noted that the X-62A’s performance in the test not only advances the state of tests but also prepares the next generation of test leaders.

The results of the test have implications beyond combat aviation, with industry stakeholders looking to the X-62A ACE team’s accomplishments as a paradigm shift in the field of AI and autonomous systems. By demonstrating the capability to execute tasks safely and responsibly, the test has shown the potential for AI to earn the trust of humans in a variety of complex and challenging applications.