World’s First AI Air Force Pilot Flies Fighter Jet Autonomously—For 17 Hours

AI has shown that it can ace many things, from winning art & photography prizes to surpassing medical exams. Still not impressive enough?

Well, Lockheed Martin and the US Air Force have quite literally raised the benchmark to the skies. In an series of tests performed in December, the aerospace company set its VISTA X-62A on a modified F-16D aircraft piloted by AI for more than 17 hours. The VISTA, in its name, stands for Variable In-Flight Simulation Test Aircraft. As part of the simulation test, a pair of Getac tablets were installed in both cockpits during the flight that houses the company’s AI system.

The software can initially perform different characteristics of an aircraft for analysis, and this time it took on the form of a human pilot. The project’s primary goal is to one day send planes up into the sky autonomously, and this new achievement brings us one step closer to that future.

The military is gearing up for such a reality as the director of research Dr M. Christopher Cotting, noted that VISTA could help the organization plan and design uncrewed vehicles. Currently, the US Air Force Test Pilot School uses Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works classified research facility in partnership with Calspan Corporation to replicate the flying patterns of different aircraft.

According to Lockheed Martin, this is the first time “AI engaged on a tactical air flight.”

Maintaining air force fleets can be pretty cost-inducive, and simulations and AI-powered vehicles might be the way of the future. The only question is if it will ever cross to the commercial sector.

[via Interesting Engineering and Engadget, cover image via Lockheed Martin]