The US Air Force, in collaboration with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), has conducted its first successful flight tests of an F-16 fighter jet controlled by an artificial intelligence system. The test flight took place in July at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida as part of the VENOM program.
For the tests, the aircraft was equipped with a special hardware kit that allowed the AI system to interface with the F-16's flight controls. The fighter's primary software remained unchanged. Throughout the entire flight, a pilot was present in the cockpit and could return control to themselves at any moment using a single switch.
Program goals and the human role
Flight tests of the modified F-16s began in June, and in July, the artificial intelligence independently piloted the aircraft in the air for the first time. The VENOM program is aimed at testing various autonomous flight control algorithms under real-world flight conditions.
In the future, developers plan to test the AI's ability to operate in complex air combat scenarios, including beyond-visual-range engagements, as well as to coordinate actions with other manned and unmanned aerial vehicles.
DARPA emphasized that at this stage, the project involves a test platform rather than the creation of a fully autonomous combat aircraft. According to the agency's statement, a human remains in the loop of command and control, and it is the human who will make decisions regarding the use of weapons.
Source: newsru.co.il