US: AI-controlled aircraft engages in dogfight with human pilot
US Air Force has confirmed that its artificial intelligence (AI) system successfully completed an aerial combat scenario against a human pilot. The test was conducted last year in collaboration with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), wherein an AI-operated jet effectively engaged in dogfight with a trained human pilot. The trial was part of DARPA's Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program launched in December 2022.
Role of the ACE program
The ACE program's goal was to develop an AI system capable of independently operating a fighter jet while adhering to the Air Force's safety standards. The AI system was integrated into the experimental X-62A aircraft for assessment. The X-62A successfully completed its first dogfight test, against an F-16 controlled solely human pilot, from Edwards Air Force Base in California in September 2023.
Human supervision ensured during AI dogfight test
Throughout the trial, human pilots were present in the X-62A with the ability to deactivate the AI system if necessary. However, DARPA confirmed that there was no need to activate the safety switch "at any point" of the test. The X-62A engaged in high-aspect head-on encounters with an F-16 piloted by a human. The two jets got as close as 610 meters at speeds of over 1,900km/h.
'Step toward autonomous systems'
"Dogfighting was the problem to solve so we could start testing autonomous artificial intelligence systems in the air," said Bill Gray, the chief test pilot at the Air Force's Test Pilot School. He added that "Every lesson we're learning applies to every task you could give to an autonomous system." To date, DARPA has conducted 21 test flights and plans to continue these trials through 2024.
A paradigm shift in AI research
The US Air Force has not disclosed who emerged victorious in the simulated dogfight between the human pilot and AI. The X-62A aircraft is being hailed as an exceptional platform for research and further testing. "When ensuring the capability in front of them is safe, efficient, effective and responsible, industry can look to the results of what the X-62A ACE team has done as a paradigm shift," said Col. James Valpiani, commandant of the Test Pilot School.
