The X-62A VISTA Aircraft flying above Edwards Air Force Base, California. (Picture: Kyle Brasier, U.S. Air Force)
While some kinds of artificial intelligence (AI) spend time chatting with people online, others are piloting jet fighters.
Aerospace company Lockheed Martin recently revealed its VISTA X-62A tactical test aircraft was flown completely autonomously for the first time.
The test aircraft, essentially a modified F-16D, was flown for a staggering 17 hours across 12 different flights above Edwards Air Force Base in California.
The computer combined two different autonomous systems to pilot the plane: the Model Following Algorithm (MFA) and System for Autonomous Control of the Simulation (SACS).
It’s not clear exactly what kinds of activities were peformed by the AI, but it’s safe to say it was a little bit more than an average flight on autopilot.
‘VISTA will allow us to parallelize the development and test of cutting-edge artificial intelligence techniques with new uncrewed vehicle designs,’ said Dr. M. Christopher Cotting, US Air Force Test Pilot School director of research in a statement.
‘This approach, combined with focused testing on new vehicle systems as they are produced, will rapidly mature autonomy for uncrewed platforms and allow us to deliver tactically relevant capability to our warfighter.’
There are two obvious routes laid out by this latest development, according to Lockheed.
For starters, the autonomous plane can be used as a test bed for future AI developments and be deployed in training scenarios that could help the next generation of pilots.
Further down the line, it may lead the way towards autonomous planes overtaking drones as active participants in warfare.
‘VISTA will continue to serve an integral role in the rapid development of AI and autonomy capabilities for US Air Force,’ wrote Lockheed Martin.
‘It is currently undergoing a series of routine inspections. Flights will resume at Edwards Air Force Base throughout 2023.’
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AI in the sky.
