By TARA COPP (Associated Press)
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) —
An experimental orange and white F-16 fighter jet, controlled by artificial intelligence instead of a human pilot, took off in the bright midday sun with the familiar roar synonymous with U.S. airpower. Accompanying the AI-controlled F-16 was Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall. AI represents one of the biggest advancements in military aviation since the introduction of stealth technology in the early 1990s, and the Air Force has fully embraced it. Despite the technology's incomplete development, the service is preparing for a fleet of over 1,000 unmanned warplanes enabled with AI, with the first batch expected to be operational by 2028.
It was fitting that the dogfight took place at Edwards Air Force Base, a vast desert facility known for its association with milestones in aerospace advances. Inside classified simulators and buildings with layers of shielding against surveillance, a new test-pilot generation is training AI agents to fly in war. Kendall visited the facility to witness AI-controlled flight in real time, demonstrating confidence in its future role in air combat. “It’s a security risk not to have it. At this point, we have to have it,” Kendall said in an interview with The Associated Press after he landed. The AP, along with NBC, was granted permission to observe the secret flight on the condition that it would not be reported until completion due to operational security concerns.
The AI-controlled F-16, named Vista, maneuvered at speeds exceeding 550 miles an hour during the flight with Kendall, subjecting him to five times the force of gravity. It engaged in close aerial maneuvers with a second human-piloted F-16, with both aircraft racing within 1,000 feet of each other, attempting to outmaneuver each other. At the conclusion of the hour-long flight, Kendall exited the cockpit with a grin, stating that he had seen enough during his flight to trust this AI, which is still learning, to make decisions regarding launching weapons..
There is significant opposition to this idea. Experts in arms control and humanitarian groups are deeply worried that AI may one day be able to independently release bombs that harm people without further human input, and are advocating for greater limits on its usage.
“There are widespread and serious concerns about ceding life-and-death decisions to sensors and software,” the International Committee of the Red Cross has warned. Autonomous weapons “are an immediate cause of concern and demand an urgent, international political response.”
The military’s shift to AI-enabled aircraft is driven by security, cost, and strategic capability.
If the U.S. and China find themselves in conflict , for example, the current expensive, manned Air Force fleet will be at risk due to advances in electronic warfare, space, and air defense systems on both sides. China’s air force is expected to outnumber the U.S., and it is also building a fleet of unmanned weapons aircraft. In potential future war scenarios, it is expected that groups of American unmanned aircraft will launch an initial attack on enemy defenses, allowing the U.S. to enter an airspace without putting pilots at high risk. This change is also influenced by financial considerations. The Air Force is still facing problems with production delays and cost overruns in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which is estimated to cost $1.7 trillion. Smaller and less expensive AI-controlled unmanned jets are the direction forward, according to Kendall..
The military operators at Vista affirm that no other country currently possesses an AI jet like theirs, where the software learns from millions of data points in a simulator and then tests its conclusions during real flights. The performance data from these flights is then fed back into the simulator, allowing the AI to continue learning.
China has AI capabilities, but there is no evidence that they have been able to conduct tests outside a simulator. Some crucial lessons can only be learned through actual flight, similar to a junior officer learning tactics, according to Vista’s test pilots. According to chief test pilot Bill Gray, it's all guesswork until you actually fly. The longer it takes to realize this, the longer it will be before useful systems are developed.Vista completed its first AI-controlled dogfight in September 2023, and there have only been around two dozen similar flights since. However, the AI programs are learning so rapidly from each engagement that some AI versions being tested at Vista are already outperforming human pilots in air-to-air combat.
The pilots at this base understand that they may be training their replacements to some extent, or shaping a future where
fewer pilots are necessary
However, they also mention that they would not want to face an adversary with AI-controlled aircraft in the sky if the U.S. does not possess its own fleet.
“We have to keep moving forward, and we have to move quickly,” Kendall commented.
An experimental F-16 fighter jet, controlled by artificial intelligence rather than a human pilot, took Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall on a groundbreaking flight. Kendall expressed confidence in AI's capabilities after the flight in California, witnessed by The Associated Press. He stated that he would trust AI to fire weapons. This flight serves as a public display of confidence in the future role of AI in air combat. The military plans to use the technology to operate a fleet of 1,000 unmanned aircraft. Arms control experts and humanitarian groups are worried that AI may one day have the ability to take lives autonomously and are pushing for stricter restrictions on its use.
Vista flew its first AI-controlled dogfight in September 2023, and there have only been about two dozen similar flights since. But the programs are learning so quickly from each engagement that some AI versions getting tested on Vista are already beating human pilots in air-to-air combat.
The pilots at this base are aware that in some respects, they may be training their replacements or shaping a future construct where fewer of them are needed.
But they also say they would not want to be up in the sky against an adversary that has AI-controlled aircraft if the U.S. does not also have its own fleet.
“We have to keep running. And we have to run fast,” Kendall said.
