DARPA to test AI-controlled jets in live-fly dogfights after successful simulations
WASHINGTON - DARPA‘s mission to develop AI fighter jets has moved a step closer to take-off. The military research agency’s algorithms took down an Air Force pilot in a virtual dogfight last year. In February, the Pentagon’s “mad science” unit tested how they’d perform as a team, Thomas Macaulay reports for The Next Web. Continue reading original article.
The Intelligent Aerospace take:
April 14, 2021 - DARPA algorithms took down a U.S. Air Force pilot in a virtual dogfight last year. In February, the agency tested how jet fighter AI algorithms would perform as a team.
The battle pitted two friendly F-16 jet fighters against one enemy aircraft. Each jet fighter had a gun for short-range engagements and a missile for more distant targets.
They now plan to test out AI on real-world aircraft by creating an aero-performance model of an L-39 jet trainer, which the algorithm will use to make predictions and maneuver decisions. Once the model is complete, the agency will begin modifying the aircraft so the algorithm can control it. The Pentagon plans to test them in live-fly dogfights in late 2023 and 2024.
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Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace
