USAF Captain Charles E. 'Chuck' Yeager became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound. Yeager flew a Bell XS-1, nicknamed Glamorous Glennis over Rogers Dry Lake located at Edward's Air Force Base on On October 14 1947.Nearly eight decades later, another barrier was broken at Edwards AFB, but this one involved a robot SI pilot.According to the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the US achieved a world first by carrying out a real-world dogfight between an AI-controlled fighter jet and a human pilot.The "nose-to-nose engagements" saw the dogfighting aircraft get as close as 2,000 feet at 1,200 miles per hour, reported the US Air Force on April 17.A manned F-16 aircraft took on the computer-controlled X-62A VISTA jet at the Air Force Test Pilot School.While autonomous technology has been carried out for decades, machine learning has been historically prohibited due to high risk.As a precaution, the X-62A is flown with safety pilots onboard with the independent ability to disengage the AI. However, test pilots did not have to activate the safety switch at any point during the dogfights over Edwards.“The potential for autonomous air-to-air combat has been imaginable for decades, but the reality has remained a distant dream up until now," said Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall. "In 2023, the X-62A broke one of the most significant barriers in combat aviation. This is a transformational moment, all made possible by breakthrough accomplishments of the X-62A ACE team."Kendall, a strong proponent of US military adoption of AI, told lawmakers last week that he intends to fly aboard an F-16 in autonomous flight mode later this year..DARPA began experimenting with AI applications in December 2022 as part of its Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program.It worked to develop an AI system capable of autonomously flying a fighter jet, while also adhering to the Air Force’s strict safety protocols.So-called "AI agents" defeated human pilots in simulations in all five of their match-ups — but the technology needed to be run for real in the air.“We have to be able to trust these algorithms to use them in a real-world setting,” said Lt. Col. Ryan Hefron, ACE program manager.While in flight, the AI algorithm relies on analyzing historical data to make decisions for present and future situations, according to DARPA.This process is called "machine learning."“It’s very easy to look at the X-62A ACE program and see it as under autonomous control, it can dogfight, but that misses the point,” said Bill Gray, the Test Pilot School’s chief test pilot.“Dogfighting was the problem to solve so we could start testing autonomous artificial intelligence systems in the air. Every lesson we’re learning applies to every task you could give to an autonomous system.”The result represents a "transformational moment in aerospace history," DARPA said.The agency has conducted a total of 21 test flights so far and says the tests will continue through 2024.The lessons learned will be advanced onto future programs of record, while the X-62 will continue to serve a variety of customers for research.The NF-16 VISTA started life as an F-16D Block 30 which later received numerous upgrades and modifications.In 2021 it was re-designated as the X-62A in preparation for its participation in Skyborg autonomous flight tests..The aircraft was upgraded to fully replace the VISTA Simulation System and add a new system called the System for Autonomous Control of Simulation (SACS) to support autonomy testing, prompting the re-designation as an X-plane."Dogfighting is extremely dangerous," Colonel James Valpiani, a commandant at the US Air Force test pilot school, told Sky News."So, if machine learning can operate effectively in an environment as dangerous as air-to-air combat, it has great potential to earn the trust of humans as we look to applications that are less dangerous but equally complex."He added: "The X-62A is an incredible platform, not just for research and advancing the state of tests, but also for preparing the next generation of test leaders.""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.""We've fundamentally changed the conversation by showing this can be executed safely and responsibly.DARPA did not reveal who won the dogfight.— with files from Mountain Democrat & Sky News
