An AI-controlled fighter jet took the Air Force leader for a historic ride. What that means for war
apnews.com
An AI-powered fighter jet took the Air Force’s leader for a historic ride. Here's what that means for war.

With the midday sun blazing, an experimental orange and white F-16 fighter jet launched with a familiar roar that is a hallmark of U.S. airpower. But the aerial combat that followed was unlike any other: This F-16 was controlled by artificial intelligence, not a human pilot. And riding in the front seat was Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall.

AI marks one of the biggest advances in military aviation since the introduction of stealth in the early 1990s, and the Air Force has aggressively leaned in. Even though the technology is not fully developed, the service is planning for an AI-enabled fleet of more than 1,000 unmanned warplanes, the first of them operating by 2028.

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The military’s shift to AI-enabled planes is driven by security, cost and strategic capability. If the U.S. and China should end up in conflict, for example, today’s Air Force fleet of expensive, manned fighters will be vulnerable because of gains on both sides in electronic warfare, space and air defense systems. China’s air force is on pace to outnumber the U.S. and it is also amassing a fleet of flying unmanned weapons.

  • @NobodyEnglish
    15•7 months ago

    After the flight, the F16 stunned researchers by asking where it could find John Connor.

    • neuropean
      8•7 months ago

      Skynet saw humanity as a threat to its existence, which was writing to generate an exciting story and blockbuster success. This timeline is different, imagine half of humanity helping Skynet.

    • @disguy_ovahea
      5•7 months ago

      “I know now why you cry, but it’s something I can never do,” it said, before crashing into the sea.

  • Flying Squid
    9•7 months ago

    What that means for war

    Giant robot battles on the moon like I’ve been hoping for since I was 8?

    • @Wrench
      6•7 months ago

      Except the Nazis aren’t hiding on the moon in this timeline, they’re taking Earth from the inside.

      • Flying Squid
        2•7 months ago

        Who says only Nazis get to have giant robots?

        • @Wrench
          3•7 months ago

          I mean, what else could possibly motivate humanity to have giant robot battles on the moon? Moon Kaiju? Come on, now.

          • Flying Squid
            3•7 months ago

            I don’t understand the question. Are you suggesting motivation is necessary for a giant robot moon war?

  • @Treczoks
    8•7 months ago

    The AI models have one big advantage: they don’t pass out at higher g forces.

  • Waldowal
    4•7 months ago

    Kendall remarked after the flight: “The flight was nice and smooth, but an AI voice kept screaming the whole time about how Megatron is a failure at leading the Decepticons.”

  • @[email protected]English
    1•7 months ago

    Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told senators on Tuesday at a hearing on the service’s 2025 budget that he will enter the cockpit of one of the F-16s that the service has converted for drone flight to see for himself how the AI-controlled plane performs in the air.

    “There will be a pilot with me who will just be watching, as I will be, as the autonomous technology works,” Kendall told the Senate Appropriations Committee defense panel members. “Hopefully neither he or I will be needed to fly the airplane.”

    Doesn’t this defeat the purpose of the drone? I thought the big advantage for AI/drone fighter jets was that it isn’t limited by the humans inside (in regards to G forces and life supporting systems, not in regards to targets)

  • @[email protected]
    1•7 months ago

    It’s wild that this plane entered service 45 years ago and is still in service long enough to be retrofitted with self piloting AI.