DARPA Achieves Major Breakthrough with AI-Controlled Aircraft

The agency says successful AI dogfighting trials could support the use of autonomous systems in other complex scenarios.

Jack Daleo

Wednesday, April 17, 2024 at 04:09 PM ET

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U.S. Air Force test pilots combatted the DARPA-developed X-62A VISTA, a modified AI-controlled F-16, during dogfighting demonstrations. [Courtesy: DARPA]

Key Takeaways:

DARPA's Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program successfully conducted the first AI-versus-human dogfight using actual aircraft (X-62A VISTA), marking a significant breakthrough in autonomous flight.
The AI system demonstrated safe and ethical operation during the tests, adhering to all training rules and safety protocols, performing comparably to a human pilot.
This achievement is considered a "fundamental paradigm shift" for military aviation, aiming to integrate AI more broadly into aircraft and build pilot trust in autonomous systems for complex combat scenarios.

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The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, is a branch of the U.S. Department of Defense developing ambitious, outlandish aircraft designs, such as an airplane with no control surfaces or the Liberty Lifter seaplane. On Wednesday, the agency released critical details on what may be its most groundbreaking program so far.

For the past four years, DARPA has been developing its Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program, which seeks to team human pilots with AI and machine-learning systems in dogfighting scenarios. According to the agency, the initiative reached new heights in September with the first AI-versus-human dogfight conducted with actual aircraft.