Dogfights
Top Gun meets Terminator: AI fighter jet successfully flies first test battles against human pilots
The Vista X-62A is the US Air Force’s training aircraft. Now she flew combat training against real pilots for the first time. Here she can be seen on her first AI flight – lying on her back.
© US Air Force / PR
Air combat within visual range – known as dogfighting – is the supreme discipline for fighter jet pilots. The Air Force has now had an AI-controlled fighter complete successful test battles for the first time. But people there are excited because the AI doesn’t behave like Tom Cruise.
This is explained by a video clip in which the US Air Force documents and celebrates its AI success. Years of preparation went into the test: the AI was trained in the simulator before it was allowed to fly a real aircraft for the first time. The Vista
US Air Force: The goal is not (yet) AI air combat
In a combat scenario, the AI jet competed against a human-piloted F-16. There were also two human pilots in the Vista, but their primary job was to monitor the flight data, try out various AI models and intervene in an emergency. This wasn’t necessary in the test fight: Although the jets crashed through the air at almost 2000 km/h, coming within 600 meters of each other, both jets landed safely on the ground in the end. From a flight perspective, the AI test was a complete success, but the Air Force does not reveal how the AI performed in combat.
Probably also because that wasn’t actually the goal. “The programs are not primarily about dogfighting,” explains Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Hefron. He leads the AI flight program called ACE on behalf of the Pentagon’s research department. “Our aim is to build trust in AI that is used responsibly,” he explains. “Our main finding is that we can do this safely and efficiently.”
AI pilot in combat
The Air Force is currently less concerned with the combat capabilities of an AI jet and more concerned with safety when flying. Modern AI approaches are a real challenge. While classic autopilots actually only process rules and relieve the burden on human pilots, AIs trained with machine learning should eventually be able to control the jets completely themselves – without putting themselves in danger.
This is difficult enough in normal flight operations. The Vista With all sorts of modifications, the flight characteristics of the machine can be changed specifically from the ground. This means you can not only simulate different types of aircraft, but also system failures or other extreme conditions.
AI also has to go into the simulator
But that wouldn’t prepare you for a dogfight either. While a classic flight is relatively predictable, the opposite is the case in close combat in the air: they are extremely dangerous even if not a single shot is fired. The jets race through the air in close proximity to and around each other, changing direction in risky maneuvers. A pilot – whether real or AI – has to make decisions accordingly quickly.
The Air Force benefited from modern simulation technology when training the AI. Like aspiring pilots, the AI initially learned in the simulator and also completed its first test flights against human opponents. And it was completely successful: the AI was able to win every one of the five fights (you can find out more here). Only when they were sure that the AI was really ready did they decide to conduct the first test battle.
Dangerous dogfights
“Dogfighting is an important challenge to test safety,” affirms James Valpiani, the commander of the Air Force flight school, in the video. “It is inherently extremely dangerous. And therefore one of the most difficult skills a pilot must master.” The Pentagon video also shows how dangerous: Between 2000 and 2016, there were 27 collisions in the air, 23 aircraft were damaged and 32 were destroyed. The lives of 12 pilots were lost in the crashes.
In order to show how safely the AI jets fly, even the State Secretary of the Air Force, Frank Kendall, wants to get into the AI jet soon: He will soon attempt a test flight, Kendall told “Defense News.” “There will be a pilot on board and will watch the autonomous technology fly with me,” he explains of the unscheduled flight at a budget committee hearing. And joked: “Hopefully neither he nor I end up having to fly the plane.”
Sources:Pentagon, Defense News, The Aviationist, Ars Technica