What is AI dogfight? Know how AI and human pilot got engaged in aerial combat

US Air Force has conducted the world's first known combat between a human pilot and a fighter jet controlled by AI. The pair of F-16 fighter jets took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California, flew at speeds of up to 1,200mph and came close to 600 meters during aerial combat. In the first-ever dogfight of this kind, one fighter was manned, while the other jet was a modified version of the F-16, called the X-62A, or VISTA, Variable In-flight Simulator Test Aircraft.

Dogfight in California

According to Fox Business, the dogfight between AI and human pilot was carried out as part of the Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program, launched by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in 2019. The Air Force conducted the AI dogfights at Edwards Air Force Base in California, the home base of the 412th Test Wing.

'Machine Learning'

DARPA said that the 'machine learning' has been tested in simulators on the ground for years. In an earlier experiment taking place in 2020, the so-called "AI agents" defeated human pilots in simulations in all five of their match-ups.

Pilots were onboard the X-62A fighter to tackle the situation in case of an emergency, but they did not participate in the dogfight, which took place in September last year.

Autonomous air-to-air combat

According to 'Sky News', Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said, "The potential for autonomous air-to-air combat has been imaginable for decades, but the reality has remained a distant dream up until now."

Colonel James Valpiani, a commandant at the US Air Force test pilot school said, "Dogfighting is a perfect case for the application - machine learning."

FAQs:

What is an AI dogfight?
In the first ever AI dogfight conducted by the US military, one fighter was manned, while the other jet was a modified version of the F-16, called the X-62A, or VISTA, Variable In-flight Simulator Test Aircraft.

How was the AI dogfight carried?
The pair of F-16 fighter jets took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California, flew at speeds of up to 1,200mph and came close to 600 meters during aerial combat. They got engaged in combat.