Secretary of the Air Force USAFrank Kendall, sat on a F-16 fighter plane to live first-hand the experience of flying in a combat aircraft controlled by Artificial Intelligence (IA), within the framework of a test that reaffirms the objective of the authorities of the North American power to incorporate this technology into their military resources.
AI marks one of the biggest advances in military aviation since the introduction of stealth (radar-undetectable) aircraft in the early 1990s, and the Air Force has jumped firmly into that research. Although the technology is not fully developed, fleet of more than 1,000 AI-guided unmanned fighter aircraft is being planned to be fully operational in 2028.
The test flight took place at Edwards Air Force Base, a vast facility located in the desert where important achievements were recorded, such as when Chuck Yeager surpassed the speed of sound in 1947, and the Army developed its most aerospace advances. secrets.
The training of AI models applied to control these fighter aircraft is being carried out by a new generation of pilots inside classified simulators and buildings with several layers of protection against spies.
“It’s a security risk not to have it. At this point, we have to have it”Kendall said, referring to the AI-piloted planes, in an interview with the AP agency after landing.
The AI-controlled F-16, called Vista, took Kendall in ultra-fast maneuvers at more than 885 km/h that put pressure on his body five times greater than the force of gravity. He came almost face-to-face with a second human-piloted F-16, as both planes raced within 300 meters of each other.twisting and turning to try to push his opponent into vulnerable positions.
At the end of the hour-long flight, Kendall emerged from the cabin smiling. He said that he had seen enough during his flight to trust this still-developing AI, to which he entrusted the eventual ability to decide whether or not to launch weapons in the war.
The military’s shift toward AI-equipped aircraft is driven by safety, cost and strategic capability. Future war scenarios envision swarms of American drones providing a forward strike on enemy defenses to give the United States the ability to penetrate airspace without high risk to the lives of pilots.
