AI Just Fully Controlled A Tactical Jet For The First Time Ever

[deicer]

So it's not just happening in civilian aviation...

https://www.iflscience.com/ai-just-fully-controlled-a-tactical-jet-for-the-first-time-ever-67528

A tactical aircraft has made the first-ever flight being piloted purely by artificial intelligence (AI), according to a release from Lockheed Martin. Flying for a staggering 17 hours, the AI-piloted a VISTA X-62A tactical test aircraft that is used to mimic military jets in a trial that hopes to add new capabilities to the VISTA and further automation in military vehicles. 

"VISTA will allow us to parallelize the development and test of cutting-edge artificial intelligence techniques with new uncrewed vehicle designs," said Dr. M. Christopher Cotting, U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School director of research, in a statement.  

"This approach, combined with focused testing on new vehicle systems as they are produced, will rapidly mature autonomy for uncrewed platforms and allow us to deliver tactically relevant capability to our warfighter." 

The AI pilot combined two of Lockheed Martin's autonomous systems, Model Following Algorithm (MFA) and System for Autonomous Control of the Simulation (SACS), to take control of the aircraft while in flight and perform tests “emphasizing autonomy and AI”, though it is unclear exactly what was performed. Autopilots have been capable of maintaining flight and taking over in dire situations for many years, but AI breaking into tactical warfare is a monumentally tougher task. 

 

To test it out, Lockheed Martin used the VISTA X-62A, which is essentially a modified modern F-16D used as a training aircraft. However, it is designated a national asset and there is only one of them in existence, so use of it is limited – the VISTA is also currently being inspected but flights will resume later this year.  

Coupled with the serious tech on board, it will now be used as a test bed for AI during controlled flight and in training scenarios, with the potential of training future pilots. 

This is a massive deal because finding experienced pilots to train new recruits is no easy feat. While Top Gun may have you thinking that every person training you can take down next-generation jets in a 1970s aircraft, Air Forces are no longer the size they used to be due to extreme costs, so taking ace pilots out of service and into a trainer role is difficult. Should AI help alleviate this burden, new pilots could be trained faster and be of a higher quality. 

[W5]

Air Force Studies Autonomous Cargo Jets

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/air-force-studies-autonomous-cargo-jets/

 

The Air Force has awarded a contract to Silicon Valley firm Reliable Robotics to study the feasibility of flying its biggest iron autonomously. The company will look at whether it makes sense to fly multi-engine jet cargo planes from gate to gate with a remote pilot monitoring from the ground. For each end of the flight, the company is also looking at having the planes loaded and unloaded with robots, too. It’s also looking at making the technology available to commercial aviation. “Remotely piloted aircraft will enable the Air Force to increase mission tempo worldwide and leverage a certifiable commercial solution for defense industry needs at fractional costs and extend aircraft capabilities,” Reliable Robotics said in its Feb. 8 announcement.

 

The system will use “continuous autopilot engagement” for all phases of flight and all ground phases, too. “Higher precision navigation, sophisticated flight planning capabilities and more robust flight controls better manage aircraft and environmental conditions and improve safety with or without onboard crew,” the company said. The company has already gained certification basis for the system in a Cessna Caravan and says the general application of the technology will increase flight safety. “Once certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, Reliable’s system will reduce the occurrence of common causes of fatal aviation accidents, such as controlled flight into terrain and loss of control,” the company said.

[Vsplat]

I am out of fingers and toes counting the number of times in the past few decades where the flight plan and automation would have created a headline if not for a human on board going, 'huh - that ain't right'.  

That's not including the weather induced comm losses (which presumably would have a similar effect on ground link) and the autoflight and flight control snags that either occurred during the flight or reoccurred despite multiple attempts to find and remove a gremlin.

This all sounds great and undoubtedly will be an amazing win - until the day it isn't.

[Kip Powick]

I'm glad I won't be around, if this ever becomes the baseline for aviation, and ..............

Oh,  I have slipped the surly bonds of earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;.............................. ......will just be a distant  memory for the new era of " desk jockeys "...