AI agents go nose-to-nose with human pilots in real-world dogfight

For the first time in the history of jets, artificial intelligence and humans, an AI pilot flew a fighter jet head-to-head against a human pilot in the real world. The test took place sometime in 2023.

Pulling off the feat off was a collaborative effort between several government agencies including the Air Force Research Lab, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Air Force Test Center, and the Air Force Test Pilot School. Hitting the milestone also required help from industry partners like Lockheed Martin, EpiSci and Shield AI.

The teams worked together to put AI agents at the controls of the X-62A Vista. The plane is a test aircraft based on an F-16 airframe.

“The X-62A is an incredible platform, not just for research and advancing the state of tests, but also for preparing the next generation of test leaders,” Col. James Valpiani, commandant of the Test Pilot School, said. “When ensuring the capability in front of them is safe, efficient, effective and responsible, industry can look to the results of what the X-62A [Air Combat Evolution] team has done as a paradigm shift. We’ve fundamentally changed the conversation by showing this can be executed safely and responsibly.”

In less than a year, the project’s partners went from installing live AI agents into the X-62A, to actually handing over the controls in the first human vs. AI dogfights. More than 100,000 lines of code in the flight-critical software were updated during testing.

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It took time to teach the AI agents the rules of the sky and how to operate within the domain under real-world conditions. Over the course of 21 test flights, the machine-based learning tools were taught how to perform defensive maneuvers before going into the more advanced high-aspect, nose-to-nose engagements.

During the dogfights, human pilots came within 2,000 feet of the AI-piloted Vista while moving at around 1,200 miles per hour.

“The potential for autonomous air-to-air combat has been imaginable for decades, but the reality has remained a distant dream up until now,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said. “In 2023, the X-62A broke one of the most significant barriers in combat aviation. This is a transformational moment, all made possible by breakthrough accomplishments of the X-62A [Air Combat Evolution] team.”

Secretary Kendall will get a front seat to the new tech when he takes a ride in the AI-piloted plane later this year.

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While teaching an artificial intelligence to dogfight, and actually having that intelligence perform the maneuvers in the real-world is absolutely monumental, the Air Force’s chief test Pilot said focusing solely on that aspect misses the point of the overall moment.

“Dogfighting was the problem to solve so we could start testing autonomous artificial intelligence systems in the air,” Bill Gray said. “Every lesson we’re learning applies to every task you could give to an autonomous system.”

Neither the AFRL nor DARPA revealed who won the dogfights between human test pilots and their artificial counterparts. However, when AI agents went up against humans in a simulated environment, the AI agents swept the competition.

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