AI Pilot in F-16 Dogfight with Human F-16 Pilots

[severn]

... so the Air Force Secretary was the front seater and the AI pilot was in the rear. The AI pilot took two F-16s in a dogfight. Secretary Kendall was grinning after the flight.

Thoughts?

From a dogface grunt point of view, there's a calming effect hearing a "human" voice inside a "fast mover" about to deliver a "500-pounder" in order to neutralize personnel in the "open."

An AI-controlled fighter jet took the Air Force leader for a historic ride. What that means for war

An AI-powered fighter jet took the Air Force’s leader for a historic ride. Here's what that means for war.

apnews.com

 

[flieger83]

The IP in the backseat has full control of the aircraft simply by taking the controls. This is not new; well, it is, but it's been going on for a while. And it's the future of aerial warfare. The USAF can't keep buying these astronomically priced Gen 5 aircraft; Congress won't approve of it and too little does nothing.

However, if I were leading a four-ship of F-22s or F-35s and I had 16 CCAs in my package...the CCAs (collaborative combat aircraft) are all AI piloted, linked to me and my team via datalink probably a lot more sophisticated than the Link16 I knew...then my attack becomes more lethal as it's now multifaceted and layered. And as costs go, the CCA is a lot less than a '35 is...and I don't lose a pilot if the aircraft is lost.

The future is now...

 

[severn]

... just wondering if AI can provide close air support (CAS) with the Warthog. Can it distinguish between friendlies and foes during the transition from ground combat to civil military operations (CMO)?

 

[OldRetSWO]

via datalink probably a lot more sophisticated than the Link16 I knew.

FWIW, in a past life I was part of the Link-16 industry team through a few iterations including FDL, MIDS and MIDS JTRS. You are correct that more sophisticated than L-16 is called for. You'd want Real Time sensor and mission data and probably fairly high bandwidth requirements which drives you to a different solution.

 

[flieger83]

"Real-Time sensor and mission data and probably fairly high bandwidth requirements"

Exactly!

I can quickly ascertain the SA required but then...to get the information as you describe...I'm trying to wrap my head around the methodology...

Eh, I'm an operator...that's for those wizards that work in buildings with sensors, fences, and armed guards and are connected to 3-letter agencies.

 

[severn]

... so not to appear Mr. Johnny Come Lately, but it's a given that AF Air Liaison Officers (ALO) provide joint tactical support to battalion - corps levels. With AI pilots in combat, ALOs can be critical in giving advice to ground units. I can only imagine that the Army's Ground Liaison Officers (GLO) are in pilot schools giving advice to AI pilots on how to communicate with ground troops and process what they are seeing in the battlefield.