China urged to watch out as US chases AI-driven F-16 fighter jets for air combat of the future
- AI-controlled fast-reacting F-16s seen as likely to give the US an edge, though observers say it may be years before they appear in combat
- US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall reports ‘roughly an even fight’ after flying in AI-powered F-16 that faced off with human pilot
US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall was recently taken on a flight aboard a modified F-16 powered by artificial intelligence, Associated Press reported last week.
The warplane flew Kendall in “lightning-fast manoeuvres at more than 550 mph (about 885km/h)”, according to the report. The X-62A Vista – or Variable In-flight Simulator Test Aircraft – also went nearly “nose to nose” with a second human-piloted F-16 as both aircraft raced within 1,000 feet (305 metres) of each other, it said.
“It was roughly an even fight” between the AI fighter jet and the human pilot with “2,000 or 3,000 hours of experience”, Kendall told an AI expo event in Washington on Wednesday.
Analysts in China said AI-controlled F-16s might give the United States an edge in future air combat given its better manoeuvring capacity than human pilots, and the automated platform would also mean fewer in-air casualties.
But Beijing-based military analyst Fu Qianshao said while the AI-controlled F-16 might “react faster” than human pilots, the United States had a long way to go before it could use the technology in real air-to-air combat.