The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to launch a competition to teach artificial intelligence (AI) software programmes how to control aircraft and their weapons in dogfights, Flight Global reported.
AI-controlled fighters will be able to react faster in combat than pilots. It is noted that close air combat requires high concentration and tension from pilots.
“Being able to trust autonomy is critical as we move toward a future of warfare involving manned platforms fighting alongside unmanned systems,” says US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Dan Javorsek, ACE programme manager. “We envision a future in which AI handles the split-second manoeuvring during within-visual-range dogfights, keeping pilots safer and more effective as they orchestrate large numbers of unmanned systems into a web of overwhelming combat effects.
