EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — The Air Force’s testing of autonomous flight capabilities is in full swing as the service continues to parse out how artificial intelligence software can be integrated onto its future aircraft.
There are at least 12 AI agents currently being tested at Edwards Air Force Base, Brig. Gen. Doug Wickert, commander of the 412th Test Wing, said during a Dec. 5 briefing with reporters. The autonomous pilots were developed by a range of companies as part of the ongoing Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program, as well as other complementary efforts.
The autonomous agents won’t directly be used in the Air Force’s future programs, but instead are being leveraged to understand how the service will test and train AI in the future, Wickert said. The current testing will feed into how the service will put through trials the first batch of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), which are expected to arrive at the base after General Atomics and Anduril conduct first flights of their prototypes in 2025, he added.
In order to increase trust in artificial intelligence, integrating the technology onto CCA drones will be an “iterative process” featuring “varying levels of autonomy,” he said.
Edwards has been at the forefront of the Air Force’s efforts to develop and experiment with new technologies, including autonomous flight. The base is also the home of the X-62A VISTA (Variable In-flight Simulator Test Aircraft) platform, a modified F-16 Fighting Falcon operated by the Air Force’s Test Pilot School and used for both student curriculum and autonomous flight research.
While capabilities enabled by AI have shown promise for future warfare, Wickert said there’s still much to be learned. There are currently “gaps” in the Air Force’s ability to test in digital environments and the real world, and AI can sometimes do “unexpected things” during live experiments, he noted.
Wickert also pushed back on recent comments from billionaire and tech titan Elon Musk that claim manned aircraft are both antiquated and overpriced in comparison to drones and other lower-cost platforms. An influential advisor to President-elect Donald Trump, Musk has been tapped alongside Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the proposed “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) aimed at restructuring the federal government and reducing wasteful spending.
“There may be someday we can completely rely on robotized warfare,” Wickert said, but projected that would likely be “centuries away” due to the growing complexity of modern combat and a slew of ethical considerations that come with using AI for military operations.
Artificial intelligence is optimal for the military’s current data fusion and situational awareness missions, according to Wickert. Moving forward, the Pentagon will need to have more trust in autonomy that will allow officials to turn towards AI-enabled solutions in the future, he said.
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