US Air Force combat drone makes its first fully AI-piloted flight

l’us AirAir The force has just announced that it has taken a new step in the development of military artificial intelligence. His freelancerfreelancer Experimental XQ-58A Valkyrie fighter aircraft made its first flight fully powered by AI. The flight took place in Florida on July 25, 2023 and lasted three hours.

The XQ-58A Valkyrie is a low-cost drone developed by Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in partnership with the US Air Force. The goal is to create a drone powered by a jet engine capable of operating autonomously coordinatorcoordinator With other drones or humans. The project is part of the Skyborg project which aims to create a combat drone capable of acting as wingman alongside a piloted fighter aircraft.

MILLIONS SIMULATOR FLIGHT HOURS

This is not the first combat drone powered by AI. Also as part of the Skyborg project, the AI-assisted Boeing Loyal Wingman will make its first flight in 2021. However, this time it’s a completely AI-powered heist. Its algorithms have been trained through millions of flight hours in a simulator.

According to the manufacturer, the wingspan of the drone is 8.23 ​​metres, while the length is 9.14 metres. It can fly up to a maximum height of 13.7 km VitseVitse Maximum cruising speed of 1,050 km/h, or Mach 0.85, or Mach 0.72. It has a range of 3,000 nautical miles or 5,556 km. The announcement did not give details about the flight, but said it demonstrated the ability to solve tactical challenges in flight, and to transfer air-to-air and air-to-ground skills to other stand-alone programs May go. At least this time the drone did not try to kill its operator.