A battle manager sends real-time commands to AI-controlled aircraft during a flight test over Iowa. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)
Lockheed Martin this year has been conducting flight-tests of artificial intelligence-controlled aircraft in air-to-air engagements, including a more recent demonstration where a human “battle manager” aboard a fighter jet trainer commanded AI-controlled aircraft using a computer touchscreen.
The testing is being done by Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works unit in partnership with the company’s Demonstrations and Prototypes organization, and the University of Iowa’s Operator Performance Laboratory.
In the tests, the battle manager aboard an L-39 Albatros assigned targets to two AI-controlled L-29 Delfin military jet trainers that worked together to defeat two mock enemy jets using simulated weapons. The AI software was developed by Skunk Works.
The AI-controlled aircraft flew with human pilots for safety purposes. The adversarial aircraft were also L-29s.
Earlier flight tests demonstrated AI-controlled air-to-ground jamming and geolocation, Lockheed Martin said on Thursday.
“The work we’re doing with the University of Iowa’s OPL is foundational for the future of air combat, where a family of crewed and uncrewed systems will work together to execute complex missions,” John Clark, vice president and general manager of Skunk Works, said in a statement.
