DARPA has flown an F-16 piloted entirely by artificial intelligence

As part of the VENOM programme, a modified F-16 fighter carried out missions in which the on-board AI handled the piloting entirely on its own, with a safety pilot merely supervising the flight.

DARPA and the U.S. Air Force flew a modified F-16 as part of the VENOM program, which equips the aircraft with a kit that allows it to switch between conventional human piloting and fully autonomous AI piloting. A first phase of piloted flights took place in June to validate the safety of hardware and software upgrades, before a second phase, in July, entrusted the on-board AI agent with autonomous control of portions of flight, under the supervision of a safety pilot.

This program builds on previous tests of the X-62A VISTA demonstrator, which had already proven that an AI could fly a fighter jet alone in a simulated air combat. The ultimate goal is to allow a human pilot to supervise an entire fleet of autonomous aircraft rather than controlling each movement individually.