Communications of the ACM
AI Brings the Robot Wingman to Aerial Combat
The Valkyrie experimental aircraft is a prototype for what the Air Force hopes can supplement its fleet of traditional fighter jets, giving human pilots a swarm of highly capable robot wingmen to deploy in battle.
Credit: Edmund D. Fountain/The New York Times
Artificial intelligence (AI) operates the U.S. Air Force (USAF)'s pilotless XQ-58A Valkyrie experimental aircraft, which the military envisions as a next-generation robot wingman for traditional fighter jets.
The Valkyrie, manufactured by defense and security solutions company Kratos, is designed to detect and assess enemy threats and high-value targets through AI and sensors, then attack after receiving human authorization.
The USAF intends to build a fleet of collaborative combat aircraft like the Valkyrie for surveillance, resupply missions, attack swarms, and wingmen as a more affordable alternative to increasingly costly manned planes.
The USAF's Maj. Gen. R. Scott Jobe said these drones could "bring [affordable] mass to the battle space with potentially fewer people."
From The New York Times
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