Combat Drone to Compete Against Piloted Plane
Phoenix666 writes:
Combat drone to compete against piloted plane:
The US Air Force will pit an advanced autonomous aircraft against a piloted plane in a challenge set for July 2021.
The project could eventually lead to unpiloted fighter aircraft that use artificial intelligence (AI).
Lt Gen Jack Shanahan, head of the Pentagon's Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, called the test a "bold, bold idea".
Air Force Magazine also described the development of autonomous fighter jets as a "big Moonshot" for the military.
[...] When announced in 2018, the project envisioned the development of an unpiloted fighter jet.
Asked by Air Force Magazine whether this was still the objective, Lt Gen Shanahan said he did not know but added that AI-enabled systems could be used in other ways.
"Maybe I shouldn't be thinking about a 65ft-wingspan, maybe it is a small autonomous swarming capability," he explained.
Such swarms of drone aircraft could be deployed under a pilot's control or operate autonomously. A US military project called Skyborg will explore how the pilot of a fighter jet could control other drone aircraft - which would act as airborne sidekicks.
[Protoss] Carrier has arrived.
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