WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFRL) – To reduce risk to the development and maturation of artificial intelligence capabilities, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory led a successful three-hour sortie, July 25, 2023, demonstrating the first-ever flight of AFRL-developed, machine-learning trained, artificial intelligence algorithms on an XQ-58A Valkyrie.
Test units executed the flight in the Eglin Test and Training Complex. The flight builds upon four years of partnership that began with the Skyborg Vanguard and the Autonomous Aircraft Experimentation (AAx) programs.
“The mission proved out a multi-layer safety framework on an AI/ML-flown uncrewed aircraft and demonstrated an AI/ML agent solving a tactically relevant ‘challenge problem’ during airborne operations,” said Col. Tucker Hamilton, AI Test and Operations Chief for the U.S. Department of the Air Force.