By
Theresa Hitchens on December 18, 2020 at 3:31 PM
Will Roper
WASHINGTON: The Air Force’s sixth-generation fighter jet that emerges from the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program is almost certain to come with an AI copilot, says service acquisition czar Will Roper. The bigger question is what tasks the human pilot can, and most importantly should, cede to that artificial intelligence algorithm in what circumstances.
Whereas low-cost aircraft, such as the Skyborg drone, could very easily be flown by solo AI pilots in the near future, Roper told reporters during a Defense Writers Group briefing, the stakes are much higher for crewed aircraft.
Here’s why the Valkyrie drone couldn’t translate between F-35 and F-22 jets during a recent test December 18, 2020 A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor and F-35A Lightning II fly in formation with the XQ-58A Valkyrie drone over Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona during a series of tests Dec. 9, 2020. This integrated test follows a series of gatewayONE ground tests that began during the inaugural Air Force on-ramp in December 2019. (Tech. Sgt. James Cason/U.S. Air Force) WASHINGTON Earlier this month, the U.S. Air Force embarked on a hotly anticipated test: Could it use a semiautonomous drone, in this case a Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie equipped with a special payload, to stealthily translate and send data between F-35 and F-22 fighter jets?
Here’s why the Valkyrie drone couldn’t translate between F-35 and F-22 jets during a recent test December 18, 2020 A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor and F-35A Lightning II fly in formation with the XQ-58A Valkyrie drone over Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona during a series of tests Dec. 9, 2020. This integrated test follows a series of gatewayONE ground tests that began during the inaugural Air Force on-ramp in December 2019. (Tech. Sgt. James Cason/U.S. Air Force) WASHINGTON Earlier this month, the U.S. Air Force embarked on a hotly anticipated test: Could it use a semiautonomous drone, in this case a Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie equipped with a special payload, to stealthily translate and send data between F-35 and F-22 fighter jets?
Here’s why the Valkyrie drone couldn’t translate between F-35 and F-22 jets during a recent test December 18, 2020 A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor and F-35A Lightning II fly in formation with the XQ-58A Valkyrie drone over Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona during a series of tests Dec. 9, 2020. This integrated test follows a series of gatewayONE ground tests that began during the inaugural Air Force on-ramp in December 2019. (Tech. Sgt. James Cason/U.S. Air Force) WASHINGTON Earlier this month, the U.S. Air Force embarked on a hotly anticipated test: Could it use a semiautonomous drone, in this case a Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie equipped with a special payload, to stealthily translate and send data between F-35 and F-22 fighter jets?