For the first time ever, the Air Force handed over certain systems of an in-flight military plane to an AI algorithm.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Air Force conducted a path-breaking flight test. An AI algorithm (colorfully named ARTUµ in true Star Wars style) rode alongside U.S. Air Force Maj. “Vudu” on a U-2 Dragon Lady assigned to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base.

The aircraft flew on a reconnaissance mission during a simulated missile strike, with core tasks divvied up between human and algo.

ARTUµ’s brief: Find enemy launchers. Pilot: Watch out for enemy aircraft.

Both shared the U-2’s radar. (U.S. Air Force)

AI and a human pilot flew a spy plane…together

ARTUµ trained on over half a million computer-simulated training iterations. After takeoff, the AI took over the sensor control and manipulated it during the flight. ARTUµ also took responsibility for tactical navigation.

Meanwhile Maj. Vudu flew the plane and coordinated the sensors’ operation.

The successful test flight was the result of many years of effort by the Air Force. Air Combat Command’s U-2 Federal Laboratory researchers developed ARTUµ and trained it to perform in-flight tasks.

“ARTUµ’s groundbreaking flight culminates our three-year journey to becoming a digital force,” said Dr. William Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics. “Putting AI safely in command of a U.S. military system for the first time ushers in a new age of human-machine teaming and algorithmic competition. Failing to realize AI’s full potential will mean ceding decision advantage to our adversaries.”

Describing the flight test, former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, who previously headed the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Board, told The Washington Post that it was “the first time, to my knowledge, that you have a military system integrating AI, probably in any military.”

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