Top Gun vs AI Fighter Jet Aerial Combat First Reveal... Who Is the Winner?

Close Combat Flight at Edwards Air Force Base Last September
"Progress of the ACE Program Developing Autonomous Combat Systems"

An air combat test took place in the sky between an artificial intelligence (AI)-piloted fighter jet and the United States' top fighter pilot known as 'Top Gun.'

On the 20th (local time), Newsweek reported that the first air combat test between an AI fighter jet and a manned fighter jet was conducted in the United States. The media stated that this test was carried out last September over Edwards Air Force Base in California under the leadership of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Defense.

An aerial combat test between the US military's AI F-16 fighter jet and a manned F-16. [Image source=US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) website]

DARPA released part of the test footage, showing the AI-piloted modified F-16 fighter jet (X-62A) and the human-piloted F-16 flying around each other at speeds up to 1,931 km/h. The AI F-16 performed defensive and offensive maneuvers, approaching the manned fighter jet to about 610 meters. This was a so-called 'dogfight'?a close-range aerial combat within visual range. However, which F-16 gained the upper hand in this air combat was not disclosed.

DARPA described this air combat as "an important advancement in the 'Air Combat Evolution (ACE)' program, which develops autonomous combat systems where AI pilots aircraft." Frank Kendall, U.S. Secretary of the Air Force, said, "It demonstrated how autonomy based on machine learning AI can be safely used in dynamic combat maneuvering flight." He added, "2023 is the year the ACE program made machine learning a reality in the air."

The ACE program began in December 2022. So far, 21 AI fighter test flights have been conducted under this program, and based on the results, more than 100,000 software modifications have been made. However, DARPA did not disclose detailed information, although it stated that the AI fighter development is progressing faster than expected.

The F-16 fighter jet, produced by Lockheed Martin in the United States, is a multi-role fighter and is the most widely sold fighter jet model currently in production worldwide. Since its first flight by the original manufacturer General Dynamics in 1974 and its introduction to the U.S. military in 1978, it has undergone continuous upgrades and remains in production. The Republic of Korea Air Force also operates it as a main fighter jet alongside the F-15K.