Darpa is advancing its AI fighter jet program to the next level

DARPA advances its AI fighter jet program with a new $11.3 million contract for autonomous piloting technology.

: DARPA is progressing its AI fighter jet initiative with a significant contract to Systems and Technology Research LLC worth $11.3 million. This project falls under the Artificial Intelligence Reinforcements program, aiming to enhance autonomous, tactical drone capabilities. Systems and Technology Research, already successful in the program's first phase, will develop AI systems to function in complex environments. This initiative follows DARPA's previous Air Combat Evolution efforts, indicating a shift towards unmanned aerial combat.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is moving forward with its efforts to create AI-controlled fighter jets, awarding a new $11.3 million contract to Systems and Technology Research LLC. This contract signifies the second phase of DARPA's Artificial Intelligence Reinforcements (AIR) program, which is dedicated to developing AI systems for autonomous, tactical operations in unpredictable environments. The contract suggests a strong push towards advancing unmanned aerial combat, tapping into the potential of AI technology to operate without human pilots.

The AIR program underpins DARPA's objective of deploying unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) equipped with AI-driven autonomy. Such initiatives are intended to replace human pilots, reflecting a significant shift in military technology towards autonomous warfare solutions. Systems and Technology Research has been identified as a key player in this transformation, having successfully demonstrated fast and accurate model development in the initial phase.

DARPA's AIR project is closely related to the previous Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program, which has been instrumental in testing AI capabilities in air combat scenarios. ACE successfully showcased AI systems that could outperform experienced human pilots, indicating the potential efficiency of AI in real combat. The next step for the AIR phase involves further refinement and testing through simulations to validate the capabilities of the developed systems.

Furthermore, the contract reflects DARPA's broader interest in expanding AI's role across various military domains, including naval technologies. Alongside this effort, DARPA recently unveiled an autonomous surface vessel, highlighting its continuing investments in autonomous vehicle technology across different theaters of operation.

Systems and Technology Research, joined in earlier phases by industry giants such as Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems, is expected to leverage existing sensor and weapons technologies. DARPA will reduce its list of contractors from six to four in this phase, highlighting a more focused approach in its selection of partners to bring these AI capabilities to fruition.

Sources: Gizmodo, The Register, U.S. Department of Defense, DARPA

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