American Valkyrie combat drone controlled by artificial intelligence for the first time + photo

On July 25, 2023, the US Air Force’s experimental Valkyrie combat drone flew for the first time under artificial intelligence control and successfully completed a three-hour flight in Florida.

The test is one of the latest US experiments to pilot AI/machine learning fighter jets. America wants to fly fighters and drones with complete security while artificial intelligence tackles many challenges.

A US Air Force AI pilot has been trained by a simulator and has completed millions of simulated flight hours. The pilot’s algorithms were developed by the Autonomous Air Operations Team (AACO) of the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).

A combat drone with a speed of over 1000 km/h

The XA-58A Valkyrie UAV is the result of a collaboration between Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems (KUAS) and AFRL. This project wants to develop the necessary technology to create autonomous combat drones; UAVs that can operate independently without the need for human control and of course are able to cooperate with other UAVs.

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By developing such drones, the US Air Force can conduct advanced air-to-air or air-to-ground attacks without human casualties or even human control. Also, the costs of these attacks will be reduced and these drones can be sent to the battlefield as an auxiliary force along with fighters.

The wingspan of the Valkyrie UAV controlled by artificial intelligence is 6.7 meters and its maximum speed reaches 1,050 km/h. This drone can carry up to 8 weapons, including small bombs, and has a range of more than five thousand kilometers.

Artificial intelligence is changing various parts of human life, and it seems that the penetration of this technology into wars is inevitable. Therefore, in the future, we should expect fighters, tanks and even robotic soldiers that are controlled by artificial intelligence and without direct human intervention, and of course their goal is to kill the enemy’s human forces.