General Atomics achieves AI flight milestone with Avenger UAV
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has conducted a live tactical air combat manoeuvre using artificial intelligence (AI) pilots to control a company-owned MQ-20 Avenger UAS.
Collaboration between human and AI pilots was carried out using a live, virtual, constructive Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) ecosystem over a low Earth orbit (LEO) SATCOM provider’s IP-based data link.
The SATCOM connection was also used to retrain and redeploy AI pilots while the aircraft was airborne.
The trial used two L3Harris RASOR processors – one housing the transceiver card and another controlling a Ball Aerospace BLOS data link with active electronically scanned array.
GA-ASI's senior director of advanced programmes Michael Atwood said: 'It displayed effective BLOS command and Control through the collaboration between three defence primes. This showcases our rapidly maturing CCA mission system suite and moves us one step closer to providing this revolutionary capability to the warfighter.'
Operator commands were captured via hands on throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) controls and sent via the SATCOM link to AI pilots running Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithms.
The operators were provided updates from the AI pilots on a head-up display and could dynamically re-task via HOTAS. In addition, AI monitoring data was collected and sent to a ground station where the agents were retrained to improve performance, and then redeployed via the SATCOM link.
More from Air Warfare
-
Airbus could miss out as India’s air refueller saga drags on
Amid heightened demand for aerial refuelling capabilities in India, Airbus Defence faces a potential setback in securing defence contracts in the country due to escalating costs and concerns over trust.
-
Poland and Netherlands approved for hundreds of air-to-ground missiles
The AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) is a supersonic, medium-range, air-launched tactical missile compatible with US and allied strike aircraft.
-
Another Saab GlobalEye lands in the UAE
The arrival of the latest GlobalEye marked the fourth AEW&C aircraft delivery to the UAE in just four years.