Senator Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) said this week that ex-Viper pilots can likely get a combat job if they want one.

“If you’re a retired F-16 pilot and you’re looking to fight for freedom, they will hire you here,” Graham told reporters after a meeting with Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelenskyy. “They’re going to look throughout NATO nations for willing fighter pilots who retired to come help them until they can get their pilots trained. So we’re going to get these jets in the air sooner rather than later.”

Ukraine received its first few F-16s in late July, and there should be about 20 ready for combat by the end of the year, but training pilots is a slow process.

Only about 20 Ukrainian Air Force pilots will be qualified by the end of the year, and that’s about half the number needed for the available aircraft. The Vipers are expected to act as a deterrence to long-range attacks from the Russian side of the line by forcing it to release weapons from a greater distance.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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Last week, Kendall got in the cockpit of a self-flying fighter plane during a historic flight at Edwards Air Force Base (KEDW) in California. The aircraft—called the X-62A Variable In-flight Simulator Test Aircraft, or VISTA for short—is a modified F-16 testbed and represents the Air Force’s first foray into aircraft flown entirely by machine learning AI models.

As Kendall and a safety pilot observed, the X-62A completed “a variety of tactical maneuvers utilizing live agents” during a series of test runs. Incredibly, the aircraft was able to simulate aerial dogfighting in real time, without Kendall or the safety pilot ever touching the controls. According to the Associated Press, VISTA flew at more than 550 mph and within 1,000 feet of its opponent—a crewed F-16—during the hourlong simulated battle.

“Before the flight, there was no shortage of questions from teammates and family about flying in this aircraft,” Kendall said. “For me, there was no apprehension, even as the X-62 began to maneuver aggressively against the hostile fighter aircraft.”

It wasn’t VISTA’s first rodeo. In September, the Air Force for the first time flew the uncrewed aircraft in a simulated dogfight versus a piloted F-16 at the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards. The department said autonomous demonstrations are continuing at the base through 2024. But Kendall’s decision to get into the cockpit himself represents a new vote of confidence from Air Force leadership.

“The potential for autonomous air-to-air combat has been imaginable for decades, but the reality has remained a distant dream up until now,” said Kendall. “In 2023, the X-62A broke one of the most significant barriers in combat aviation. This is a transformational moment, all made possible by breakthrough accomplishments of the ACE team.”

ACE stands for Air Combat Evolution, a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program that seeks to team human pilots with AI and machine-learning systems. The Air Force, an ACE participant, believes the technology could complement or supplement pilots even in complex and potentially dangerous scenarios—such as close-quarters dogfighting.

“AI is really taking the most capable technology you have, putting it together, and using it on problems that previously had to be solved through human decision-making,” said Kendall. “It’s automation of those decisions and it’s very specific.”

ACE developed VISTA in 2020, imbuing it with the unique ability to simulate another aircraft’s flying characteristics. The aircraft received an upgrade in 2022, turning it into a test vehicle for the Air Force’s AI experiments. 

VISTA uses machine learning-based AI agents to test maneuvers and capabilities in real time. These contrast with the heuristic or rules-based AI systems seen on many commercial and military aircraft, which are designed to be predictable and repeatable. Machine learning AI systems, despite being less predictable, are more adept at analyzing complex scenarios on the fly.

“Think of a simulator laboratory that you would have at a research facility,” said Bill Gray, chief test pilot at the Test Pilot School, which leads program management for VISTA. “We have taken that entire simulator laboratory and crammed it into an F-16, and that is VISTA.”

Using machine learning, VISTA picks up on maneuvers in a simulator before applying them to the real world, repeating the process to train itself. DARPA called the aircraft’s first human-AI dogfight in September “a fundamental paradigm shift,” likening it to the inception of AI computers that can defeat human opponents in a game of chess.

Since that maiden voyage, VISTA has completed a few dozen similar demonstrations, advancing to the point that it can actually defeat human pilots in air combat. The technology is not quite ready for actual battle. But the Air Force-led Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) and Next Generation Air Dominance programs are developing thousands of uncrewed aircraft for that purpose, the first of which may be operational by 2028.

The goal of these initiatives is to reduce costs and take humans out of situations where AI could perform equally as well. Some aircraft may even be commanded by crewed fighter jets. The self-flying systems could serve hundreds of different purposes, according to Kendall.

Even within ACE, dogfighting is viewed as only one use case. The idea is that if AI can successfully operate in one of the most dangerous settings in combat, human pilots could trust it to handle other, less dangerous maneuvers. Related U.S. military projects, such as the recently announced Replicator initiative, are exploring AI applications in other aircraft, like drones.

However, autonomous weapons, such as AI-controlled combat aircraft, have raised concerns from various nations, scientists, and humanitarian groups. Even the U.S. Army itself acknowledged the risks of the technology in a 2017 report published in the Army University Press.

“Autonomous weapons systems will find it very hard to determine who is a civilian and who is a combatant, which is difficult even for humans,” researchers wrote. “Allowing AI to make decisions about targeting will most likely result in civilian casualties and unacceptable collateral damage.”

The report further raised concerns about accountability for AI-determined strikes, pointing out that it would be difficult for observers to assign blame to a single human.

The Air Force has countered that AI-controlled aircraft will always have at least some level of human oversight. It also argues that developing the technology is necessary to keep pace with rival militaries designing similar systems, which could be devastating to U.S. airmen.

Notably, China too is developing AI-controlled fighter jets. In March 2023, Chinese military researchers reportedly conducted their own human-AI dogfight, but the human-controlled aircraft was piloted remotely from the ground.

Leading U.S. defense officials in recent years have sounded the alarm on China’s People’s Liberation Army’s growing capabilities, characterizing it as the U.S. military’s biggest “pacing challenge.” The country’s AI flight capabilities are thought to be behind those of the U.S. But fears persist that it may soon catch up.

“In the not too distant future, there will be two types of Air Forces—those who incorporate this technology into their aircraft and those who do not and fall victim to those who do,” said Kendall. “We are in a race—we must keep running, and I am confident we will do so.”

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The single-seat F-16 assigned to the 49th Wing based at Holloman AFB went down around 11:50 a.m. MDT, according to the Air Force.

The crash occurred near White Sands National Park about 7 miles from the base, near the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range.

According to a report in Air Force Times, Holloman is a training hub for F-16 pilots, graduating an average of 180 candidates per year. Tuesday’s crash marks the fourth involving Air Force F-16s within the past 12 months, with the other three occurring in South Korea.

The news source cited an average of three F-16 losses per year over the past 10 years. The service operates 841 Fighting Falcons, with plans to reduce that to 830 during fiscal year 2025, according to the report.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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“Don’t worry. There will definitely be airplanes for Ukraine,” Ole Egberg Mikkelsen, Denmark’s ambassador to Ukraine, told Ukrainian news outlet Mi-Ukraina on Sunday, according to Newsweek.

The confirmation comes days after the Nordic country marked the sale of two dozen of its F-16s to Argentina. Last month, Denmark announced it planned to divest its F-16 fleet as it modernizes with F-35s.

“In Denmark, we are about to change the generation of our fleet of combat aircraft with new F-35 aircraft,” Troels Lund Poulsen, Danish minister of defense, said April 16. “Therefore, I am very pleased that the Danish F-16 aircraft, which have served us well over the years and have been thoroughly maintained and technologically updated, are now being used in the Argentine Air Force. With the deal, we are strengthening the Danish-Argentinian defense cooperation, at the same time as Argentina becomes part of the global F-16 family.”

In late March, Poulsen outlined that Denmark would be donating 19 F-16s to Ukraine, where officials have long sought access to the fighter jet in order to modernize its air force and improve its defense ability following Russia’s invasion in 2022.

The first F-16 aircraft are expected to be delivered to Ukraine this summer.

“It is difficult to set a fixed timetable for the donation of F-16 fighter jets, because there are several conditions that must be met in order for Ukraine to use the donated aircraft,” Poulsen said in late February. 

• READ MORE: Norway to Send F-16s to Denmark for Ukrainian Pilot Training

Last week, the Netherlands delivered three F-16s to the European F-16 Training Center (EFTC) in Romania for Ukrainian pilot training, Reuters reported.

Russia President Vladimir Putin contends that the F-16 “would not change the situation in Ukraine” and has vowed that the aircraft will be shot down by Russian military forces.

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For the past four years, DARPA has been developing its Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program, which seeks to team human pilots with AI and machine-learning systems in dogfighting scenarios. According to the agency, the initiative reached new heights in September with the first AI-versus-human dogfight conducted with actual aircraft.

During the test campaign, the agency says, the AI made no violations of training rules codifying airmen’s safety and ethical norms. In other words, it flew just as safely as a human pilot.

DARPA called the achievement “a fundamental paradigm shift,” similar to the inception of AI computers that can defeat human opponents in a game of chess. Chinese military researchers reportedly achieved a similar feat in March 2023, with one aircraft operated by AI and another controlled by a human on the ground.

Researchers also “pioneered new methods to train and test AI agent compliance with safety requirements, including flight envelope protection and aerial/ground collision avoidance, as well as with ethical requirements including combat training rules, weapons engagement zones, and clear avenues of fire,” the agency said.

This is significant because, according to DARPA, previous integrations of autonomy on crewed commercial and military aircraft have used heuristic or rules-based systems, which are designed for situations that are predictable or repeatable. More complex scenarios such as dogfighting are impractical for such a model because there are simply too many possibilities for which designers must account.

Machine-learning AI models are less predictable and explainable than rules-based models. But they are excellent for analyzing complex scenarios on the fly.

DARPA views AI dogfighting as “a means to an end,” in the sense that it intends for its findings to be applied to AI integration on military aircraft more broadly. Another goal is to foster trust in pilots toward machines. The idea is that if autonomy can operate in a scenario as dangerous as close-quarters combat, humans can trust it to work in less dangerous—but equally complex—situations.

“What is the most efficient and effective path to optimize the performance and safety of artificial intelligence in aerospace vehicles?” is the question the agency poses.

To evaluate AI for dogfighting, engineers developed the X-62A, a modified F-16 test aircraft also known as the Variable In-flight Simulator Test Aircraft (VISTA). Uniquely, VISTA is capable of simulating the conditions of other aircraft while flying.

“Think of a simulator laboratory that you would have at a research facility,” said Bill Gray, chief test pilot at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base (KEDW) in California. “We have taken that entire simulator laboratory and crammed it into an F-16, and that is VISTA.”

Personnel began in 2020 by testing AI systems in a simulated environment using computers, progressing over the course of 21 test flights to actual flight controlled by ACE algorithms. Two human pilots remained in the cockpit for safety purposes.

The AI was retrained on a daily basis—engineers updated flight control laws overnight and reprogrammed the aircraft to fly the following morning. More than 100,000 lines of software changes were made over the course of testing.

The first dogfight between a crewed F-16 and ACE-controlled VISTA took place in September. The self-flying aircraft performed both defensive and offensive maneuvers, getting as close as 2,000 feet to the crewed aircraft at 1,200 mph.

All autonomous demonstrations took place at the Air Force Test Pilot School, where DARPA says they are continuing in 2024. The hope is that the results can be repeated during future testing of other scenarios. And researchers believe they could.

“Every lesson we’re learning applies to every task we could give to an autonomous system,” said Gray.

Like DARPA, the Air Force is committed to exploring autonomous flight systems. In addition to participating in ACE, the department is developing such technologies through AFWERX, its innovation arm. Last week, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told U.S. lawmakers that he would get in the cockpit of a self-flying plane—which the Air Force on Wednesday confirmed to be VISTA—in the near future.

“The potential for autonomous air-to-air combat has been imaginable for decades, but the reality has remained a distant dream up until now,” said Kendall. “In 2023, the X-62A broke one of the most significant barriers in combat aviation. This is a transformational moment, all made possible by breakthrough accomplishments of the X-62A ACE team.”

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Kendall said the flight is intended to allow him to observe the technology underlying the Air Force’s future fleet of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), which will pair crewed jets with fleets of tiny, buzzing, autonomous drones. A second pilot will join the Air Force secretary, but neither will actually fly the aircraft—a modified F-16—except in case of emergency.

The U.S. is investing plenty of money into the CCA. According to the Associated Press, the Air Force requested $559 million in its upcoming budget to support the program, out of a total budget request of $188.1 billion. The department’s 2025 fiscal year begins October 1. For the 2024 defense spending bill, the U.S. Department of Defense requested $1.8 billion worth of artificial intelligence investments.

“We have a cost problem with the aircraft that we’re buying now,” Kendall said in response to a question from Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, during a hearing for the Air Force and Space Force fiscal year 2025 budget request. “Our fighters are very expensive. The F-35 and the F-15EX cost about $100 million each, NGAD (Next Generation Air Dominance) will cost over $300 million and will be bought in small numbers.

“The uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft give us an opportunity to address the cost and the quantity issues with relatively inexpensive but very highly cost-effective platforms that we add to the fleet.”

The Air Force earlier this month welcomed three F-16s to Eglin Air Force Base (KVPS) in Florida, where they will be modified for autonomous testing. The modifications are part of the Viper Experimentation and Next-gen Operations Model-Autonomy Flying Testbed program, or VENOM-AFT, which supports CCA with funding for autonomous software testing on crewed and uncrewed aircraft.

VENOM-AFT testing will be performed by the Air Force’s 40th Flight Test Squadron and 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron. Personnel will monitor the autonomy system during flight and provide feedback.

Additionally, the Air Force Research Laboratory this month received a $4 million grant to build an AI and machine learning research center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (KFFO) in Ohio.

Kendall’s comments on Tuesday come amid the backdrop of China’s rising military might, particularly in the air.

Drones manufactured in China have been spotted on the battlefield in Eastern Europe and the Levant, where they have inflicted devastating attacks on troops, infrastructure, and civilians. Chinese manufacturer DJI is considered the largest seller of consumer drones. But many cheaply bought DJI products have been modified for use in combat, prompting wariness among U.S. lawmakers.

Kendall urged senators to modernize the department’s technology, warning that any further budget delays could give China a leg up. The budget for the current fiscal year was enacted in March, more than six months later than intended.

“Time matters, but so do resources,” Kendall said. “The United States is also now facing a competitor with national purchasing power that exceeds our own, a challenge we have never faced in modern times.”

Beyond the CCA, the DOD is also building up an army of “small, smart, cheap” drones through the Replicator initiative, announced by Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks in August.

According to Hicks and other senior officials, the plan is to produce “multiple thousands” of systems that are attritable, meaning they could be lost or shot down with minimal impact to U.S. military capabilities. These drones would be ideal for high-risk operations in which the chance of a crash or takedown is likely.

Hicks said the objective is to “outmatch” China. But William LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, clarified that Replicator systems will be distinct from CCA aircraft. However, LaPlante added that Replicator drones could be “very complementary” to the CCA initiative.

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The aviators graduated from elementary flight training Friday and were recognized in a ceremony marking the milestone. 

• READ MORE: First Ukrainian Pilots Expected to Finish U.S. F-16 Training By Summer

“RAF flying instructors have taught the pilots general handling, instrument flying, low-level navigation, and advanced formation flying to prepare the pilots for advanced fast jet flying training prior to F-16 conversion with coalition partners,” the RAF said. “On the ground they completed an aviation medicine course and high G-force centrifuge training. Babcock provided the Grob Tutor aircraft along with technical and operational support. Together with the RAF team they completed the training ahead of time with 100 percent aircraft availability.”

The pilots will now progress to advanced fast jet training and conversion to the F-16 with partner nations from the Air Force Capability Coalition, the RAF said.

At least a dozen Ukrainian pilots continue to train with the 162nd Wing of the Arizona Air National Guard (ANG) at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, with the first four expected to finish by May.

“I would like to congratulate these brave pilots on completing their initial training here in the U.K.,” British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said during Friday’s event. “Thanks to the world-renowned skills of the RAF, they have received some of the best training available and are now a step closer to joining the fight against [Russia President Vladimir] Putin’s illegal invasion.”

• READ MORE: First Ukrainian F-16 Pilots Finish Training in UK

On Wednesday, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said the Netherlands will be supplying Ukraine with advanced reconnaissance drones, as well as 350 million euros for F-16 ammunition, Reuters reported. The country, along with Denmark and the U.S., are planning to deliver the first of dozens of the fighters to Ukraine this summer.

Ukrainian defense officials have long sought access to the aircraft following Russia’s invasion in 2022.

“The conflict in Ukraine highlights the importance of air and space power, and the need to gain and maintain control of the air to defeat an enemy,” Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton, RAF’s chief of the air staff, said during the ceremony. “I salute the courage and determination of these Ukrainian pilots.”

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The ferry cell of aircraft left Lockheed Martin’s facility in Greenville, South Carolina, on Wednesday, and are among the 19-21 jets produced at the facility that the company anticipates delivering this year.

The 4.5 generation fighters are equipped with APG-83 AESA radar, advanced avionics, and  modernized cockpit. The aircraft also feature advancements, such as conformal fuel tanks, offering extended flight range, and automatic ground collision avoidance system.

• READ MORE: Bulgarian F-16 Block 70 Production Nears Completion

“With the introduction of the F-16 Block 70, we are witnessing a significant leap in fighter capabilities,”  said OJ Sanchez, vice president and general manager of the Integrated Fighter Group at Lockheed Martin. “The integration of this proven platform will allow the Royal Bahraini Air Force to safeguard its skies effectively and partner with allies worldwide.” 

• READ MORE: Royal Norwegian Air Force Receives Upgraded Super Hercules

Lockheed Martin has produced five F-16 Block 70 aircraft, dubbed the Fighting Falcon, for the Royal Bahraini Air Force, with 11 more in various stages of testing and production. The initial aircraft are at Edwards Air Force Base, California, where they are undergoing flight testing, Lockheed Martin said. 

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NATO’s 50 million euro ($54.3 million) investment took five years to complete and included renovations to the base’s control tower, runways, hangars, and storage facilities. The project marks one of the alliance’s largest investments in Albania, which joined the alliance in 2009.

The airfield, which is located about 50 miles south of the country’s capital of Tirana, is set to serve Albania while also supporting NATO logistics, training and exercises.

• READ MORE: NATO Conducts ‘Find, Fix, Track, Target’ Exercise Over Poland 

The airbase’s reopening and resumption of aircraft operations was celebrated in a ceremony Monday, marking NATO’s increased footing in the region. During the event, pairs of U.S. F-16s and F-35s flew overhead while two Italian Eurofighters landed on the newly resurfaced runway. Albania, which does not operate fighter jets, participated by landing its Bayraktar TB2 drones.

“This is a base that (will add) another element of security for our Western Balkans region, which we all know that it is a region endangered from the threat and neo-imperialist ambitions of the Russian Federation,” Albania Prime Minister Edi Rama said during the event, according to a Reuters report.

• READ MORE: NATO Air Forces Conduct Aerial Combat Drills Over Estonia

Said Dylan White, NATO acting spokesperson, in a statement: “The airbase will serve as an important NATO air hub. The makeover of Kuçova Air Base is a strategic investment and shows that NATO continues to strengthen its presence in the Western Balkans, an area of strategic importance to the alliance.”

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The news comes as a timeline begins to emerge for when Ukraine might also receive the first fighter jets sought by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy since Russia’s invasion in 2022.

In October, a small number of Ukrainian fighter pilots began training in F-16 fundamentals with the 162nd Wing of the Arizona Air National Guard (ANG) at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson. Called the “face of the USAF to the world,” the ANG wing has trained pilots from 25 countries to fly the F-16.

• READ MORE: NATO Conducts ‘Find, Fix, Track, Target’ Exercise Over Poland

At least a dozen Ukrainian pilots are  training in Arizona, CNN reported. The first four pilots are expected to finish by May, followed by a second group of four pilots who began training in January. The third group of four pilots is in English-language training, and all are expected to complete training by August, ANG spokesperson Captain Erin Hannigan told CNN.

“The training is going great,” Air National Guard Director Lieutenant General Michael Loh told Air & Space Forces magazine last week. “They’re flying F-16s solo every day.”

Last month, a Pentagon spokesperson confirmed the training remained on schedule and  was expected to range from five to eight months, depending on individual pilots’ skill level.

Ukrainian F-16 pilots coming on line this summer can expect to have fighter jets to fly when they return home, a Lithuanian official told Foreign Policy magazine last week. “I think that in June we will see them in Ukraine,” Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas told the magazine, citing a timeline that he said was confirmed during the Munich Security Conference. 

• READ MORE: Latvia to Spearhead Drone Coalition to Bolster Ukraine 

During a recent television appearance, Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said he could not confirm the June timeline, the Kyiv Independent online newspaper reported.

“I can only confirm that the action plan is indeed being carried out,” Ihnat said. “Our partners are ready to hand over the planes to Ukraine.”

Ihnat said the aircraft were needed “as soon as possible” and that the country had a goal of operating them from Ukrainian runways. Shoring up infrastructure in order to protect the aircraft also remains a concern.

“Ideally, we would hide everything underground, as Iran does,” the Kyiv Independent reported. “[Or] build reinforced concrete storage facilities that would withstand ballistic missiles.”

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