An F-15E Strike Eagle from the 96th Test Wing’s 40th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin AFB, Fla. flies in formation with a Kratos-built XQ-58A Valkyrie drone flown by artificial intelligence (AI) agents/algorithms developed by the Autonomous Air Combat Operations, or AACO, team from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The algorithms matured during millions of hours in high fidelity AFSIM simulation events, 10 sorties on the X-62 VISTA, Hardware-in-the-Loop events with the XQ-58A, and ground test operations, the Air Force said. On July 25, AFRL conducted a three-hour sortie in the first flight of AI controlling an XQ-58A (U.S. Air Force photo)
The Defense Department should spend $5 billion annually over a three-year period to buy production-ready systems that almost, but do not quite currently, meet requirements to help innovative technology companies generate business and get these systems into the…