Questions loom as Air Force robot-wingman effort prepares to take flight
Industry execs outline challenges of technology, test and evaluation—and even philosophy.
AUDREY DECKER | SEPTEMBER 8, 2023
AIR FORCE DRONES AI & AUTONOMY INDUSTRY
Even as the Air Force edges toward a competition to build its long-contemplated robot wingmen, several fundamental questions linger about the autonomous aircraft that will fly into battle alongside manned fighter jets.
The questions are less technological than philosophical, industry executives say. Just how will these “collaborative combat aircraft,” or CCAs, work with manned fighters? How much autonomy should they have? How will their AI be tested?
“A lot of the accomplishments that we've made to date, that the Air Force has made to date, related to autonomy and AI, really demonstrates that level of technology does in fact exist,” said Steve Fendley, who leads the unmanned systems division of Kratos, one of the firms working to develop autonomous drones. Now, Fendley said, policymakers are “deciding where we're going to establish boundaries and how much of that autonomy and AI are we going to allow to be a part of coordinated manned-unmanned operations.”
The Air Force has had several years to contemplate these questions. Today’s CCA effort evolved out of the Avatar program, launched under then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter sometime before 2016. But it took time just to persuade service leaders of the need for autonomous helper drones, said Will Roper, a former Air Force acquisition chief.
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2023/09/questions-loom-air-force-robot-wingman-effort-prepares-take-flight/390123/
