After Surviving a Dogfight in a Test Aircraft, DARPA’s VENOM AI-Controlled Pilot Just Flew a Modified Combat-Style F-16

After Surviving a Dogfight in a Test Aircraft, DARPA’s VENOM AI-Controlled Pilot Just Flew a Modified Combat-Style F-16

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U.S. Air Force tests its unmanned fighter jets in a real exercise

An unmanned fighter jet built to fly and fight alongside human pilots has left the sterile confines of a test range and flown its first real-world combat exercise in the Nevada desert, according to a release from Air Force Warfare Center Public Affairs published July 27, 2026. The exercise, conducted at Creech Air Force Base […]

Air Force Tests Collaborative Combat Aircraft

JULY 29, 2026 – The future of air combat is being forged in the Nevada desert as the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft Experimental Operations Unit pushed the boundaries of semi-autonomous technology during a recent Agile Combat Employment exercise. The exercise highlighted CCA operations at Creech Air Force Base, testing uncrewed platforms in a realistic operational environment. “Air superiority in today’s increasingly contested environ…

DARPA details AI-controlled F-16 flight tests as U.S. Air Force advances autonomous combat capabilities

The aircraft is one of several F-16s converted into autonomous-capable test platforms under VENOM. The joint Air Force-DARPA effort was initiated through DARPA’s Air Combat Evolution, or ACE, program. The latest tests build on earlier ACE flights using the X-62A VISTA experimental aircraft. Those trials demonstrated that an AI agent could autonomously fly a fighter during an air-to-air dogfight. VENOM takes that work a step further by adapting s…