AI thrashes human fighter pilot 5-0 in simulated F-16 dogfights

By David Hambling

An F-16 Fighting Falcon

Stocktrek Images/Getty Images

AN AI pilot has defeated a human 5-0 in virtual air-to-air combat in the first contest of its kind.

The AlphaDogfight Trials, staged by the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), were streamed online and proved so popular that the final had to be transferred to YouTube because of lack of capacity on the original platform.

While the US already operates many uncrewed drones, these are flown remotely by pilots, whereas simulated F-16 fighter aircraft in the AlphaDogfight Trials were controlled by artificial intelligence. In two previous events, AIs competed against each …