DARPA ALIAS links -
https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us...-autonomy.html
I’m afraid that traditional Pilot skills will be going the same way as Navigator, Air Engineer, etc… This technology can be retrofitted to almost any aircraft to replace the pilot - safer too, with no human errors. Recently an AI Bot kicked an F16 FWI’s arse in 1v1 combat - 5 sore bottoms to nil - without making a single error. Using the same lag BFM techniques the AI Bot slowly took the advantage by gaining a degree or 2 here and there on the FWI. The AI Bot doesn’t make errors and just keeps flying to the limits. Both aircraft simulations were using the same aircraft limits too, but the Bot flew it 100% accurately every time and exploiting the 99.9% or less performance of its human opponent.
So why do we need humans at all? We can interpret, take risks and provide autonomous random behaviour - that is what makes us human. Combined with a machine doing what a machine does best, then a human/machine mix is the best result. It looks like Star Wars got it wrong by putting R2D2 in the back seat - R2 should have been flying and Luke should have been in the ‘boot’ directing the battle. But hey, it is Science FICTION after all!
