GoKawiilEglin Air Force Base, Fla. — A U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jet, recently modified to serve as an autonomous flying testbed, is undergoing in-air testing using an artificial intelligence (AI) agent to autonomously control flight. This milestone advances state of the art technological infrastructure designed to enable rapid, scalable combat AI development across the joint force.
The aircraft is one of a group of F-16s that have been converted into autonomous-capable platforms under the Viper Experimentation and Next-generation Operations Model (VENOM) program — a joint effort between the U.S. Air Force and DARPA, initiated under the Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program.
Building on previous ACE flights with the one-of-a-kind X-62A VISTA, which proved an AI agent could autonomously pilot a fighter jet in a dogfight, the flight of the VENOM aircraft demonstrates the United States’ ability to transform standard operational fleet aircraft to employ cutting-edge AI.
“These groundbreaking flight tests of VENOM-modified F-16s advance the infrastructure needed to develop trusted, autonomous air combat capabilities,” said Brig. Gen. James “Fangs” Valpiani, Ph.D., DARPA program manager. “The Air Force and DARPA team has automated flight controls and sensors on a standard F-16 without changing the jet’s core software. This enables an efficient pipeline for developing dominant AI for aerial combat, allowing us to rapidly innovate for the warfighter.”
The modification, known as the VENOM Autonomy Kit (VAK), was designed and integrated by multiple performers under the DARPA ACE program. The kit utilizes a novel interface with the aircraft’s flight controls and mission systems, allowing a pilot to toggle between traditional human control and AI control with the flip of a switch. This ensures a safe, reliable environment for human-on-the-loop experimentation.
Moving forward, VENOM aircraft will serve as the cornerstone for the next phase of AI development under DARPA’s Artificial Intelligence Reinforcements (AIR) program. The AIR program will leverage the VENOM fleet to test multiple AI agents in live-flight scenarios. This critical testing will pave the way for human pilots to seamlessly command and orchestrate teams of autonomous, uncrewed aircraft. Ultimately, the capabilities advanced under AIR will enable a wide variety of future joint force operations, including Collaborative Combat Aircraft programs.
An F-16 Fighting Falcon modified for the Viper Experimentation and Next-gen Operations Model – Autonomy Flying Testbed (VENOM) program conducts flight operations during autonomous systems testing June 2026 at Eglin Air Force Base. The VENOM F-16s serve as modified airborne test platforms equipped with specialized hardware, software, and instrumentation designed to enable artificial intelligence agents to pilot the aircraft while human pilots remain in the cockpit to monitor the AI agents and ensure flight and mission systems test objectives are met to rapidly evolve autonomous capabilities. | Download
Source: U.S. Air Force | Samuel King Jr., 96th Test Wing
“The emerging threat environment, especially as it relates to aerial combat, is growing increasingly complex,” added Valpiani. “AI has tremendous potential to help humans manage this complexity in beyond-visual-range combat, but many hard questions remain concerning the performance and trustworthiness of combat AI in the extreme fog and friction of modern warfare. The AIR program aims to apply cutting-edge combat agents to operationally relevant scenarios to address these questions and field war-deterring, war-winning capabilities to our warfighters.”
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