25 July 2024

The Top Gun movies celebrate Naval aviators, but let's say Maverick is finally kicked out of the U.S. Navy in Top Gun 3 and joins the Air Force. That would be a bad move for Tom Cruise, as future Air Force fighters may not have a pilot in the cockpit. Top Gun AI, anyone?

The Air Force's new XQ-67A drone recently took a few test flights, and it doesn't need a human pilot onboard. Like other drones, it can be remotely piloted, but unlike most other current drones in the Armed Forces, it can fly itself. 

The XQ-67A is part of a team of drones built on a "common chassis"—a core design format that allows the Air Force to develop, construct, and test different types of drones faster, more productively, and with reduced costs. This emerging drone force is essential to the Air Force's "Loyal Wingman" program—a blend of crewed and uncrewed aircraft working together to support and protect flesh-and-blood pilots during missions.

The world's air forces have delpoyed remote-piloted drones for years now, in order to conduct surveillance in situations that are potentially dangerous for human pilots. The autonomous XQ-67A, however, can collect and interpret data based on algorithms and make almost instant decisions far quicker than a human pilot.   

Perhaps an interesting plot of Top Gun 3 would have Maverick—rather than fighting military authority—struggling to prove his value, skill, and relevance as a combat pilot against flight wings comprised of autonomous drones. The future seems clear...

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