{"id":50875,"date":"2024-01-18T19:29:41","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T19:29:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2024\/01\/18\/ai-enabled-valkyrie-drone-teases-future-of-us-air-force-fleet\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:35:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:35:01","slug":"ai-enabled-valkyrie-drone-teases-future-of-us-air-force-fleet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/unmanned\/2024\/01\/18\/ai-enabled-valkyrie-drone-teases-future-of-us-air-force-fleet\/","title":{"rendered":"AI-enabled Valkyrie drone teases future of US Air Force fleet"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-smg-jwplayer-video\"><atype-video-jwplayer nostick=\"true\" playlisturl=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/v2\/playlists\/fCzRqMW8?tags=64d160e1-55d4-4b4a-9bd8-0e9e20639da7\" poster=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/video-poster-64d160e1-55d4-4b4a-9bd8-0e9e20639da7.jpg\" aspectratio=\"16 \/ 9\" mute autostart=\"false\"><\/atype-video-jwplayer><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">How will AI drive defense tech and priorities in the coming years?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 The testing of sophisticated software aboard an XQ-58A Valkyrie drone will influence how the U.S. Air Force develops and deploys autonomous technology in the near future, according to a service official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Kratos-made UAV flew a three-hour sortie in July near Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, relying for the first time on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/artificial-intelligence\/2024\/01\/10\/from-drones-to-sonobuoys-aukus-partners-betting-on-ai\/\" target=\"_blank\">artificial intelligence<\/a> algorithms. Its programming was matured over millions of hours in simulation and digital environments; in flights with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2023\/03\/28\/us-air-force-plans-self-flying-f-16s-to-test-drone-wingmen-tech\/\" target=\"_blank\">an experimental F-16<\/a> jet known as the X-62 VISTA; and other events, according to the service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Col. Tucker \u201cCinco\u201d Hamilton, chief of AI testing and operations, on Jan. 16 said the Valkyrie proved to be \u201ca great test bed\u201d and one capable of illuminating novel approaches to traditional tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have to give it some space as it\u2019s doing its maneuvering and just recognize that it is a computer-controlled \u2026 aircraft, and it may do things differently than a human,\u201d Hamilton said during <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/video\/2024\/01\/17\/webcast-how-will-ai-drive-defense-tech-and-priorities-in-coming-years\/\" target=\"_blank\">a livestreamed event hosted by C4ISRNET<\/a>. \u201cWe need to recognize there\u2019s a huge benefit there \u2014 some things we are doing right now may not be the most efficient, most effective way of doing things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tinkering with the Valkyrie builds upon years of the Air Force\u2019s Skyborg program and is closely linked to its more recent effort for collaborative combat aircraft, or CCA. The service in the coming years wants to pair human pilots with CCAs to afford greater flexibility and firepower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The uncrewed aircraft could <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/unmanned\/2023\/02\/09\/small-drones-launched-from-wherever-excel-in-us-army-experiment\/\" target=\"_blank\">execute a variety of assignments<\/a>: conducting reconnaissance, gathering intelligence, jamming signals, serving as decoys and striking targets with their own missiles. Officials have said CCAs could range in cost and complexity, with some being expensive and precious while others could be easily sacrificed in combat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf I\u2019m flying around in my fighter, I can imagine a world where I have multiple drones able to conduct some missions,\u201d Hamilton said. \u201cThe key, though, is we\u2019ve got to get the human-machine teaming right. It\u2019s all about that. AI and this autonomy \u2014 it\u2019s got to empower the decision-maker.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Robert Winkler, a vice president at Kratos, said in September that the Air Force and the Defense Department have communicated their desires for a fleet of robotic wingmen. David Alexander, the president of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, which makes the Gray Eagle and Reaper drones, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/unmanned\/uas\/2023\/09\/13\/message-received-air-force-crystal-clear-on-drone-wingmen-urgency\/\" target=\"_blank\">has said the same thing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force\u2019s fiscal 2024 budget blueprint included at least $392 million for CCA work. Billions of dollars are forecast to be spent in the long term.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cIf I\u2019m flying around in my fighter,\u201d Col. Tucker Hamilton said, \u201cI can imagine a world where I have multiple drones able to conduct some missions.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":113087,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":27,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[7,160,36,26,164,27,167],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3503],"class_list":["post-50875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters","category-training-sim","category-training-simulation-report","category-unmanned","category-unmanned-systems"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"SYRRX2B2UBA3JHAJ5FCRRHVZFA","arc_canonical_url":"\/unmanned\/uas\/2024\/01\/18\/ai-enabled-valkyrie-drone-teases-future-of-us-air-force-fleet\/","remove_feature_photo":true,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>AI-enabled Valkyrie drone teases future of US Air Force fleet - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cIf I\u2019m flying around in my fighter,\u201d Col. Tucker Hamilton said, \u201cI can imagine a world where I have multiple drones able to conduct some missions.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AI-enabled Valkyrie drone teases future of US Air Force fleet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cIf I\u2019m flying around in my fighter,\u201d Col. Tucker Hamilton said, \u201cI can imagine a world where I have multiple drones able to conduct some missions.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/unmanned\/2024\/01\/18\/ai-enabled-valkyrie-drone-teases-future-of-us-air-force-fleet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-18T19:29:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T18:35:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Colin Demarest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Colin Demarest\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/unmanned\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/18\\\/ai-enabled-valkyrie-drone-teases-future-of-us-air-force-fleet\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/unmanned\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/18\\\/ai-enabled-valkyrie-drone-teases-future-of-us-air-force-fleet\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"AI-enabled Valkyrie drone teases future of US Air Force fleet\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2024-01-18T19:29:41+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T18:35:01+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/unmanned\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/18\\\/ai-enabled-valkyrie-drone-teases-future-of-us-air-force-fleet\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 429,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/unmanned\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/18\\\/ai-enabled-valkyrie-drone-teases-future-of-us-air-force-fleet\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/8040671.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Air Warfare\",\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Training &amp; 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