The VISTA and VENOM projects—both of which utilize experimental F-16 Fighting Falcons—are the beginning of the end for manned military flying.
The fourth-generation F-16 fighter is at the forefront of Air Force efforts to test next-generation autonomous technology. The plane is being used in two separate programs, both designed to test the autonomous vehicles that are expected to make significant contributions to the Air Force’s future structuring. This gives the plane enhanced relevance for a non-stealth Cold War-era fighter whose best days were long assumed to be behind it.
The first program, known as the Viper Experimentation and Next-gen Operations model-Autonomy Flying Testbed program—or “VENOM” for short—is an effort to develop the technologies for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones that are expected to integrate with the forthcoming F-47 NGAD sixth-generation fighter. The second program, known as the X-62 Vista, involves modifying an F-16 to operate autonomously. The two programs sound similar but are not to be confused.
“The VENOM effort is similar to, but separate from, the X-62 Vista,” Air & Space Forces Magazine reported. Vista is designed to “explore the maneuvering and tactics of autonomous aircraft,” while VENOM “focuses specifically on manned/unmanned teaming development.”
Nuances aside, the F-16 has become foundational in both programs, and in so doing has become vital to developing the unmanned aircraft of the future.
The VENOM Project Is Already Underway
So far, six F-16s have been transferred to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida to participate in the VENOM program. Once on site at Eglin, the VENOM F-16s undergo a series of modifications relating to the aircraft’s software, hardware, and instrumentation, which allow it to fly autonomously. The VENOM F-16s still accommodate a pilot, however, who rides along in order to monitor the systems in-flight and provide feedback.
The VENOM F-16s have been put through a slew of simulations, to test the aircraft’s combat capabilities. The simulations include “one-on-one and two-on-one combat and within-visual-range and beyond-visual-range,” the Air Force said.
“These simulations provide an efficient way to train the autonomy to learn complex air combat tactics,” Major Trent McMullen said. “A specific scenario can be run 1,000 times and the variations and decisions made throughout that mission can be studied. We can then make recommendations to the developers on how to improve the autonomy’s behaviors and overall performance.”
The F-16 VISTA Program Is Smaller—But No Less Consequential
The X-62 VISTA, or Variable In-Flight Simulation Test Aircraft, is a one-off training aircraft—a modified F-16D developed by Lockheed Martin’s famed “Skunk Works” experimental research division. According to the Lockheed Martin website, “VISTA is modified to test artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomy capabilities that allows it to mimic the performance characteristics of other aircraft.” John Clark, GM of Skunk Works added that the VISTA “is a crucial platform in our efforts to develop, test, and integrate AI, ,as well as to establish AI certification standards that will revolutionize the future of aerospace.
Said another way, the VISTA and VENOM projects are the beginning of the end for manned military flying. The Air Force is formally engaged in the pursuit of autonomous flight, meaning that in a generation or so, the need to have a pilot in the cockpit will be mooted. And curiously enough, the F-16 manned-fighter seems to be crucial to those autonomous efforts.
About the Author: Harrison Kass
Harrison Kass is a senior defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
Image: Shutterstock / newcastle.
