One startup has Air Force contracts to rig a KC-135 tanker and C-130 airlifter for autonomous flight; the other created the AI pilot moving on in a DARPA dogfighting program. Now they’re joining forces.
Last week, the Boston-based Merlin Labs announced that it would acquire EpiSci, a California-based firm whose AI helped take Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall on a high-profile spin in an F-16 last month. EpiSci and its sub, PhysicsAI, are the only teams that have been part of all three chapters of DARPA’s effort to develop an AI fighter pilot: the 2020 AlphaDogfight Trials, the 2020-24 Air Combat Evolution Program, and—as of last week—the Artificial Intelligence Reinforcements program. Merlin, which makes an AI pilot of its own, expects to test it aboard an Air Force KC-135 tanker within the next year, said CEO Matt George.
In February, Merlin signed a deal with the Air Force to demo its AI pilot on a KC-135; just last week, the company won a $105 million contract to bring that pilot onto C-130 transport aircraft. After that, it will move on to C-130 tests. Merlin’s recent contracts and acquisition of EpiSci come as the future of the Air Force looks more and more unmanned. Human pilots won’t become obsolete any time soon, George said, but the future is autonomous. Autonomous systems will take some of the cognitive burden off of fighter pilots, Ryu said, so they can focus on other tasks—like managing drones.
Asked about the timeline for this technology, Ryu said EpiSci’s autonomy will be deployed on aircraft and drones gradually, in “bits and pieces.” The F-16 that Secretary Kendall flew had to be modified to let the AI control the plane, but newer drones are being built to account for the company’s software from the start, he said.
