Background
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the U.S. Air Force disclosed on July 16, 2026, a significant milestone in autonomous military aviation: <cite index="21-1">the two organizations had begun flying an F-16 under artificial intelligence (AI) control at Eglin Air Force Base.</cite> The achievement is the latest step in a years-long development arc that stretches back to DARPA's Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program.
The VENOM Program
<cite index="22-4">The aircraft is one of a group of F-16s 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 ACE program.</cite> <cite index="7-3,7-4">According to DARPA, the kit automates the F-16's flight controls and sensors without changing the jet's core software, and a pilot can toggle between traditional human control and AI control with the flip of a switch.</cite>
<cite index="2-3,2-4">The first three F-16 Vipers arrived at Eglin in April 2024 to undergo software, hardware, and instrumentation modifications, followed by additional aircraft in April 2025, for a total of six F-16s.</cite> <cite index="26-1">The service began flying VENOM-modified aircraft in June 2026 to confirm that the jets and their new systems operated safely.</cite> <cite index="26-3,26-4">Test teams then allowed an AI agent to control an F-16 in flight in July, while a pilot remained in the cockpit to monitor the aircraft and take control if necessary.</cite>
Human-on-the-Loop Design
<cite index="23-2">The VENOM F-16s serve as modified airborne test platforms equipped with specialized hardware, software, and instrumentation designed to enable AI 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.</cite> Program officials have emphasized this arrangement is intentional. <cite index="24-3">"It's important to understand the 'human-on-the-loop' aspect of this type of testing, meaning that a pilot will be involved in the autonomy in real time and maintain the ability to start and stop specific algorithms," said Lt. Col. Joe Gagnon, 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron commander.</cite>
ACE Program Foundations
The VENOM flights build directly on the earlier ACE program. <cite index="4-1,4-2">DARPA's ACE program achieved the first-ever in-air tests of AI algorithms autonomously flying an F-16 against a human-piloted F-16 in within-visual-range combat scenarios — sometimes referred to as "dogfighting" — using the X-62A, or VISTA (Variable In-flight Simulator Test Aircraft), at the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California, with demonstrations taking place in 2023 and continuing in 2024.</cite> <cite index="5-2">The team flew 21 test flights from December 2022 through September 2023.</cite> <cite index="5-6">An AI agent controlled the F-16 in various offensive and defensive combat sets during the September dogfighting test, though two human pilots remained in the autonomous fighter jet for safety.</cite>
Industry Partners and Next Steps
<cite index="15-8">Industry partners in the ACE program include Calspan Corporation, EpiSci, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Shield AI, and Cubic Defense.</cite> <cite index="21-10,21-11">Before flight, engineers used software-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop testing to verify that autonomous commands could not exceed structural limits or impose unsafe physiological loads on the pilot; the Air Force began simulations in 2024 with one-versus-one engagements and expanded them to two-versus-two scenarios, testing both within-visual-range and beyond-visual-range missions.</cite>
<cite index="9-5,9-6,9-7">Moving forward, VENOM aircraft will serve as the cornerstone for the next phase of AI development under DARPA's Artificial Intelligence Reinforcements (AIR) program, which will leverage the VENOM fleet to test multiple AI agents in live-flight scenarios and pave the way for human pilots to seamlessly command and orchestrate teams of autonomous, uncrewed aircraft.</cite> <cite index="9-8">Ultimately, the capabilities advanced under AIR are intended to enable a wide variety of future joint force operations, including Collaborative Combat Aircraft programs.</cite>
<cite index="23-5,23-6">"These groundbreaking flight tests of VENOM-modified F-16s advance the infrastructure needed to develop trusted, autonomous air combat capabilities," said Brigadier General James "Fangs" Valpiani, DARPA program manager.</cite>