NF-16D VISTA becomes X-62A

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NF-16D VISTA becomes X-62A, paves way for Skyborg autonomous flight tests

The NF-16D Variable In-flight Simulator Aircraft (VISTA) has been redesignated as the X-62A, effective June 14, 2021. The name change more closely reflects its history of experimental flight tests and breaks ground for its future with autonomous systems such as Skyborg.
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www.edwards.af.mil

NF-16D VISTA becomes X-62A

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Edwards Air Force Base on Instagram: "Welcome to the "newest" X plane. The X-62A VISTA. The X designation denotes aircraft that are designed for testing configurations of a radical nature. X aircraft are not normally intended for use as tactical air

2,073 likes, 21 comments - edwardsairforcebase on July 30, 2021: "Welcome to the "newest" X plane. The X-62A VISTA. The X designation denotes aircraft that are designed for testing configurations of a r..."
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If skyborg can be installed on so many types of aircraft, could it not theoretically be created a couple of autonomous F16 squadrons for the air force or for an allied country?
 
Lc89 said:
If skyborg can be installed on so many types of aircraft, could it not theoretically be created a couple of autonomous F16 squadrons for the air force or for an allied country?
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Command & Control issues, especially with regards as to potential enemy compromise and subversion, would probably make that a non-starter.
 
Could we imagine future, where opposing countries would "battle" in cyberspace for the control of unmanned combat vehicles, that could certain times fight for and against the country, who produce (and initially send to battle) them?
In such scenario both enemies could'n spend ammunition to destroy enemy vehicles (aircraft etc.), but to overcome foreign "hackers"
 
Silencer1 said:
Could we imagine future, where opposing countries would "battle" in cyberspace for the control of unmanned combat vehicles, that could certain times fight for and against the country, who produce (and initially send to battle) them?
In such scenario both enemies could'n spend ammunition to destroy enemy vehicles (aircraft etc.), but to overcome foreign "hackers"
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Based on the current ongoings in Ukraine as well as any number of other countless historical precedents that have occurred over the recorded history of mankind before, I really can't envision a pure cyberspace battle. War is pretty much always about conquering physical territory and resources as well as control of the people who live on it, and their assets/infrastructure. War at its very core is basically about controlling people and the land they live on, and people who crave that kind of control typically want it to be tangible, not virtual. In this day and age, virtual denial/destruction of those resources might provide some temporary tactical advantage, but it will most likely severely antagonize and energize the populace the invaders ideally eventually want on their side. YMMV, of course.
 
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martinbayer said:
antagonize and energize the populace the invaders ideally eventually want on their side.
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Isn't that assuming that the invaders want to keep said populace alive and there?
This doesn't seen to be the trend...
 
Rambling about skyborg warfare ... what if that war occurred in a region thinly populated by humans?

We don't even need to go off-planet to find the Arctic Ocean thinly populated by humans. It ranges from 1700 to 2500 meters deep with the deepest portion being 5450 meters deep in the Eurasian Basin. Since it is mostly covered with ice, only handfuls of Inuit and Eskimos hunt around the edges. They only hunt where ice is shallow enough for seals to come up for air.
Rumor has it that the Russian Navy or Coast Guard is building "submersible coastal patrol vessels." Holy euphemisms Batman! They need to submerge to sail under pack ice.
Over the next 50 years, climate change will slowly melt the polar ice cap and open up the edges of the Arctic Ocean for surface shipping and mineral exploration with Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Iceland, Norway, Russia, the USA and maybe even China all competing for turf.
All that ice and long, dark winters make it difficult to station white men in the Arctic Ocean This makes un-manned aerial and submersible vehicles more valuable.

P.S. I spent one summer doing construction work at CFS Alert. CFS Alert was built back during the 1950s to listen to Soviet radio traffic over the Artic Ocean. Later NORAD built the Pinetree Line and DEW Line arrays of early warning radars in case the Soviet Air Force decided to attack North America over the North Pole.
 
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https://twitter.com/x/status/1625133953530183680
View: https://twitter.com/LockheedMartin/status/1625133953530183680
news.lockheedmartin.com

VISTA X-62 Advancing Autonomy and Changing the Face of Air Power

The Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) VISTA X-62A, a one-of-a-kind training aircraft, was flown by an artificial intelligence agent for more than 17 hours recently, representing the first time AI...
news.lockheedmartin.com news.lockheedmartin.com
www.edwards.af.mil

DoD artificial intelligence agents successfully pilot fighter jet

A joint Department of Defense team executed 12 flight tests in which artificial intelligence, or AI, agents piloted the X-62A Variable Stability In-Flight Simulator Test Aircraft, or VISTA, to perform
www.edwards.af.mil
 
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