DARPA and U.S. Air Force Test AI-Piloted F-16 Autonomous Flight

In July 2026, DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and the U.S. Air Force revealed a test flight of an F-16 fighter jet flown under AI control. The aircraft was modified under the VENOM (Viper Experimentation and Next-generation Operations Model) program; for safety, a pilot remains in the cockpit and can flip a single switch to transfer control between the human and the AI.

What is the VENOM program

VENOM is a joint test program between the Air Force and DARPA, run under DARPA’s ACE (Air Combat Evolution) program. Multiple F-16s were modified with a “VENOM Autonomy Kit (VAK)” to enable autonomous flight; the kit connects to the aircraft’s flight-control and mission systems without altering the F-16’s existing core software. DARPA described this test as a “human-on-the-loop” live flight — the AI flies the aircraft while a human continuously supervises.

Safeguards and goals

The pilot stays in the cockpit to monitor the AI agent and manage mission objectives, and can immediately return control to the human via a dedicated switch if needed. DARPA program manager Brig. Gen. James Valpiani said the test “advances the infrastructure needed to develop trusted autonomous air combat capability.” VENOM aircraft are expected to support the next phase of DARPA’s AIR (Artificial Intelligence Reinforcements) program, evaluating multiple AI agents simultaneously in live flight, with the eventual goal of a human pilot supervising a formation of multiple uncrewed aircraft.

Note

Because this story touches on sensitive defense-industry and autonomous-weapons topics, this article limits itself to reporting facts based on DARPA’s official announcement and press coverage. Further program details and future developments will continue to be updated in DARPA’s official announcement.