US Air Force X-62A Completes First Fully Autonomous Live-Sensor Air-to-Air Interception Test

The US Air Force's X-62A experimental aircraft has completed its first fully autonomous air-to-air interception test using live sensor data. At Edwards Air Force Base in California, the X-62A VISTA test aircraft executed fully automated air-to-air interception missions based on real-time sensor information. Previously, autonomous flight testing of military tactical aircraft typically relied on digitally simulated sensor inputs, with target aircraft, radar signals, and ground station data modeled as program files. In actual air combat, real-time data collected by onboard and off-board sensors is incomplete and laden with clutter noise. Under the HAVE HEAT flight test series, the X-62A integrated the Supermassive artificial intelligence agent system developed by Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works and was equipped with the Legion Pod infrared search and track system. Across eight sorties, the aircraft directly captured and processed real high-noise target tracking data from optical sensors, conducting 27 tactical air interceptions against simulated adversary T-38 Talon trainer aircraft.

The test establishes a closed-loop control chain from sensor to tactical action, representing a leap from automated navigation to dynamic autonomous air combat maneuvering. Leveraging the passive heat-tracking capability of the infrared search and track system, the X-62A can maintain electromagnetic silence without activating its active radar, reducing the probability of detection by adversary tactical reconnaissance assets. Lockheed Martin said full system integration and ground testing of the AI software on the X-62A took three months. In accordance with current US Air Force safety regulations, a human safety pilot remained onboard during the test flights to take over as backup.