April 17, 2024 USAF Test Pilot School and DARPA announce breakthrough in aerospace machine learning The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency were finalists for the 2023 Robert J. Collier Trophy, a formal acknowledgement of recent breakthroughs that have launched the machine-learning era within the aerospace industry.
Dec. 19, 2023 Rapid Dragon top overall winner in Aviation Week Program Excellence Awards Lockheed Martin and the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation office, or SDPE, received top honors for the Rapid Dragon Palletized Munitions campaign at the Aviation Week Network 2023 Program Excellence Awards, announced Nov. 8, 2023.
Feb. 13, 2023 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 advanced fighter maneuvers at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Dec. 1-16, 2022.
Dec. 13, 2022 AFRL, AFTC collaborate on future technology via weeklong autonomy summit Leaders and personnel from Air Force Materiel Command organizations collaborated virtually during the fall Air Force Research Laboratory-Air Force Test Center, or AFRL-AFTC, Summit Nov. 14-18, 2022, to discuss the future of autonomy.
Aug. 2, 2022 New combat pod system wakes up with software updates during test The operational assessment of the Angry Kitten Combat Pod electronic attack system in April demonstrated rapid reprogramming between flights. This combat pod, an updated version of the Georgia Tech Research Institute Angry Kitten pod, simulates enemy electronic attack signals during Air Force test
Dec. 16, 2021 Rapid Dragon’s first live fire test of a Palletized Weapon System deployed from a cargo aircraft destroys target EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, FLORIDA (AFRL) – The Air Force Rapid Dragon Program, a fast-paced experimentation campaign led by the Air Force Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation (SDPE) office, successfully completed its final flight test December 16 at the Eglin AFB Overwater Test Range. The
Dec. 15, 2021 AFRL's PNT AgilePod achieves flight test objectives EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFRL) – The Air Force Research Laboratory’s complementary position, navigation, and timing (PNT) AgilePod prototype achieved three important objectives in flight tests conducted here November 1-10.The test team – representing a broad base of Air Force, Navy, and
Nov. 29, 2021 Rapid Dragon conducts palletized munition demonstration using production long range cruise missile The Air Force Rapid Dragon Program, a fast-paced experimentation campaign led by the Air Force Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation (SDPE) office, completed another successful flight demonstration November 3.
Aug. 20, 2021 Rapid Dragon conducts first system-level demonstration of palletized munitions EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFRL) – The Air Force Rapid Dragon Program, a fast-paced experimentation campaign led by the Air Force Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation office, has completed two more successful demonstrations during its first system-level flight tests of this potential
July 14, 2021 Rapid Dragon experimentation campaign evaluates delivering long-range strike weapons via military cargo aircraft at Northern Edge 21 EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFRL) – The Air Force Rapid Dragon Experimentation Program, along with partners from Air Force Special Operations Command, have successfully demonstrated beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) Command and Control of a Palletized Weapon System. This milestone was achieved while