Lockheed Martin AI flies F-16 in 27 live-target intercepts

An artificial intelligence agent flew a heavily modified F-16 into 27 intercepts against a live target using data from an operational sensor, Lockheed Martin announced on August 4, 2026. 

The eight-sortie campaign was conducted at Edwards Air Force Base, California, by Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, the US Air Force Test Pilot School and industry partners.

The X-62 Variable In-flight Simulation Test Aircraft, known as VISTA, carried a Lockheed Martin Legion Pod that tracked a T-38 serving as the target. The pod passed targeting data to an onboard AI agent, which then maneuvered the aircraft into a tactical intercept position. 

The Legion Pod is built around the IRST21 sensor, which detects targets passively by their heat signature rather than emitting energy, limiting the electromagnetic footprint.

From simulated targets to live sensor feeds 

Earlier AI campaigns aboard the X-62 relied largely on simulated or injected target data. Lockheed Martin said this series shifted testing onto real-time onboard sensor streams, which the company argues better reflects the data environment crews would face operationally. 

Ron Fehlen, vice president and general manager at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, said the flights showed the company’s AI could reliably “close the sensor-to-action loop” aboard an operational combat aircraft. He said the agents processed classified infrared search and track feeds and executed maneuvers in real time. 

The company said its “Supermassive” agent generation capability allowed full integration and ground testing of the agents with the X-62 within three months. 

Next steps for the testbed 

The X-62 is a modified F-16D Block 30 with Block 40 avionics, operated by the US Air Force Test Pilot School as part of the 412th Test Wing. Redesignated from NF-16D in June 2021, it hosted DARPA’s Air Combat Evolution program, which conducted the first AI versus human dogfights in September 2023. 

The aircraft began a Mission Systems Upgrade in December 2025, funded by the Pentagon’s Test Resource Management Center, adding advanced radar and sensor integration. Lockheed Martin said the upgrade will let the X-62 demonstrate integration of combat systems, sensors and airborne AI agents within a mesh network. 

The work parallels the wider US Air Force autonomy effort. The service awarded Collaborative Combat Aircraft production contracts to Anduril and General Atomics on June 17, 2026, and is separately testing autonomy aboard conventional F-16s under the VENOM program at Eglin Air Force Base. The post Lockheed Martin AI flies F-16 in 27 live-target intercepts appeared first on AeroTime.

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