KF-21 starts night flight testing

KF-21 Boramae, produced by Korea Aerospace Industry, has successfully completed its first night flight test, following the first prototype’s maiden flight in July of last year, with a gap of seven months. The KF-21 program is a major step forward for South Korea’s domestic aerospace industry, as it aims to develop a domestically produced advanced multi-role fighter aircraft, which can replace its aging fleet of F-4 fighter jets currently in service.

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GA-ASI’s LongShot proposal enters Phase 2

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) LongShot program has selected General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) proposal for Phase 2 in March. DARPA had stated that the LongShot program aims to show that an unmanned air-launched vehicle can use air-to-air weapons to take down enemy aircraft. This will increase the range and effectiveness of air superiority missions.


Graphic: General Atomics

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ASTARTE program demonstrates revolutionary automated flightpath-planning software

In late 2022, the Air Space Total Awareness for Rapid Tactical Execution (ASTARTE) program, a joint collaboration between DARPA, the Army, and the U.S. Air Force, successfully demonstrated new automated flightpath-planning software in a simulated battle in contested airspace. The software was able to deconflict friendly missiles, artillery fire, and manned and unmanned aircraft while avoiding enemy fires.


Graphic: DARPA
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X-62A flown by an artificial intelligence agent for more than 17 hours

The X-62A has been flown by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms developed under DARPA’s Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program for 17 hours during test flights at the Air Force Test Pilot School (TPS) at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Roger Tanner and Bill Gray pilot the Variable Stability In-Flight Simulator Test Aircraft (VISTA) from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, to Edwards AFB on Jan. 30, 2019 after receiving modifications and a new paint scheme. The aircraft was resdesignated from NF-16D to the X-62A, June 14, 2021 (U.S. Air Force photo by Christian Turner)

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