SOF WEEK 2024 -- TAMPA, Florida. The U.S. military has been increasing efforts to develop trusted autonomy capabilities for its aircraft fleet. The Department of Defense (DoD) and its services and agencies have been working on several programs to enable the operation of their in-service airplanes by using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) software.

NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER AIRCRAFT DIVISION, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. U.S. Navy and Air Force fighter pilots will start a joint training program at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Joint Simulation Environment (JSE) facility starting in 2024.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Autonomous aircraft company Reliable Robotics reported that it gained approval to participate in the 2024 AFWERX Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) program for the U.S. Air Force (USAF); the TACFI program was launced to “bridge the capability gap” between current Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) efforts to facilitate the delivery of strategic capabilities for the USAF.

AUSTIN, Tex. SparkCognition Government Systems (SGS), which provides artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for defense and national security, announced that it signed a contract with the Ohio Aerospace Institute through the Digital, Research, Innovation and Experimentation (D.R.I.V.E.) Consortium that aims to leverage AI to optimize the U.S. Air Force's supply chain.

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. The U. S. Army hosted Project Convergence Capstone 4 (PC-C4), a joint multination, multiphase set of exercises during February and March 2024, with the Department of the Air Force reporting that its role in the experiments was to provide a multi-service synchronized air picture, enabling decision-making up and down echelon and across the joint force with mission partners and allies.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. DornerWorks reports that AFWERX [a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory and the innovation arm of the Air Force] granted it a $1.2 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award focused on a virtualization solution to address pressing cybersecurity challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF).

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Autonomous aircraft company Reliable Robotics obtained military airworthiness approval to begin flight testing and operational missions of its remotely piloted Cessna 208 Caravan for the U.S. Air Force, a milestone that will enable it to demonstrate dual-use automated flight capabilities for military use cases, including cargo missions.