Jason Gaston

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS NOW FLYING AROUND INSIDE FIGHTER JETS.

Because evidently science fiction was less of a warning and more of a shopping list.

French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation has successfully flight-tested TWO artificial-intelligence algorithms aboard a Rafale fighter jet—one developed by Dassault and another created with French defense company Thales.

Now, before anybody starts screaming that SKYNET HAS AN AIR FORCE, there’s an important distinction:

Dassault has NOT said the AI independently flew the Rafale.

It has NOT said the AI was autonomously choosing targets.

And nobody strapped ChatGPT into the cockpit and said, “Go get ’em, buddy.”

What Dassault has described is “controlled and supervised AI” designed to assist the human crew.

That could mean helping pilots process enormous amounts of sensor information, identify important data faster, reduce workload, and give the people in the cockpit better information when they have to make decisions.

But France isn’t the only country experimenting with this.

Saab and Helsing have already tested an AI agent called Centaur aboard Sweden’s Gripen E. During those flights, the AI actually took control of the aircraft and autonomously performed complex maneuvers in beyond-visual-range combat exercises.

The United States has also tested autonomous flight technology aboard the X-62A VISTA, a heavily modified F-16 used as an experimental aircraft for artificial intelligence and machine-learning research.

So the technology is moving FAST.

And that raises a much bigger question:

Where should the line be?

There’s an enormous difference between:

“AI, help me understand what’s happening.”

and:

“AI, make the decision.”

In this video, we’re talking about what Dassault actually tested, what it DIDN’T claim, what other countries are already doing with AI-controlled aircraft, and why keeping human beings in charge of life-or-death decisions is going to become one of the biggest questions surrounding military AI.

Also, AI still occasionally gives me seven fingers in a YouTube thumbnail, so maybe we keep it away from the missiles for a little while longer.

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SOURCES:

Reuters — Dassault Aviation tests AI algorithms on Rafale fighter jet:
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/dassault-aviation-tests-ai-algorithms-rafale-fighter-jet-2026-09-22/

Saab — Saab achieves AI milestone with Gripen E:
https://www.saab.com/newsroom/press-releases/2025/saab-achieves-ai-milestone-with-gripen-e

U.S. Air Force — SecAF Kendall experiences VISTA of future flight test at Edwards AFB:
https://www.af.mil/News/Features/Article/3764879/secaf-kendall-experiences-vista-of-future-flight-test-at-edwards-afb/

#ArtificialIntelligence #AI #Rafale #Dassault #FighterJets #MilitaryTechnology #Aviation #FutureTechnology #SkynetNeedsACopilot #PleaseKeepAIOnTheThumbnails