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Three trials carried out between May 28 and June 3

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AI pilot fed equivalent of 30 years' experience weekly

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Results inconclusive on AI versus human pilot performance

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Saab exploring crewed and uncrewed next generation combat

jets

By Tim Hepher

PARIS, June 11 (Reuters) - Sweden's Saab and

German defence startup Helsing have conducted combat testing of

a Gripen E warplane flown by AI against a real fighter pilot,

they said on Wednesday, in a step forward in European efforts to

compete on autonomy in defence.

Last week's trial is the first publicly known instance of

artificial intelligence being tested in a warplane beyond visual

range (BVR) rather than in a close-range dogfight, or that AI

has controlled a fully fledged jet rather than a test plane.

In May last year, then-U.S. Air Force secretary Frank

Kendall flew in a modified F-16 called X-62A VISTA fitted with

machine learning supplied by Shield AI to demonstrate the

ability of AI to enter aerial battle with a crewed F-16.

The European trials, known as "Project Beyond", included

three flights carried out between May 28 and June 3, the last of

which pitted Helsing's "Centaur" AI agent piloting a Gripen E

against a human-operated Gripen D fighter jet, the companies

said.

Funded by the Swedish government, the trial was inconclusive

on whether the human Top Gun or the AI-powered foe performed

better, but the trial highlights an increasing focus on

integrating AI and autonomy into combat systems.

"I would say it is not a given who will win... you have to

be on your game as a pilot," Saab's Chief Innovation Officer

Marcus Wandt, who is also a Swedish astronaut and ex-fighter

pilot, told reporters.

"If you need to retrain for a new weapon system or new

tactics, it will be difficult to stay on par. Right now there

are still pilots out there that will have a chance, but that

will change fast."

NEXT-GEN COMBAT JETS

The trial comes as Saab is exploring concepts for the next

generation of combat jets expected to combine crewed and

uncrewed planes, under Sweden's KFS future air combat study.

Sweden has not decided whether to continue to pursue its own

independent fighter plane as a successor to Saab's home-grown

Gripen.

It was previously involved with Britain's Tempest fighter

project, but pulled back to focus on its own research as the

programme widened to include Japan and Italy. The other major

European fighter in the works is the Franco-German-Spanish

fighter programme widely known as SCAF.

Kendall, who stepped down with the outgoing Biden

administration after leading the U.S. next-generation fighter

project that laid the groundwork for the recently launched F-47,

has said AI decision-making will routinely overpower humans.

However, Western projects for incorporating AI into weapons

systems call for humans to be able to intervene at some point.

Saab and Helsing executives said the AI initiative

exemplified the need for fast development timelines and

dismissed the 10- or 15-year timetables of rival projects.

Details of their trial were unveiled ahead of next week's

Paris Airshow, following months of simulator work in which the

executives said the Centaur AI agent was fed the equivalent of

30 years' of experience every week.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)