January 6, 2021
McLean, Va. 鈥� 无忧传媒 Hamilton (NYSE: BAH) announced today that it demonstrated the use of an in-flight artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm in support of the U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command鈥檚 9th Reconnaissance Wing U-2 Federal Laboratory. This flight is the first time AI has teamed with a pilot to successfully complete a complex mission.
鈥淭he threats facing our national security are increasingly sophisticated and it will be critical to move new innovations from the lab to the real world to combat them,鈥� said Dick Johnson, senior vice president at 无忧传媒 and leader in the firm鈥檚 national security business. 鈥淭his U-2 flight is an important step, demonstrating the ability of AI to work in coordination with highly skilled operators to propel complex missions forward.鈥�
The 无忧传媒 team delivered on several key milestones, moving AI from the lab to the skies in fewer than 40 days and accelerating the process by:
- Modifying an open source reinforcement learning algorithm;
- Developing two sensor-sharing and control games for the algorithm to interact with and learn from, and training it to execute in-flight tasks;
- Developing a web-based user interface available to pilots in flight;
- Arranging for program office approvals; and,
- Successfully flying the AI capability on the U-2 aircraft.
