“The X-62A VISTA team has proven with this test campaign that they are capable of complex AI test missions that accelerate the development and testing of autonomy capabilities for the DOD,” said Dr. Malcolm Cotting, the director of research for the US Air Force Test Pilot School.
The X-62 began life as a two-seat Block 30 F-16D and first flew in 1992, spending much of its time at the Air Force Test Pilot’s School at Edwards AFB. In 2021 it was redesignated from NF-16D—the N indicating it was a special test aircraft—to X-62A. Modifications made to the aircraft over the years allow it to simulate the flight characteristics of other fixed-wing aircraft, making it an effective training platform for human test pilots, as in the past, and most recently, AI pilots.
