# DARPA Plans to Expand F-16 Autonomous Flight Tests to Multi-Aircraft Operations

> DARPA is scaling up its experiment in letting software fly fighter jets. Under the VENOM initiative it has already flown an operational F-16 under AI control with a human pilot monitoring from the cockpit, and it now plans to move from single-aircraft tests to coordinated, multi-aircraft autonomous operations over the next year or two. What makes this notable is the hardware. VENOM jets use an aftermarket kit that lets a standard fleet F-16 switch between human and autonomous control, which means the military does not need a fleet of exotic new drones to test autonomy at scale. Ordinary aircraft can be converted. The data feeds directly into the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, the Pentagon's plan for cheaper autonomous jets that fly alongside crewed ones. It is a concrete look at how AI is moving from labs into one of the highest-stakes environments imaginable, and at the pace the Air Force intends to get there.

_Section: [Daily AI Updates](https://www.wortins.com/daily-ai) · Source: DARPA · Published Sunday, August 23, 2026_

## Wortins' read

DARPA is scaling up its experiment in letting software fly fighter jets. Under the VENOM initiative it has already flown an operational F-16 under AI control with a human pilot monitoring from the cockpit, and it now plans to move from single-aircraft tests to coordinated, multi-aircraft autonomous operations over the next year or two. What makes this notable is the hardware. VENOM jets use an aftermarket kit that lets a standard fleet F-16 switch between human and autonomous control, which means the military does not need a fleet of exotic new drones to test autonomy at scale. Ordinary aircraft can be converted. The data feeds directly into the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, the Pentagon's plan for cheaper autonomous jets that fly alongside crewed ones. It is a concrete look at how AI is moving from labs into one of the highest-stakes environments imaginable, and at the pace the Air Force intends to get there.

## Source

[Read the full story at DARPA](https://www.darpa.mil/news/2026/darpa-us-air-force-fly-ai-controlled-f-16)

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