AI Agent Flies Fighter in Combat Trials

Saab has flown its own in-house artificial intelligence (AI) agents on Gripen E, taking them from concept to an operational fighter aircraft.

During the flight trials, the agent autonomously controlled the aircraft in Beyond Visual Range (BVR) combat scenarios. Gripen E’s software-defined architecture enables new AI software to be integrated and flown in an operational fighter without dedicated experimental platforms.

Developed within Saab’s Advanced Programs business unit, the family of agents uses various AI techniques for tactical decision-making. The agents can support the pilot in the cockpit or operate alongside pilots in their own unmanned air platform.

“We have not only built our own AI agents, but we have also flown them. This demonstrates our capability to develop AI agents that can be integrated into operational fighter aircraft. The future of air combat will not be defined by individual platforms acting alone, but by networks of crewed and uncrewed systems working together as a coordinated force. Through our ownership of the entire technology stack, we are building the capabilities needed for that future,” says Peter Nilsson, head of Advanced Programs at Saab’s business area Aeronautics.

The agents are developed through Saab’s AI Fighter Pilot Academy, which also builds the infrastructure to create, train and evaluate AI agents. Agents are trained in simulated environments, accumulating millions of simulated flight hours and learning through continuous evaluation of their actions against defined objectives. BVR air combat is one such capability, and it has now been validated under real flight conditions. Safety and control are integrated into the development process from the outset.

Computing capacity is supported by Sferical AI, a Swedish sovereign AI initiative in which Saab is a founding partner.

Saab is now expanding the agents’ capabilities and flying them in a broader range of scenarios.