Pictured is a U.S. Air Force photo of an F-16 modified with the Viper Experimentation and Next-generation Operations Model (VENOM) autonomy kit during human-on-the-loop in-air testing of AI models by the 96th Test Wing at Eglin AFB, Fla.

The Air Force and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have begun another set of tests with one of a group of Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-16 fighters fitted with artificial intelligence for autonomous flight under the Viper Experimentation and Next-generation Operations Model (VENOM) program, DARPA said on Thursday. "Building on previous ACE flights with the one-of-a-kind X-62A VISTA, which proved an AI agent could autonomously pilot a fighter jet in a dogfight, the flight of the VENOM aircraft demonstrates…