Saab’s Gripen E fighter jet successfully integrated and flew with Helsing’s artificial intelligence (AI) pilot during three combat simulation trials from May 28 to June 3.
Helsing’s AI agent “Centaur” executed complex beyond visual range (BVR) combat operations on the Gripen E, with a human pilot onboard to monitor and take over if needed. The third test on June 3 focused on assessing its performance while tracking a Gripen D target.
This marks the first publicly confirmed instance of an AI agent controlling an actual fighter jet in BVR conditions instead of a simulator or test aircraft, part of Saab and Helsing’s “Project Beyond” initiative that explores how AI can be used to engage future threats.
“This is the future of air combat happening right now, in Europe. It took us less than half a year to go from defining the operational scenario, through configuring software interfaces and training, integrating, testing the agent, to lift off and test flight,” Saab’s Chief Innovation Officer and test-pilot Marcus Wandt said.
Sweden supports Project Beyond as part of its Future Fighter systems program.
Centaur in Gripen E
It took approximately six months for the Centaur’s integration into the Gripen E aircraft’s avionics architecture, Saab official Johan Segertoft informed Defense News.
The company noted that Gripen E’s unique design of separating hardware and software elements enabled it to fly with the AI pilot “without being restricted to solely military test ranges or having to rely on an experimental X-plane to do flight trials with the software.”
Helsing VP Antoine Bordes explained that the AI pilot competed against itself in a Gripen simulator environment to prepare for the test flights, reportedly accumulating the equivalent of about 50 years of human flight experience.
In the demonstrations, the Centaur recommended missile shots and evaded disadvantageous flight paths.
Meanwhile, the team assessed the AI pilot’s adaptability by testing it against changing distances, speeds, and aspects, as well as disabling command and control data during the third flight.
The companies plan further data analysis, training, and flights throughout 2025 to improve Centaur’s capabilities.
