Saab has completed a series of flight tests integrating artificial intelligence into its Gripen E fighter jet, the company announced on June 11, 2025.
Conducted in partnership with the German-based defense AI firm Helsing, the flights saw the AI agent, named Centaur, take autonomous control of the aircraft during simulated Beyond Visual Range (BVR) combat scenarios.
The tests are part of Project Beyond, a Swedish state-funded research effort exploring how AI can be integrated into future combat aircraft. The first flight took place on May 28, 2025, followed by two additional sorties, including an engagement on June 3, 2025, against a manned Gripen D.
According to Saab, Centaur was able to perform real-time tactical maneuvers and cue the human pilot to fire in BVR conditions. The third flight in particular tested the AI’s performance under a range of dynamic variables, including degraded communications and shifting target parameters.
Real-world testing without experimental platforms
Unlike many AI flight test programs, Saab’s trials did not rely on an experimental aircraft or a dedicated testbed. Instead, the AI software was embedded directly into the operational systems of the Gripen E.
“This is an important milestone for us, showing that AI integration doesn’t need to wait for future airframes or labs,” said Peter Nilsson, Head of Advanced Programs at Saab. “We’re focused on accelerating capability development through software.”
The company has emphasized the modular and reprogrammable architecture of the Gripen E as a key enabler of this approach.
Saab and Helsing say they will now analyze the data collected from the initial flights and continue training the AI agent, with additional tests planned for later in 2025.
Funded under Sweden’s Future Combat Aviation Concept effort
Project Beyond is funded by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) as part of its Future Combat Aviation Concept study (Koncept för Framtida Stridsflyg, KFS), which supports exploratory work for Sweden’s future air combat capabilities. The project is focused on developing AI agents that are both operationally useful and safe to deploy in complex tactical environments.
Saab’s work with Helsing is part of a wider trend across air forces to explore how artificial intelligence can support or even take over key decision-making tasks in aerial combat.
In the United States, the Air Force Test Pilot School and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have been running the Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program, using the X-62A VISTA test aircraft to trial AI-controlled maneuvers. Since late 2022, the program has completed dozens of flights, including AI-versus-human dogfights, with more than 100,000 lines of flight-critical software tested across 21 sorties at Edwards Air Force Base.
Meanwhile, in France, Thales has begun integrating AI capabilities into its Talios targeting pod, used on Dassault’s Rafale fighter jets. A major upgrade unveiled in 2024 enables the pod to analyze imagery in real time using onboard processing, significantly improving detection speed while reducing pilot workload. This AI-powered enhancement is expected to be fielded with the Rafale F4.3 standard from 2026.
As air forces and manufacturers advance with manned-unmanned teaming, autonomous systems, and advanced sensor fusion, artificial intelligence is becoming a crucial component of future air combat. It is also central to the “system of systems” approach that defines what sixth-generation fighter jets are expected to be.
