In an unannounced series of sorties that took place between 28 May and 3 June 2025—and again in mid‑June—Swedish aerospace firm Saab and German defense‑AI specialist Helsing let an artificial‑intelligence “pilot” named Centaur fly and fight a frontline‑standard Gripen E fighter jet in unrestricted Baltic‑Sea airspace. The trials mark the first time a production‑class combat aircraft has executed full‑spectrum Beyond‑Visual‑Range (BVR) tactics under machine control, with a human onboard only as a failsafe. saab.comhelsing.ai
What the flights proved
Project Beyond engineers gave Centaur command of the flight computer once airborne. The agent autonomously tracked a manned Gripen D “red air” opponent, maneuvered to preserve missile advantage, cued weapons, and initiated defensive jinks—all while continuously updating its own threat picture from the jet’s native radar and electronic‑warfare suite. Saab notes that the Gripen’s modular software allowed the AI to plug directly into operational avionics without restricting the jet to closed test ranges. saab.cominterestingengineering.com
Decades of instincts in hours
Centaur was raised on large‑scale self‑play reinforcement learning inside Helsing’s “RL‑Factory.” Company executives say the agent accrued the equivalent of decades of fighter experience in roughly 24 hours of cloud compute, then refined those instincts against itself millions of times. Engineers estimate that by the time the real jet took off, Centaur had already logged “50 pilot‑years” of virtual dogfights—far more than any human could amass. defensenews.comhelsing.ai
Rapid integration—and a six‑month sprint
Fitting an all‑new AI brain to a fourth‑generation fighter usually takes years; in this case it took under six months, thanks to Gripen E’s hard‑/software separation and hot‑swappable mission computers. “This is an important achievement for Saab, demonstrating our qualitative edge in sophisticated technologies by making AI deliver in the air,” said Peter Nilsson, head of Advanced Programs, after the third flight on 3 June. saab.com
A turning point for European defense tech
Helsing’s senior director for the air domain, Stephanie Lingemann, hailed the milestone as “a pioneering step in autonomous air combat” that unlocks a new era of human‑machine teaming—one where AI handles high‑speed, high‑risk moves while human crews concentrate on broader mission strategy. The work is funded by Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) under its Future Fighter Concept Studies, aligning AI autonomy with Stockholm’s roadmap for a next‑generation combat aircraft. helsing.ai
Global race to field AI aviators
The Swedish breakthrough follows the U.S. Air Force’s 2023 demonstration of an AI‑operated X‑62A VISTA and Britain’s ongoing “LANCA” loyal‑wingman project, underscoring a widening race to deploy trustworthy autonomy at supersonic speed. Saab argues that integrating AI directly into a customer‑ready airframe—rather than a bespoke testbed—offers a shortcut to operational capability and export appeal. interestingengineering.comdefensenews.com
Tactical payoffs—and ethical questions
In the near term, Centaur could fly “risk‑first” missions such as suppression of enemy air defenses or stand‑in electronic attack, preserving scarce human pilots for complex multi‑domain command. Yet the same autonomy stirs debate over accountability, rules of engagement, and escalation control. Defense analysts warn that any future deployment must build in transparent safety interlocks and human‑in‑the‑loop vetoes. defensenews.cominterestingengineering.com
What comes next
Project Beyond teams are now combing telemetry to fine‑tune Centaur’s decision‑making before a second campaign later in 2025 that will layer cooperative tactics between multiple AI‑equipped Gripens. Saab also intends to test software‑only updates pushed to the jet overnight—an approach that could see new AI behaviors fielded “at the speed of code” rather than multi‑year upgrade cycles. If those flights prove as successful, Sweden may field the world’s first front‑line fighters where the default pilot is an algorithm—and the human is the backup. saab.comhelsing.ai
