The U.S. Air Force said it intends to dogfight one of its manned Lockheed Martin F-35A stealth fighters against an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) in the world's first aerial combat between the two competing visions of aerial combat.

The dogfight is a "bold, bold idea," said Lt Gen Jack Shanahan, Director, Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, Office of the Department of Defense Chief Information Office. He said the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) will deploy an autonomous system that will battle a human, manned system in some sort of air-to-air combat.

This dogfight, which is scheduled for July 2021, and those that succeed it will ultimately lead to the development of a new generation of U.S. combat aircraft swarms piloted by artificial intelligence (AI) fighting alongside manned fighters.

At this early stage, the unmanned drone might not use a lot of AI, said Gen. Shanahan. Over time, however, the human-machine teamwork will make a big difference in future air war. The project to develop an AI fighter was begun in 2018.

Gen. Shanahan said the initial idea of a single large AI fighter jet is only one option being looked into. An option also being considered is to develop a swarm of smaller aerial drones controlled by a manned fighter. This idea is being explored by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.

That the Air Force is exploring an option other than a single AI piloted plane was conceded by Gen. Shanahan when he said AI-enabled systems could be used in other ways.

It's long been held swarms of drone aircraft could be deployed under a pilot's control or operate autonomously. This is the starting point of an Air Force effort called Project Skyborg that's exploring how the pilot of a fighter jet can control UCAVs, which will take on the role of wingmen. The sole UCAV being tested for this purpose is the Kratos XQ-58 Valkyrie.

The  Valkyrie  is an experimental stealthy unmanned UCAV designed and built by Kratos Defense & Security Solutions for the U.S. Air Force Low Cost Attritable Strike Demonstrator (LCASD) program. It successfully completed its first flight on March 5, 2019 at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.

The Valkyrie is designed as a loyal wingman controlled by a parent aircraft to accomplish tasks such as scouting, or absorbing enemy fire if attacked. It can also be deployed as part of a swarm of drones, with or without direct pilot control.

Under Project Skyborg, Valkyrie will team-up with the F-35 and McDonnell Douglas F-15EX, cutting the number of fighters on a mission. Costing only a few million dollars per unit, a Valkyrie is more easily replaceable than an F-35 that costs $100 million each.

Project Valkyrie is an important step along the road toward developing an AI-piloted combat aircraft. Gen. Shahahan said it's also a question of finding a balance and using AI where it can make things more efficient.