MacDill conducting test flights on refueling tankers using artificial intelligence

AI refueling tankers tested in Tampa

FOX 13's Llyod Sowers reports on AI-piloted flights being tested at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.

TAMPA, Fla. - At MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, KC-135 Stratotankers fly around the world refueling warplanes in midair, but one takeoff had a different purpose.

Engineers were on board from Merlin. It’s a new technology, aided by artificial intelligence, that could allow a plane to fly without a pilot. It’s an autonomous flight system.

Onboard sensors monitor flight instruments, engines, and the environment around the airplane. It uses actuators like a pilot’s hands, to pull on the yolk or flip switches.

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"What makes Merlin unique is you do the whole plan beginning to end, press a button, and you hit go," said Mark Ward, Merlin’s vice president of flight operations.

The company said autonomous flight with artificial intelligence would improve efficiency and safety for the flight crew. It's been tested on smaller planes.

"We are building a pilot that can move from different aircraft. It will continue to get smarter. It will learn along the way and that will, in turn, make the airways safer," said Ashley Pelzek, Merlin team member.

To start, Merlin could replace just the co-pilot, reducing the size of the crew for efficiency.

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On Tuesday, the Air Force accepted Merlin’s airworthiness plan for the KC-135. It's a step toward full-blown testing of a flying tanker with no pilot, but lots of technology.

Merlin is planning another round of testing, but it’s not known yet where that will take place.

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