First US Missile with Artificial Intelligence to be Deployed by 2018

An anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) developed by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that "thinks" thanks to its onboard artificial intelligence (AI) will arm U.S. Navy warships and strike aircraft beginning 2019 and U.S. Air Force combat aircraft a year earlier. The Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) can find a warship target on its own by using its onboard AI to locate a specific warship from among a fleet of enemy warships. A multi-mode seeker guided by the AI ensures the correct warship is hit in a specific area to maximize the probability of sinking the target. The AI enables autonomous targeting by using on-board targeting systems to independently acquire a target without the need for prior precision intelligence, GPS or data-links. These capabilities allow positive target identification and the precision engagement of moving warships in an enemy fleet heavily defended by surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and electronic countermeasures. The missile is designed with counter-countermeasures to evade active defense systems on enemy ships.