A collective digital combat space where soldiers can interact in real-time using augmented reality will shift the way the U.S. military trains. A video game-like training simulator for Air Force pilots will give them a major advantage in real-life combat campaigns, a former F-22 pilot told Fox News. The military metaverse is a virtual space where soldiers interact and train with their comrades using artificial intelligence and augmented reality, which overlays digital content on the real world, former U.S. Air Force pilot Dan Robinson said. His company, Red 6, builds augmented reality training tech and can simulate campaign-length combat in digital displays that pilots see while flying their aircraft. WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

The Air Force wants more extremely advanced unmanned drone fighter jets capable of high-speed aerial maneuvers, winning dogfights, and performing most if not all of the major missions performed by human pilots. At the same time, despite the rapid growth and promise of AI and computerized dog fighting prowess, human pilots are not likely to go anywhere anytime soon. "We are so multifaceted as human beings, yet machines will be specialists in certain areas," Air Force Chief Scientist Victoria Coleman told The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. "How do we have humans and machines operate together to get better outcomes? Experimentation is already taking place. The way to deploy more of these teams is through more and more experimentation. If we test a little, we can feel comfortable going to war," Coleman said.

WASHINGTON: In a 5 to 0 sweep, an AI'pilot' developed by Heron Systems beat one of the Air Force's top F-16 fighter pilots in DARPA's simulated aerial dogfight contest today. "It's a giant leap," said DARPA's Justin (call sign "Glock") Mock, who served as a commentator on the trials. AI still has a long way to go before the Air Force pilots would be ready to hand over the stick to an artificial intelligence during combat, DARPA officials said during today's live broadcast of the AlphaDogfight trials. But the three-day trials show that AI systems can credibly maneuver an aircraft in a simple, one-on-one combat scenario and shoot its forward guns in a classic, WWII-style dogfight. On the other hand, they said, it was an impressive showing by an AI agent after only a year of development.

This isn't the first initiative intended to beef up jobs for qualified drone pilots, either. Last year, the Air Force started paying bonuses to keep pilots in the job, offering $10,000 more per year if they renewed their active duty status for five years. The military has also been increasing its use of drones like the MQ-9 Reaper for reconnaissance and missile strikes. More jobs means more reliance on these unmanned aircraft, with the Air Force moving to an all-Reaper drone fleet in the next year or two. The military branch intends to retire the older MQ-1 Predator next year, along with plans for eight potential bases to host new drone units in the near future.