The General Dynamics X-62 VISTA ("Variable Stability In-flight Simulator Test Aircraft") is an experimental aircraft, derived from the F-16D Fighting Falcon, which was modified as a joint venture between General Dynamics and

Calspan Calspan Corporation is a science and technology company founded in 1943 as part of the Research Laboratory of the Curtiss-Wright Airplane Division at Buffalo, New York. Calspan consists of four primary operating units: Flight Research, Transportat ...

for use by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

(USAF). Originally designated NF-16D, the aircraft was redesignated X-62A in June 2021 as part of an upgrade to a

Skyborg The Skyborg project is a United States Air Force Vanguard program developing unmanned combat aerial vehicles intended to accompany a manned fighter aircraft. , contracts have been awarded to Boeing, General Atomics, Kratos Unmanned Aerial Syste ...

, with System for Autonomous Control of Simulation (SACS). The X-62A remains on the curriculum of the Air Force Test Pilot School as a practice aircraft for test pilots.

Design and development

The NF-16D VISTA testbed aircraft incorporated a multi-axis

thrust vectoring Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an aircraft, rocket or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to Aircraft flight control system, control the Spacecra ...

(MATV) engine nozzle that provides for more active control of the aircraft in a

post-stall In fluid dynamics, a stall is a reduction in the lift coefficient generated by a foil (fluid mechanics), foil as angle of attack exceeds its critical angle of attack, critical value.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition ...

situation. As a result, the aircraft is supermaneuverable, retaining pitch and yaw control at

angles of attack In fluid dynamics, angle of attack (AOA, α, or \alpha) is the angle between a reference line on a body (often the chord line of an airfoil) and the vector representing the relative motion between the body and the fluid through which it is mo ...

beyond which the traditional control surfaces cannot change attitude. The NF-16D VISTA is a Block 30 F-16D based on the airframe design of the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...

version, which incorporates a

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

fairing running the length of the fuselage aft of the canopy and a heavyweight landing gear derived from the Block 40

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it e ...

C/D. The fairing houses most of the variable-stability equipment and test instrumentation. The heavyweight gear permits simulation of aircraft with higher landing sink rates than a standard F-16. The program was notable for the development of Direct Voice Input and the " Virtual HUD", which were both incorporated into the cockpit design for the

F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and att ...

.F-16 Versions - F-16 VISTA / MATV / NF-16D
/ref> The VISTA aircraft is operated by the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and maintained by

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...

. It is regularly used in student curriculum sorties, special academic projects, and flight research. As of June 2021, VISTA is in the midst of upgrading. In addition to replacing the VISTA Simulation System (VSS) with a newer, upgraded version of the same system, a System for Autonomous Control of Simulation (SACS) will be added in order to operate X-62A as a Skyborg. One application is as autonomously piloted aircraft, perhaps as a robotic wingman to a manned aircraft. On 18 April 2024, the USAF and

DARPA The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Adva ...

announced the successful engagement of the X-62A against a conventional, human piloted F-16 in the first-ever human vs artificial intelligence dogfight. On May 2, Air Force Secretary

Frank Kendall III Frank Kendall III (born January 26, 1949) is an American engineer, lawyer and executive who served as the 26th United States secretary of the Air Force from 2021 to 2025. He has served in several senior positions in the U.S. Department of Defens ...

said he'd trust the AI with the ability to launch weapons. The Air Force is planning for more than 1,000 AI-controlled warplanes, the first of them to be operating by 2028.

Specifications

References

External links

VISTA gets a new look
{{USAF fighters

F-16 VISTA The General Dynamics X-62 VISTA ("Variable Stability In-flight Simulator Test Aircraft") is an experimental aircraft, derived from the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-16D Fighting Falcon, which was modified as a joint venture between Ge ...

NASA aircraft 1970s United States experimental aircraft Single-engined jet aircraft Relaxed-stability aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1992 Three dimension thrust vectoring aircraft Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear

Design and development

Specifications

See also

References

External links