US Air Force Tests AI Combat Targeting in Experiment 3

The United States Air Force conducted a four-day exercise known as Experiment 3 to test the integration of artificial intelligence into combat targeting processes. Held at the 805th Combat Training Squadron's Shadow Operations Center, the exercise utilized software from the Maven Smart System to automate intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting tasks.

The goal of the exercise was to create an automated command-and-control pipeline that accelerates decision-making and reduces the cognitive load on human operators within a simulated battle space. During the event, observers noted that human intuition and experience complemented machine-generated recommendations. The Air Force used these more accurate human assessments to refine the AI algorithms.

Shawn Finney, commander of the 805th Combat Training Squadron, described the battle lab as a proving ground for the kill chain of tomorrow. The Air Force intends to use the results of this methodology to shape the operational architecture for future conflicts involving its allies.