Autonomous air combat reached a major milestone in the skies over Edwards Air Force Base, California, as the X-62A VISTA test aircraft carried out full AI air intercept missions using live sensor data rather than simulated feeds. The same principle applies to developing autonomous flight systems for combat aircraft. Worse than that, real-world sensor data is often so ambiguous, incomplete, and riddled with noise that the only way to describe it is borderline chaotic. The AI interpreted this data to perform 27 tactical air intercepts against a live T-38 Talon "threat" aircraft across eight flights. According to the company, ground testing and full integration of the software on the X-62A took only three months.