It was perhaps only a matter of time before artificial intelligence (AI) made its way into machines of war like fighter plane. With the midday sun blazing, an experimental orange and white F-16 fighter jet launched with a familiar roar that is a hallmark of US airpower. But the aerial combat that followed was unlike any other: this F-16 was controlled by AI, not a human pilot. And riding in the front seat was US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall. AI marks one of the biggest advances in military aviation since the introduction of stealth in the early 1990s, and the Air Force has aggressively le…