APRIL 3, 2025 – The last F-16 Fighting Falcon set for autonomous aircraft modification landed April 1. The aircraft marked the final F-16 arrival to be part of the Viper Experimentation and Next-gen Operations Model – Autonomy Flying Testbed program, also known as VENOM.
In a hangar nearby, three of those F-16s are in the VENOM modification process. These adjustments involve software, hardware and instrumentation that will eventually allow the autonomy to fly the aircraft.
A new physical change to the aircraft will be the inclusion of an auto-throttle. This modification allows the autonomy flying VENOM to regulate the flight control surfaces and the thrust.
“Modifying the aircraft is the result of a rigorous design phase and brings us one step closer to testing autonomy on a fighter jet with real mission systems and capabilities,” said Maj. Trent McMullen, the 40th Flight Test Squadron’s advanced capabilities division chief.
As the physical pieces of the VENOM program take shape at Eglin, the to-be-used autonomy is continuously tested in faster-than-real-time modelling and simulation environments in countless aircraft combat scenarios.
Those simulations began in 2024 and included one-on-one and now two-on-two combat flights. These scenarios also involve within-visual-range and beyond-visual-range missions. The data from these tests get analyzed and help test engineers improve the autonomy.
“These simulations provide an efficient way to train the autonomy to learn complex air combat tactics.” said McMullen. “A specific scenario can be run 1,000 times and the variations and decisions made throughout that mission can be studied. We can then make recommendations to the developers on how to improve the autonomy’s behaviors and overall performance.”
The next step for VENOM development is hardware and software-in-the-loop testing. With the software testing, test engineers want to ensure the VENOM autonomy connects to and communicates with the aircraft’s system.
For hardware testing, the primary goal is safety. Test engineers will confirm autonomous commands cannot break the aircraft or pilot, according to McMullen. This testing ensures the autonomy can’t go past its limits or exceed its flight envelope regardless of the commands given to it. This is done inside an F-16 flight simulator.
These tests will be critical for the human-on-the-loop role required for the VENOM project. When the aircraft begins actual flight testing, a test pilot will be on board to oversee the flight with the ability to start and stop the autonomy in real time. The hardware tests will examine how to manage aggressive aircraft maneuvers that are within the pilot’s physical and physiological safety limits.
Once the software and hardware tests are examined and cleared, the VENOM program will move to ground testing with a fully modified F-16.
Just like most F-16 and F-15 testing at Eglin, the VENOM program will undergo simultaneous developmental and operational testing.
“Having both DT and OT pilots working and flying from the same location allows for daily collaboration and reduces the stove piping of knowledge and lessons learned,” said Lt. Col. Jeremy Castor, VENOM operational test lead.
That collaboration pushed the advancement of the program forward so that possibly within only 18 months of the first F-16s arriving, a fully modified aircraft will be ready to begin testing.
“As the VENOM program’s first flight approaches, we are excited to test novel autonomous solutions. The strides we’ve witnessed in the simulation environment suggest VENOM will help advance aerial combat capabilities for future crewed and uncrewed platforms,” said McMullen.
Story by Samuel King Jr.
96th Test Wing