A recent example is the Have Remy Test Management Project, a close partnership between Skunk Works engineers and the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. The effort focused on integrating students directly into the design, testing, and evaluation of autonomous agents on an accelerated timeline.
Under the project, students defined a missile evasion scenario that required split-second decision-making and three-dimensional maneuvering at the limits of the VISTA flight envelope. They also shaped AI training within hours, running billions of simulated missions using Skunk Works’ Supermassive simulation engine.
Development of the AI was guided through a high-fidelity F-16 simulator that enabled virtual testing before live flights. Students also provided feedback on new AI monitoring algorithms designed to measure how closely real-world performance matched simulated results.
Through this process, TPS students observed how AI moves from theory to flight-ready capability. At the same time, Skunk Works engineers used access to the U.S. Air Force’s X-62A VISTA autonomy testbed to evaluate their technology.
The X-62A VISTA, or Variable In-flight Simulator Test Aircraft, is a modified F-16 equipped with high-performance computing systems and advanced sensors. It had not previously hosted a Lockheed Martin AI system with direct control of the aircraft.
Across more than 100 test points, TPS students flew the autonomous agents in real-world conditions. The flights demonstrated consistent transfer of the missile evasion capability from simulation to live operation.
Skunk Works supported ongoing improvements through a process it describes as “Fly-Fix-Fly.” Engineers recreated real-world AI behavior in simulation, enabling them to develop, debug, and test updates within hours before deploying them to the aircraft.
This real-to-simulation transfer allowed lessons learned in live flight to be integrated directly into the autonomy stack. The approach aimed to ensure that updates delivered in the field would perform as expected.
According to Lockheed Martin, the Have Remy Test Management Project highlights the company’s ability to develop and test tactical AI in collaboration with the Air Force Test Pilot School. By demonstrating that autonomous agents can be monitored, understood, and controlled in real time, the project advances the operational concept of human-machine teaming for future missions.
![Bayraktar Akinci combat drone scores direct air-to-air hit with Eren munition in test over the Black Sea [VIDEO]](https://defence-industry.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bayraktar-akinci-combat-drone-scores-direct-air-to-air-hit-with-eren-munition-in-test-over-the-black-sea-video.jpg)
