BAE Systems chose the Paris Air Show (PAS 2025) to unveil ongoing work to develop and mature a decision-aiding Artificial Intelligence (AI) agent to be employed aboard the Eurofighter TYPHOON.

The news came hot on the heels of the revelation that the Swedish Saab GRIPEN has already been flown 3 times under AI control in a project carried out jointly by Saab and Helsing. A GRIPEN-E already flew Beyond Visual Range combat manoeuvres, engaging a GRIPEN-D, with the pilot onboard letting the AI “drive” and staying in the cockpit only as safety controller in case of need.

The work that BAE is carrying on is, at least at present, more modest and of more limited nature. On TYPHOON, the current aim is lessening the tactical workload of the pilot with a decision-aiding AI which improves the overall sensor-fusion and is able to provide indication of how to fly the jet to keep out of the engagement zones of perceived enemy threats.

BAE's partner in this project is Avioniq AB, a Swedish company whose CEO and co-founder is Mikael Grev, a former Swedish Air Force pilot.  The AI agent is known as RATTLESNAQ, and for now, it has only been tested on a TYPHOON flight simulator in Warton, United Kingdom.

RATTLESNAQ specifically deals with sensor fusion and situational awareness, continuously compiling and updating a detailed list of all detected threats and performing calculations and tactical assessments, which normally fall on the pilot, to suggest a flight path that keeps the fighter jet out of the reach of threats. The AI therefore acts to merge all the information and suggest the course of action, instructing the pilot on routes and manoeuvres, significantly reducing the "tactical" workload.

The AI is currently geared to work with the Wide Area tactical display that BAE is maturing to replace the current 3, small displays in the TYPHOON cockpit. The full color, wide area screen is most indicated to take best advantage of the AI’s work, but the software could be installed on “current” TYPHOONs too. While the Wide Area Display is expected to be part of future TYPHOON upgrades, after all, at present it doesn’t seem to be funded for integration within the imminent Phase 4 Enhancement project. It will probably be left for later on in the Long Term Evolution (LTE).

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