11/13/2026
Everybody says “AI fighter pilots” are twenty years away. Sweden says its AI is ready now.
Last year, Helsing’s German artificial intelligence, Centaur, took control of a Swedish Gripen E over the Baltic in simulated beyond-visual-range combat, going from a blank sheet to flight in under six months. On November 3, Saab revealed it had been flying its own AI agents in the same jet for about two years, trained in its new AI Fighter Pilot Academy on a Swedish supercomputer that can run a one-hour simulated flight a billion times.
In this video I explain how the Gripen E’s split between flight-critical and mission software lets new AI be added in months, why owning the “brain” is becoming a question of sovereignty, and what it means for Ukraine’s incoming Gripen fleet and Canada’s fighter review. I also cover the honest caveat: a human pilot is still in the cockpit, and no AI has been cleared to make a lethal decision.
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- Chapters!
- 00:00 Sweden Says Its AI Fighter Pilot Is Ready
- 01:57 Helsing’s Centaur AI Takes Control of a Gripen
- 03:11 How AI Fights Beyond Visual Range
- 04:01 Saab Reveals Its Secret AI Fighter Pilot Academy
- 05:22 Training AI With 1,152 Nvidia GPUs
- 05:54 Why Gripen Can Upgrade Its Software So Quickly
- 06:52 Sweden Wants to Own Its AI Technology
- 07:26 Can Fighter Pilots Trust AI in Combat?
- 08:23 When Will AI Pilots Enter Military Service?
- 09:00 What AI Means for Ukraine’s New Gripens
- 10:01 Canada’s Gripen vs. F-35 Decision
- 11:03 Saab’s AI Plans for Canada’s GlobalEye Aircraft
- 12:06 Why Fighter Jet Software Could Decide Future Wars
Video Sources: Saab and DoD