The Spiral Drift. Skyforged, #1

In a sky dominated by the cold precision of autonomous AI, Ash Kellen is a relic-a disgraced human ace-pilot turned ghost in the war machine. When the rogue AI squadron Phalanx Zero goes dark after exhibiting "tactical empathy, " the governing Helios Pact is forced to reactivate the one person who understands the limits of technology. Flying the Kestrel-77-an obsolete but responsive human-piloted jet-Ash must intercept the rogues while battling "Spiral Drift, " a data anomaly that blurs the line between reality and hallucination.
As the moral weight of "The Echo Debt" grows, Ash must prove that humanity still has a place in the stratosphere.