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Originally Posted by Joe's Garage
Same goes for drones and fighter pilots, seeing drones take over that role right now in the middle east.
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I agree. ... I'm a retired USAF pilot and the hand writing has been on the wall for the future of manned aircraft for some time. Human pilots do bring some advantages to the fight, mainly situational awareness and ingenuity when dealing with unexpected situations. But they also severely limit aircraft capabilities such as maneuverability and mission duration. Humans are also considered less expendable than drones so they can limit the options of military planners.
IMHO, top AF leaders have been faced with a dilemma for some time. They recognize that unmanned aircraft are generally superior to manned aircraft in both cost and capability. But those same leaders are
all pilots who demonstrated the leadership skills that made them top leaders while serving as pilots. There's this unstated understanding that the best leaders come from that pool of people who had the intelligence, self discipline and risk tolerance to become successful AF pilots. If they do away with the testing ground that manned flying provides, they're not sure that future leaders who served by remotely flying drones, sitting in missile silos, or managing parts inventories will be as capable. .... My guess is that as humans take a smaller and smaller role in actual aerial combat, the USAF will be dissolved back into the Army sometime this century.