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C'mon Sys, quit repeating yourself and actually engage in the conversation. If you disagree with what's being said, provide evidence to justify your remarks instead of just spouting the same stuff over and over again.
An autonomous drone will NEVER replace a manned combat aircraft. Drones will supplement manned combat aircraft, but never entirely replace them.
Some of us have worked on Drones and are also ACTIVELY engaged in the business. I've worked 3 drone programs and I could tell you in the past 20 years huge strides have been made in the field. The X-47 is well known in the aviation circles. A friend of mine deployed with the aircraft aboard the Roosevelt and AFAIK it is being deployed again. There are two of them and they will provide great test information for future development.
BTW, the program is going to run well into the billions, they are not cheap and it needs to be determined when a drone is expendable or a valuable asset.
These drones will not replace the F-16 and F-18 either, the F-35 will only do that.I know that much, notice how I said they will eventually replace the F-18/F-16, which you yourself said are aging and in need of replacement. These drones will not replace the F-22, F-35, B-2, etc. There will always be need for manned aircraft.
That sums up the need for manned aircraft. Their main purpose would be to hit ground targets in a high threat environment using their stealth to slip in the air defenses. A pilot's ingenuity is still a huge advantage in situation such as the good-ol'-fashioned dogfight. And the lag between controls right now is about 1/4 of a second, which will vastly improve by the time standardized drones such as the X-47 ilk enter service.I think true drones which perform a mission from start to finish without any input have limited use and may even be dangerous. Unmanned AC controlled remotely may be more useful but in a combat situation surely the lag between signals being sent received and acted upon would be a major drawback?
And the lag between controls right now is about 1/4 of a second, which will vastly improve by the time standardized drones such as the X-47 ilk enter service.
An autonomous drone will NEVER replace a manned combat aircraft. Drones will supplement manned combat aircraft, but never entirely replace them.
"Never" is a very long time and it kindda depends what you mean by "supplement".
There is a serious BS slant to this story.
Not only looks like it came from a RT (Russia Today) article, but it's failing to mention that several U.S. warships have been in the Black Sea since the Sochi olympics (one of which ran aground and laid over in Turkey for repairs). It also failed to mention that there has been numerous "buzzings" by Russian aircraft on other NATO and Balkan warships, all in violation of the INCSEA aggreement made between Washington and Moscow about 45 years ago.US destroyer "Donald Cook" with cruise missiles "Tomahawk" entered the neutral waters of the Black Sea on April 10. The purpose was a demonstration of force and intimidation in connection with the position of Russia in Ukraine and Crimea. The appearance of American warships in these waters is in contradiction of the Montreux Convention about the nature and duration of stay in the Black Sea by the military ships of countries not washed by this sea.
I'm surprised that they didn't give it vector thrust(?) engines like the Sukhoi Su-35, more than just for take off, or did they?
With all this fighter/attack (bomber) stuff, I can't help but draw parallels with the Me 262 and others....just saying..