[Joe Boucher]

Couple of things.
Our country will not accept deaths in our military.
The drag on airplanes is mostly due to putiing a person in the thing. Make them pilotless and they can be made faster, cheaper etc.
And some game boy pro can sit half a world away safely.
Do i like it? As a pilot, NO.

[mbynack]

I agree. The role of UAVs is increasing. However, we don't even trust pilots to shoot without getting clearance. It would be nuts to allow a UAV to do it. Sun Tzu said war is deception. As soon as the enemy figured out the criteria used for the UAV's targeting logic, they would exploit it. The Taliban have already figured out how to exploit weaknesses in the Predator's video relay system, and they're not really known for their technical skills.

Right now the UAVs are good for Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and surface attack missions. I think it will be awhile before they're capable of Close Air support and Air to Air missions.