We have a generation of kids trained from birth practically on ever more realistic video games. You can bet that most Reaper etc ‘pilots’ had a copy of Ace Combat/ Falcon or similar back in high school and in their barracks now.
Once the military gets building/buying actual dogfighter type drones, there is an endless supply of ‘pilots’ about 50 % trained before they ever sign up for service.
Put him/her in a VR cockpit with a 360 view and the need for manned fighters is all but eliminated.
G limits...gone.
Maneuverability...through the roof.
Fear of death....gone.
Drones are a great idea, though we should always have real pilots because there is the very real danger of the communication tech between ‘pilot’ and craft being hacked. That’s the only downside I can imagine to drone warfare.
Wait... Didn't that happen during Gulf War I? Didn't we send hundreds of robot drones (cruise missiles) off to fly to their destination and take out their targets without human intervention?
Why, yes, it did happen.
We've already got robot wars. We need to get better than everybody else faster than everybody else.
/johnny
If some kid trained from birth to fly a virtual jet from the Nevada desert can fly an American plane with a huge arsenal.
A kid trained from birth to fly a virtual jet from the steppes of Kazakhistan or Xinjiang, can fly an American plane with a huge arsenal, as long as they’ve got access to the right technology, satellites and hacks - the sort of resources adversarial nations have. In fact, it’s increasingly likely that’s where some of the technology was produced.
Contemplate that.
America is not alone in knowing how to do things.
In fact, the more we outsource, the more such technology we LOSE.
The more vulnerable we become, to being trumped at even our very best.
“Free trade” is dangerous.