Originally Posted by
goirishgo1976
Unfortunately, the end of the modern combat aviator is getting closer.
Don't believe so. Creating a QF-16 is easy. Making that airplane perform in a complex air to air environment is immensely difficult. The decision tree in a huge, swirling furball makes chess look like tic-tac-toe from a computer perspective.
But the real problem is sensors. The QF-16 can "see" only within the radar cone. It has no way to detect an enemy anywhere else, and an enemy could simply slip up on its flank undetected.
Unmanned bombers - yes
Unmanned targets - yes
Unmanned fighter sweeps/caps - not so easy