Originally Posted by
Hrkdrivr
The AF (all military really) pilot retention problem will fix itself (different take than awax).
Drones will replace most of the manned cockpits sooner than later. With the F-35 we might have the last manned fighter. Bombers next. Transports last. It will certainly happen sooner in military airplanes than civil/airline airliners.
Nowhere near fast enough. Both Navy and AF are starting conceptual analysis of the "6th Gen" fighter. It may have a provision to be optionally manned. Maybe. But my guess is that they'll drop that feature...too costly to implement, with unknown ROI and too many risks.