Originally Posted by
arbalist1
I've been privy to the data on the number of military drone crashes. It's more than the public thinks. They've been doing AI pilots the longest and still don't have it figured out. I think it's quite distant in the future before they can rely on it for the hundreds of thousands of hours of commercial flying we do.
Yes, this is correct. By civil aviation standards mil drone loss stats are staggering, and almost none of it has been enemy action.
That's OK in the context of the mil, they're getting bang for the buck, persistence over the objective and in some case not risking loss/capture of a human in the wrong place.
The only circumstance where the mil is even considering using drones to carry humans is for emergency battlefield CASAEVAC. Same scenario as the garmin autopilot... it's not "safe" but it's safer than letting the casualty bleed out waiting for alternative transport.