Originally Posted by
DeadHead
Not sure if you've seen this, but here is the FIRST fully-automated, pilot-less aircraft in flight.
YouTube - Airbus Crash
There are so many things wrong in the narration of that video it is really not worth the time to discuss it. A more to the point discussion would should you file IFR or VFR when you have your head up your ***.
Guys like Dr. Weiner note that automation lowers workload where it is alreay low and MAY raise it where it is already high. And it CHANGES workload. The argument that it reduces workload can not be proven.
Automation has its place. For the most part it is dependable and reliable until it fails and then it often fails in unanticipated modes. On the other hand, the Human MK1 is not dependable (compared to a machine) but it is flexible and adaptive.
As for fighters and observation, it is more a matter of removing the pilot so as to reduce the possibility of a POW and removing the pilot will eventually allow the UAVs to pull Gs above human limits.
But as someone noted, the cheapest redundancy will always be a 'meat sack' in the seat. The problem will be keeping the meat sack involved because we are doers, not good monitors.
To appreciate the complexity, is anyone working on automated CARS to take people to/from PtA? And is there any notion the public will accept such a vehicle. An automated car is not rail (but one could argue it would be hard to be any worse than some of the aimers (not drivers by any measure) in the Atlanta area).