Ai-controlled Fighter Jets Are Closer Than We Think

The US navy is not alone. Other programmes to develop next-generation fighter jets are also touting uncrewed options as a distinct possibility.

However, we have been here before. Senior leaders in the US Navy said they believed the last crewed fighter jet had been procured in 2015. As far back as 1957, premature obituaries were being written for the fighter pilot era. So, is there anything different now?

The ability of a fighter jet to manoeuvre, accelerate and maintain high speeds, crucial for air combat, is called kinematic performance. Estimates are as high as 80 on how much pilots reduce kinematic performance. Though this figure may be disputed, there is no question that uncrewed aircraft enjoy several key advantages.

Without the need for life support systems such as ejection seats and oxygen supplies, these aircraft can perform in ways that are beyond the scope of piloted aircraft. But additional trends are pushing militaries to reconsider the role of the human pilot altogether.

Therefore, one option for militaries is to expand the use of remotely piloted aircraft - drones like those deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Crucially, this would ensure humans maintain control over weapons use. The only difference with the present would be in making these systems the backbone of the fleet, rather than supplementary systems struggling to operate in hostile airspace. This would require upgrading them with state-of-the-art technologies like stealth. This helps aircraft reduce their chances of being detected by the enemy's radar and infrared heat sensors.