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Air-Force The Sunday Times suggesting the U.K. won’t buy more than the current planned 48 F-35
- Thread starter Test7
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Let's not forget that the F-35 despite being a multirole fighter, isn't exactly ideal for air-to-air combat. Practically every serious military which is getting it is planning on making their own air superiority fighters.
So why the sudden change of heart in recent times? Drones. Now that we know how effective they can be there is no going back. Even if you flew a F35 autonomously, why risk a 100 million dollar aircraft when you can use a much cheaper drone. My bet is that we will more jet powered drones in coming years which will make the F35 pointless.
A drone with the same power, agility and weight as an F35 will cost significantly less because there is no cockpit, pilot safety features, advanced helmet, etc. So why mass produce something so expensive, just double down on supersonic drone programs and reserve your pilots for air superiority, where they're actually needed.
So why the sudden change of heart in recent times? Drones. Now that we know how effective they can be there is no going back. Even if you flew a F35 autonomously, why risk a 100 million dollar aircraft when you can use a much cheaper drone. My bet is that we will more jet powered drones in coming years which will make the F35 pointless.
A drone with the same power, agility and weight as an F35 will cost significantly less because there is no cockpit, pilot safety features, advanced helmet, etc. So why mass produce something so expensive, just double down on supersonic drone programs and reserve your pilots for air superiority, where they're actually needed.
