Hasta La Gadget!

In the future, fighter pilots could be little more than relics of lesser Louis Gossett, Jr. movies. The US Air Force is currently deliberating future incarnations of its elite stealth fighter, the F-22 Raptor. The USAF is reportedly very interested in pursuing remotely-controlled, pilotless Raptors to be operational by 2030.

All branches of the armed forces already make use of unmanned aerial drones for surveillance and targeted ground/sea strikes. However, the F-22 was specifically designed as an air superiority fighter for going nose-to-nose with other air crafts. Top Gun stuff. So, bringing this craft into the unmanned realm is a big (if not inevitable) step.

Remote piloting has many potential benefits. Obviously, human pilots can now be placed out of harm’s way. Additionally, unmanned planes would be able to perform complex maneuvers without having to factor in the effects of life threatening G-forces on human cargo. And from a design standpoint, space that formerly had to be allocated for pilot and accompanying life-support systems can now be otherwise used.

In the future, the military will basically be a collection of big expensive remote-controlled cars.

via seventoten