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Anonymous
Anonymous asked in Cars & TransportationAircraft · 8 years ago

Will there be completely no fighter pilots in the future? How will drones fully replace the senses of pilots?

It has been my dream to fly as a little boy. Now I am sixteen and starting to decide what I want to do. I know that most people say that drones will be the future of air warfare but I don't understand if they will fully replace fighter jets. I read that the f35 is going to be the last man fighter. I know that cost and other things are holding back man fighters but how are drones going to replace the senses of a human being like sight in every direction outside the window. Also the chance of hackin a drone, even if there is a 1% chance of the drone being hacked it is still there. I am scared of this ever happening for every reason possible. Please answer only if you have solid experience or research this is a very important matter to me.

Update:

I guess another question that I had is even if I get to fly a manned fighter will my son or grandson be able to. Will they be gone in the relatively distant future (25-35 years)

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  • 8 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Well, firstly, unpiloted aircraft would be more expandable than piloted ones.

    And could go without the life support system and ejection seat, so could be lighter. And since high performance fighter aircraft are limited in terms of maneuvering by how much a human pilot can sustain, a drone could conceivably be a lot more nimble and deadly that a piloted one.

    Hacking a drone would be much less than 1% chance of being doable, for several reasons, the first of which is that you'd have to try to hack one while it is active and flying already, by the time anyone manages to break through, the mission would likely be over anyway, it is not like it would be continuously on line for someone to try thousand of passwords.

    Also, consider that a drone would likely have several redundant systems, hack one and the other ones would vote to recognized the hacked unit as compromised and cut if off the loop.

    Source(s): Aerospace engineer
  • 8 years ago

    I give you my PERSONAL guarantee that a drone won't be replacing fighter pilots or even drone pilots ANY time soon! there is no viable way to replace the situation awareness, judgment, and intuition of a pilot in the cockpit.

    Source(s): aviator
  • 8 years ago

    dont let anyone tell you, you cant do something. im realizing my dream to become a pilot just got hired doing scenic tours. you got a dream, you gotta protect it. people cant do something themselves they wanna tell you you cant do it. you want this, go get it. period. If you gotta be the best, then be the best. if you listen to these old guys and set yourself up for failure, you will fail.

  • 8 years ago

    As it stands now technology has made fighter and bomber aircraft obsolete. Modern drone and missile technology have made them so.

    But the people who take the taxpayers for billions of dollars every year to supply fighters and bombers will never admit that.

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  • 8 years ago

    Everyone thinks (when a teenager) that going to the Air Force all pilots become fighter pilots - there are more cargo pilots, bomber pilots, tanker pilots, pilot instructors and other pilot specialties than there are fighter pilots -

    I got in the Air Force through ROTC... the closest I became to be a fighter pilot was when l trained in a T-38 - They assigned me to be a KC-135 tanker pilot for my entire AF Reserve career - I never had the choice by the way... You can request a transfer, but will you get it...? - And at the end I was flying a desk at the base...! - By chance I flew for an airline...

    A buddy of mine was a "future Navy F-4 Phantom" pilot dreaming to fly from an aircraft carrier and shoot MiGs in Vietnam - that is when we were 17 of age - He ended in the Navy as an aviator ok - but... got assigned as a C-9 pilot (that is a DC-9 exactly like an airliner) -

    Is like the same thing with those guys who want to be "commercial airline pilots"

    (commercial with "pun" intended, as if there were non-commercial airlines) - They all think that after one year of flight school and the ink has dried on their license, that they will become a Delta Airlines A380 captain and make $300,000/year salary - The reality is very FAR from that...

    Stop dreaming... and be realistic -

    .

    Source(s): Retired pilot - Air Force and airlines -
  • 8 years ago

    There will still be pilots, but there will be fewer of them, and the already fierce competition for "pilot slots" in the military will only get more intense. Even if no drones existed, your chances wouldn't be that good of being selected unless you are academically and physically in the top 1% of applicants and you get top recommendations from your college ROTC board. That's a fact. There's a difference between realistic dreams and fantasy. Hopefully you recognize this difference and take appropriate action to avoid severe disappointment..

  • 8 years ago

    If you are 16 right now, there will still be manned fighters when you retire. You don't need to worry about there being no more fighter pilot jobs.

    Drones don't have windows, and their sensors would be far more effective than a pilots' senses ever could be. As far as hacking goes, don't worry about it, they spend a huge amount of resources securing defence networks. Hell, most drones today don't even use encryption and they still don't get hacked.

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