Ah, I don't believe that for a second. This aircraft is not autonomous, its "remote piloted," and its an aerial target, not an unmanned fighter bomber - like the manned F-16 is.

The technology for completely autonomous aircraft is a *long* way off, especially in the air-superiority role. Listen to any fighter pilot who actually shot people down and they invariably tell you that the key to their survival was to innovate and adapt to the unique situations that each foe presented them with. Computers aren't there yet. Unmanned aircraft will be limited to roles that can be completely pre-programmed, or for which specific responses can be pre-determined, for the foreseeable future.

As far as "remote piloting" for combat aircraft, it won't work in a real two-sided scenario (which the current conflicts we're seeing now are not) because the links between man and machine are too fragile and easily disrupted...

Bob