To anyone who thinks remotely piloted (or maybe autonomous drones in the future) are better than fighter jets, I believe they are at least half insane.
1. Supporters of drones: "They take away the risk of fighter pilots getting killed/wounded."
Response: Then these drones will be sent to attack each other's control centers and the general population. That could mean even more lives. Look at Pakistan. Drones have killed a lot more people than manned aircraft.
2. Supporters of drones: "Drones are cheaper to build and operate."
Response: I think if you want to get all sorts of high-tech stuff on drones, it is still going to cost not much less than on a manned fighter jet. All high-tech equipment costs loads of $$$$$$$$. A fighter jet needs lots of costly avionics, drones still need to have lots of computer systems.
3. Supporters of drones: "Drones are smarter and can do more."
Response: Yes, we cannot deny the fact that they can fly much longer than fighter jets can, sometimes up to 40-50 hours. However, I really disagree with leaving life-and-death decisions to someone far from the battlefield that may or may not have much combat experience and /or of questionable motives (CIA has piloted drones before), or even to the on-board computer systems, is absurd. In the second case, if the autonomous computer system does something wrong, then who is to blame?
1. Supporters of drones: "They take away the risk of fighter pilots getting killed/wounded."
Response: Then these drones will be sent to attack each other's control centers and the general population. That could mean even more lives. Look at Pakistan. Drones have killed a lot more people than manned aircraft.
2. Supporters of drones: "Drones are cheaper to build and operate."
Response: I think if you want to get all sorts of high-tech stuff on drones, it is still going to cost not much less than on a manned fighter jet. All high-tech equipment costs loads of $$$$$$$$. A fighter jet needs lots of costly avionics, drones still need to have lots of computer systems.
3. Supporters of drones: "Drones are smarter and can do more."
Response: Yes, we cannot deny the fact that they can fly much longer than fighter jets can, sometimes up to 40-50 hours. However, I really disagree with leaving life-and-death decisions to someone far from the battlefield that may or may not have much combat experience and /or of questionable motives (CIA has piloted drones before), or even to the on-board computer systems, is absurd. In the second case, if the autonomous computer system does something wrong, then who is to blame?