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Old 10-26-2007, 17:28 PM   #14 (permalink)
scorefour
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Join Date: 10-17-07
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The Russians don't have anywhere near the technology to skip a generation of fighters and go to an unmanned fighter. Neither does the U.S., but the ball is already rolling.

Check out this abbreviated article on Janes: USAF contemplates unmanned jet option - Jane's Air Forces News

The costs of "skipping" a generation of fighters is astronomical, as the U.S. discovered with the F-22. Russia and India will be lucky to get the T-50 off the ground, much less going a generation beyond that.

The issue is whether a 6th gen fighter would be remotely controlled or autonomous. Both are highly complex. The remote option is closer to reality, but imagine the bandwidth required to fly a fleet of those. Relying on satelites is becoming more and more risky, as the recent Chines ASAT test showed us. Clearly there will be many obstacles to overcome if a 6th gen fighter is being defined.

But imagine a 20 G+ capability and one can see why the U.S. is looking at it.
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