Unfortunately, the AI is still not there at all.
In the last test of an MQ-9 vs a manned F-15, the F-15 ate the MQ-9 for a light snack and kept going.
Drones right now have their place - it’s in ground attack, close air support, and Wild Weasel roles. It is *not* in air superiority or combat air patrol.
I haven’t the slightest doubt about the scenario you painted; the 9 is NOT a fighter, nor will it ever be.
Are you confident that there will be no uninhabited airframes in the air-to-air role in 15 year’s time...? My guess is that 3 or more countries will have multiple models acting in that capacity.
Standby terms like “ingress” and “egress” will have to be rethought; stealthy fighters will stay on station much more persistently. Fewer will be needed, and pilots will be called on for key decision-making steps only as those airframes encounter targets —they will then go back into an automated patrol mode, requiring no man in the loop for those long, dull stretches.
Later, some might need a pilot in the loop only at key junctures to assuage legal requirements, another area that will require considerable tweaking.
We are in the BEGINNNING, a little bit like when WWI biplanes acted in the recon role, later dropping crude fused bomblets by hand, and then later....??