All involved should have know this was coming, and I find it hard to believe they didn’t...
Today’s fighter pilots are like the cavalrymen railing against mechanization. Not that horses are COMPLETELY useless to the military these days (witness the Grey’s Scouts in Rhodesia in the 70’s and Afghanistan today).
The trouble with this... the smarter the aircraft are, the smarter the humans will have to be. Once they figure out what “officer’s club” means, we’ll all be in trouble :D
We never seem to foresee, and prepare for, the events and situations that are real. But we have no problem getting all fired up over things like global warming that are mostly myth. That’s just our nature. Alas, it’s been that way for a long time, and government’s response to situations such as the financial crisis or illegal immigration shows how ingrained it is in our nature.
FLYNN: "I never flew the B-24 only B-17s.
GRADY: The B24 was a good airplane. At least you knew you you were flying it, not the other way around, like today's things.
FLYNN: "You still have to fly the Vindicator, Grady."
GRADY: "We're the last of the lot, Flynn. Don't kid yourself about that. The next airplanes won't need men. After us, the machines. We're halfway there already.