autonomous unmanned vehicles don’t count on no goddam link. Wakup boy! Smell the future coffee.
Unfortunately, your autonomous unmanned vehicles are in exactly the same state as the future coffee; Future Development that is wholly dependent upon support and funding from a political cabal that seems more intent upon the destruction of this country than its defense.
Word pictures don’t hack ANY program, and we’re in the sh**can right up to our eyebrows if we don’t get a double dose of luck and avoid a serious threat for at least the next two years.
I’d suggest lots of prayer on that subject, and the neat old pictures and autonomous unmanned vehicles can just go as sea stories.
First of all, we don't even have an UCAV that is supersonic.
Second, as of the foreseeable future, autonomous does not include ACM. Period.
Third, even if they were, and did, how would that be better than a ESSM? Besides, they're faster, cheaper, and you can carry a lot more of them.
On the down side, you can't reload a VLS at sea, and risk shooting yourself dry. Which is a 'Bad Thing' in fleet defense.
Bottom line, we needed something faster ACM platform with more enduance (legs!), and cheaper to maintain. What we got was the Hornet. Which we needed for attack roles.
But NOT for Fleet Defense.
As for a Navalized F-22; by the time it's airframe is beefed up for traps, and somehow is found to keep stealth in a sea environment, I doubt if it would be the equivalent of the land-based version.
I'm just sayin'...