The JSF or joint strike fighter will probably be the last manned fighter plane before our Air Force and Navy move towards unmanned aerial vehicles. This is because as the modern battles space of future periods becomes more net centric and faster paced human pilots will be a significant risk. For one thing they cannot take the G-forces, which will be required to get away from surface to air missiles. It does not make sense to build aircraft with lots of controls that add weight, rely on slower reaction times from humans and be limited by how many G-forces the human body can take, which will hamper and eliminate the need for super maneuverability.

The days of top gun are over much to the chagrin of the next up-and-coming fighter pilots. However it is just as well, as we can build better maneuverable aircraft out of lighter materials and save millions of dollars per aircraft. Not to mention the cost estimated at $1 million to train a single fighter pilot. Indeed, the future of warfare is going robotic either way; that is to say whether it be under the ocean, on the water, On land or in space.

Unmanned aerial vehicles will need to be programmed with artificial intelligent attack systems so that they might identify the enemy from any perspective, determined targets and fire in rapid succession without hesitation or the reaction time currently involved with human pilots. These unmanned aerial vehicles will need to hunt in pairs, groups and swarms and operate in a net centric way, while often maintaining radio or communication blackout, as not to give away their position or cause us to lose such expensive hardware. Consider this in 2006.