Lets just hope the entrenched pilots don't find some way to handicap the drone's ability to keep it "fair". Why the US is spending a trillion dollars on the F-35 program is an exercise in pork politics.
100% think this is the way this is going to go. For a year or two.
Finally the fly boys will realize they're totally outmatched and that the F35 will be our last fighter. In my wildest dreams it gets cancelled and a bunch of smaller defense companies spring up to bring prices way down and competition in the space increases. Then overall defense spending goes down and we get more money for services - while being still being armed to the absolute teeth.
The USAF will do everything in its power to keep human pilots in the loop. It would take a credible opponent (Russia/China) switching to drones and/or a third world oil country putting up a real fight with drones to change that.
