U.s. Military Pilots May Soon Be Joined By Robotic Figher Jets On Combat Missions

The Boeing Airpower Teaming System is the company's first unmanned system developed in Australia and designed for global defense customers.Boeing

NBC: Robotic fighter jets could soon join military pilots on combat missions. Here's why.

The fast-flying drones would scout enemy locations and draw fire that otherwise would be directed at human pilots.

Military pilots may soon have a new kind of wingman to depend upon: not flesh-and-blood pilots but fast-flying, sensor-studded aerial drones that fly into combat to scout enemy targets and draw enemy fire that otherwise would be directed at human-piloted aircraft.

War planners see these robotic wingmen as a way to amplify air power while sparing pilots' lives and preventing the loss of sophisticated fighter jets, which can cost more than $100 million apiece.

"These drone aircraft are a way to get at that in a more cost-effective manner, which I think is really a game-changer for the Air Force," says Paul Scharre, director of the technology and national security program at the Center for a New American Security, a think tank in Washington, D.C.

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