Re: Does this mean
'But if they pay for this self-landing technology, you start to wonder why they bother with the meatsack at the sharp end of the aircraft.'
The meatsack having to concentrate on flying the aircraft has always been an issue for the military, the more they have to concentrate on that the less capacity they have for the actual mission. Traditionally the military have spent lots of money selecting people who're very good at flying aircraft and then after several years training see about having them make tactical decisions at the same time. Consequently one of the highest wash out rates in training was on the Tactical Weapons part of the fast jet course, which came near the end*, just before converting onto an operational type.
So in essence the ideal military aircraft is so easy to fly the pilot doesn't have to think about it, freeing him up to deal with the sensors and manage the mission, which is the bit that differentiates military aviation from a flying club.
*You couldn't have it earlier because they couldn't fly the jet well enough.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
