It can already be seen with the use of drones in combat in Ukraine and in the Mid East that the future does not need to include risking human pilots. For the last 50 years we have had the technology to operate surplus aircraft as drones and the technology to operate the weapon systems remotely already exists. Imagine the potential of a trained military reserve being able to work part-time from home participating in attacking enemy targets. The youth of today already are well on the way to being able to master the necessary skills.

There is also the current problem recruiting qualified men and women for the military. In the future we may be able to lower the age for this area of service in the military for adequately pre-trained young persons with this skill set, perhaps as young as 15-17, and expand the pool of recruits available for the military significantly. We will probably also find that financial compensation is not as big a factor for this demographic and there is not the need for expanded bases and housing since it is a ‘serve from home’ model. They probably will need strong commanders as this age group is not necessarily mature or self-disciplined.

We do have to recognize that other potential enemies have populations that have equal or superior abilities to our population to use technology so the use of these systems will never apply to every area of conflict in which we are involved. Our defense industry still needs the funding to stay ahead of the technology curve even if we remove the human pilot from the aircraft. Threats to our country will increase as we enter into an increased competition for our rightful share of the universe.