Unmanned aircraft have yet to fulfill their initial promise of greater efficiency, according to Tom Clancy, CTO and vice president of Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation. At ASC16, Clancy said “unmanned systems take more people to operate than manned systems.” So, while UAVs have certainly reduced risk to personnel by removing them from the battle space, the next challenge to solve is “how can we deliver on lower cost” by having “more robots do the work of less people,” Clancy said.
With key members of Congress wavering on the possibility of a $350 billion defense reconciliation bill, defense experts told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the Pentagon is likely drawing up budget backup plans—but such plans would face hard choices between high-end weapons and low-cost drones and other programs in…