The future for fighter pilots was unveiled this week at the Farnborough International Air Show near London, one of the world's largest aviation, defense and aerospace exhibitions..

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Manufacturers talked about how artificial intelligence and other technologies will be used in the latest military aircraft, and military delegations from around the world viewed mock-ups of missiles, drones and fighter jets.. Many billions of dollars are at stake as countries upgrade navies or increase defense procurement budgets amid rising geopolitical tensions.

Drones are widely used in the war between Russia and Ukraine and other modern conflicts, raising the question of how much human pilots are needed to fly expensive fighter jets and other aircraft — or whether drones can do the job..

At the Farnborough show, experts said the future of air warfare is likely to be manned and unmanned aircraft working together..

One day, fighter pilots will have "

Norman, a retired US Air Force pilot, says that in the past, when he flew fighter jets, he complained about ground-controlled drones that got in his way.. The latest communications systems allow fighter jets, drones and other aircraft to communicate with each other, he said..

In future battles, the AI \u200b\u200bcould allow the pilot to direct an armed drone into enemy positions and issue the command to open fire to kill,"

“If we started this conversation 20 years ago, almost everyone was sure that some (drones) would serve as a replacement for combat aircraft. It just didn't happen,"

Currently, he said, drones mainly support manned military aircraft..

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There were speculations that the F-35, which entered service in 2015, would be the last manned fighter, said Gareth Jennings, aviation editor at defense intelligence firm Janes.. "

F-35 built by Lockheed Martin Corp.. , is a stealth fighter belonging to the latest generation of military aircraft. The next generation of fighters is under development, offering even more high-tech advances, including potentially unmanned versions, but they won't appear until the next decade..

The Air Combat Evolution program, run by Pentagon research agency DARPA, is working to bring artificial intelligence into combat, including developing an aircraft that can fly itself in combat..

As part of the program, a simulated dogfight has already been conducted, in which an AI-controlled virtual aircraft confronted a human pilot.. If all goes well, the researchers plan to have real combat with AI-equipped aircraft by 2024..

Experts, however, are skeptical that pilots will be excluded from the cockpit in the near future.. Unmanned technology and the willingness of the public to accept the absence of a person in the cockpit has not yet arrived, and will not come for at least another 30 years or so, they believe.