WELL, THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: F-35 to Control Armed Attack Drones.

In the future, drones may be fully operated from the cockpit of advanced fighter jets such as the Joint Strike Fighter or F-22, Air Force Chief Scientist Greg Zacharias told Scout Warrior in an interview.

“The more autonomy and intelligence you can put on these vehicles, the more useful they will become,” he said.

This development could greatly enhance mission scope, flexibility and effectiveness by enabling a fighter jet to conduct a mission with more weapons, sensors, targeting technology and cargo, Zacharias explained.

Another neat trick would be if a drone could be piloted to run interference on incoming anti-aircraft missiles, acting as a sort of a kamikaze countermeasure.