In movies like Famous top gun, fighter pilots They are presented as experienced pilots with great skills who are able to face their opponents in exciting air battles.

However, new technologies can change everything Algorithms, statistics and machines play an increasingly important role in airplane cabins.

“A lot of people are saying that there will be no pilots in airplanes in the future,” said 1st Lt. Walter Gall, a British Air Force F-35 pilot based in Lakenheath, England. “It’s not something we’re too excited about,” he added. “I want to keep my job as long as possible, but you can’t resist new technology,” he continued.

The future of fighter pilots was on full display this week at the Farnborough International Air Show, one of the world’s largest exhibitions of military air technology.

The manufacturers have shown How artificial intelligence and other technologies will be used in new fighter jets And Air Force delegations from around the world viewed mock-ups of missiles, drones and fighter jets.

Amid growing geopolitical tensions, countries are scrambling to modernize their forces and raise more funds. Billions of dollars are at stake.

In the first installment of the 1986 film Top Gun, Tom Cruise portrays aspiring Navy pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, who is learning to fly military jets. In the new part, Maverick is an old veteranA test pilot who learns that the secret hypersonic plane he’s working on is being destroyed to make way for A drone program that does not have pilots.

It’s a possibility that’s been around for years in the real world. Drones were used very often in the war between Russia and UkraineAs in other modern conflicts, it raises the question of how many fighter pilots and their expensive warplanes are needed when there are unmanned aerial vehicles capable of doing the same job.

Experts in Farnborough said Future conflicts will involve both manned aircraft and drones.

ever Pilots ‘will have a loyal co-pilot with their drone’said John Norman, vice president of Raytheon Technologies Corp., a company that makes missiles and other military equipment. Norman, a retired U.S. fighter pilot, said he had complained in the past about ground-controlled planes crossing his path when he was flying fighter jets.

However, the latest communication systems allow airplanes, drones and other devices to communicate with each other, he added.

Technology is already creating The presence of someone in the back seat is unnecessary for the radar to work.

Its role in the cockpit will grow, according to Raytheon executives. The Artificial intelligence will analyze tons of information from sensors placed on planes, aircraft, ground and missiles which rises into the air to give pilots and ground crews a better idea of ​​what is happening on the battlefield.

In the future, artificial intelligence will allow pilots to send drones very close to enemy positions “and shoot when they want,” Norman said.

It is too early to say that fighter pilots are a dying breed. “Twenty years ago, everyone thought that airplanes would replace fighter jets. And that didn’t happen,” said Richard Aboulafia, managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory.

According to him, the drones are currently being supported by unmanned aerial vehicles.

sometime The F-35, which began operations in 2015, was believed to be the last manned fighter jet.noted Gareth Jennings, the company’s aviation editor Jeanne, which provides military intelligence. “But nobody says that anymore.”

In fact, a new generation of more technologically advanced fighter jets are in the works that may not even need pilots. But these devices will be available within a decade at best.

Meanwhile, the US Pentagon projects Engage the AI ​​in battle and work on a plane that can even fly autonomously in battle.

But the experts They suspect that pilots will be eliminated in the near future. “I don’t think we’ll be able to do that for several decades,” Jennings said. “We haven’t reached that point yet, and we won’t get there for another 30 years,” he predicted.