The Last Manned Fighter

The Air force thinks we need a few UAVs, backed up by a huge manned fighter force. Actually, says Strategypage, its going the other way:

A major reason for the decline in demand for the F-35 is not rising costs, but smart bombs. It’s easier to deliver the new generation of satellite guided smart bombs via a heavy bomber (like the half century old B-52), than via the latest fighter-bomber. However, in the opening stages of a war, when the enemy still has some effective air defense weapons, sending in stealthy F-35s is a much safer, and certain, way to go. But even that appears to be old-school, with more capable UAVs entering service. Why risk an F-35 and a pilot, when you can send in unmanned aircraft. Then you can bring in the “bomb trucks” (B-52, B-1, B-2) to deliver the smart bombs. For these reasons, many believe the F-35 will be the last manned combat aircraft. Not because of the high cost, but because robots do it better.