[9659]

Close Air Support is controlled and managed by the guys on the ground. The pilot has to have situational awareness, and capture the nuances of where the dangers are prior to releasing ordinance.

When you 'pop yellow smoke' and need a bomb planted there now, it is not the time to be in satellite comms asking for a drone tasking and then explaining to the operator what you need (being the drone has a soda straw sized view into the situation).

[genmud]

The war in Ukraine has shown that highly integrated drone operator's with small UASs can fill that role. In the future, it isn't going to be a USAF or CIA operated drone circling at 40,000 ft, launching a $200,000 missile or dropping a $25,000 bomb... it will be a platoon or battalion level loitering munition operated by the people on the ground that costs $3,000 or $5,000.

[dirtyid]

IMO you're both right in the sense that A10s replacement is basically, let's not fight another major land war now that focus has shifted to indopac. If situation can't be avoided, drone authority will just become a lot more permissive until the next IVAS or whatever expensive augmented reality program finally puts grunts in charge of tasking.