'The Last Manned Aircraft'

摘要

In testimony before the senate armed services committee in may, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael G. Mullen said, "There are those that see the [F-35] as the last manned fighter-or fighter-bomber-or jet, and I'm one that's inclined to believe that."rnMullen said the pace of evolution in unmanned aircraft has accelerated so rapidly just since 2006 that the Pentagon is re-evaluating many of its plans for manned combat aircraft, such as the next generation bomber. Mullen, a naval aviatior himself, said, "We're at a real time of transition here, in terms of the future of aviation, and the whole issue of what's going to be manned and ... unmanned, what's going to be stealthy, what isn't, [and] how do we address these threats."