Cost.

This is coolbert:

"WHAT DOES IT COST?"

Further still and concluding according to numbers provided by WIZARD:

High performance combat aviation an hourly flight the costs astronomical.

• $1,500 per flight hour for a Reaper drone.
• $11,500 per flight hour for the A-10 Warthog.
• $70,000 per flight hour for the V-22 Osprey.
• $32,000 per flight hour for the F-35 fighter.
• $44,000 per flight hour for the F-22 fighter.
• $135,000 per flight hour for the B-2 stealth bomber.

Look at the figures for a drone as compared to manned aviation!! No comparison and another indication of why the UAV is going to be the preferred warplane of the future.

See this previous blog entry a disposable towed decoy the cost per unit also very high.

Even for ground forces the dollars for just doing business almost beyond belief. A British army Chieftain main battle tank circa 1980 just to fire one round from the main gun an expense of $3,000 USD!

No one ever said war was easy and never think war to be cheap either.

coolbert.