A senior US Air Force official has warned lawmakers that autonomous fighter aircraft powered by artificial intelligence may eventually outperform human pilots, underscoring the Pentagon's growing focus on AI-driven warfare and next-generation combat systems.
Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee's Airland Subcommittee during a hearing on Air Force modernization, Lieutenant General Christopher Niemi said the United States must rapidly adapt to the evolving nature of warfare shaped by drones, artificial intelligence, and autonomous systems, according to Aerospace America.
"There will come a point where a robot fighter is better than a manned fighter," Niemi told senators. "It would be a tragic shame if the United States didn't have a better answer."
Niemi, who is expected to become the US Air Force's first Chief Modernization Officer, described autonomous aircraft as a critical element of future military operations. He highlighted the Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programme, which is developing semi-autonomous drones designed to operate alongside manned fighter jets such as the F-22 Raptor and the future F-47.
According to Air Force officials, these unmanned systems are being designed for surveillance, electronic warfare and strike missions with varying levels of autonomy. Initially, the aircraft would operate under the supervision of human pilots before gradually taking on more independent roles.
"I'm very enthusiastic about the opportunities of the future for CCA-type aircraft," Niemi said, adding that the programme would serve as a major testing ground for practical military applications of artificial intelligence.
The hearing also reflected broader Pentagon concerns that the US military may be overly dependent on expensive fighter jets while rival nations increasingly invest in lower-cost drone swarms and autonomous weapons systems. Lawmakers pointed to lessons from the war in Ukraine, where inexpensive drones have become central to battlefield operations.
Senator Richard Blumenthal said adversaries could focus on producing large quantities of cheaper autonomous systems rather than relying solely on advanced manned aircraft.
Niemi agreed that future conflicts would require a combination of high-end fighter platforms and scalable low-cost autonomous systems capable of being produced rapidly.
The Air Force is also exploring ways to build modular unmanned aircraft that can be manufactured more efficiently and deployed in contested environments. Officials noted that the military is increasingly concerned about America's ability to match the industrial-scale drone production capabilities demonstrated in modern conflicts.
The discussion comes amid intensifying strategic competition with China, which US defence officials believe is aggressively advancing artificial intelligence, autonomous weapons and next-generation military technologies.
Defence analysts say fully autonomous fighter aircraft are still years away from operational deployment, but military planners worldwide increasingly view AI as a transformative force in air combat, logistics and battlefield decision-making.
