quote:
Extreme secrecy surrounds the joint British-French project...
Really?? A joint-nation program with "extreme secrecy"? That's something of an oxymoron. Or an earth-shattering "first".
quote:
...Taranis will carry the latest in remote defensive technology so it can also evade missiles and hostile manned aircraft.
Evade? Uhmm... if the defense can be controlled remotely, it can be overcome on-scene by something else.
quote:
The development of pilotless combat aircraft is controversial and many regard the risks of mistakes associated with removing humans from the kill chain as unacceptable.
All of which opinion will carry not a feather's weight in the decisions regarding further development of these things... it's like the atomic bomb programs: if they've got one, we've got to have one (only bigger).