Summit Notebook
Exclusive outtakes from industry leaders
Rockwell Collins CEO: ex-fighter pilot sees need for pilotless aircraft
On the surface, it would appear that a fighter pilot would have little interest in a remotely piloted aircraft, which more and more are being used in wars for reconnaissance and firing missiles.
It isn’t too big a leap to wonder whether in the future perhaps drones will take away jobs from fighter pilots.
But Rockwell Collins Chief Executive Officer Clay Jones, a former fighter pilot, says there is room for both.
“Technology marches on. Obviously I have a great affinity for keeping a human in the loop. And I think a human will always be in the loop in some aircraft because there are certain missions that require a human to make judgments, and to do what only a human being can do, in the say heat of battle,” he said in an interview at the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit.
