Why useful carrier drones may remain aircraft-sized

Will warships increasingly carry drones because uncrewed aircraft are so useful?

Yes, but the most capable drones are likely to grow toward normal aircraft size as designers add fuel, weapons, sensors, and endurance.

Removing a pilot does not remove the need for fuel, payload, sensors, structure, or maintenance access. Designers may use the recovered cockpit volume to add still more fuel and weapons, producing drones comparable to or larger than crewed single-seat aircraft. The X-47 is offered as a sign of the scale required for a useful carrier-launched uncrewed aircraft. Carrier size and logistics therefore remain important even as air wings become less crewed.