Do not retire crewed fighters before autonomy is ready

Should air forces stop buying crewed fighters and build only drones?

No; autonomous combat aircraft may eventually dominate, but current forces need crewed fighters until optionally crewed designs and loyal-wingman systems are operationally mature.

The all-drone forecast describes a futurist destination rather than a force structure that can safely be adopted now. Retiring F-35s before autonomous systems are mature would create a capability gap with no reliable substitute. The next generation may be optionally crewed and operate with loyal wingmen, allowing missions to choose the appropriate degree of human presence. That transition still requires long development, testing, doctrine, and trust in software before it can replace a proven combat fleet.