Just last week, a Boeing X-45A UCAV prototype dropped a test bomb for the first time. The bomb missed a direct hit on the target by inches, certainly within the lethal blast radius of a live bomb.

Combine the image recognition technology to locate priority targets like SAM sites or key personnel with the ability to immediately put bombs on target and you have a potent combination. The UCAV might not need to carry an extensive sensor package on its own, although that would be useful. It could receive the targeting information from an ISR platform like the Global Hawk, get release approval from the ground operators, and take out a target in short order without exposing an American to danger. The operator doesn't even have to be on the same continent.

Some of the things my company is working on won't be operational for many years. If we put the pieces together properly, it'll make today's weapons seem as outdated as a WWII tank. Transformational Comm, Space Based Radar, enhanced situational awareness, CCIC2S, space control and LAATD are just a few of the things we're developing architectures for. The times, they are a changing.