Russia's sixth-generation warplane may serve as a transition from manned to unmanned aviation, a top military official said Thursday.
"We may begin with the manned version and then switch to the unmanned version, but I think that precisely the sixth-generation aircraft will be the last plane when the pilot performs main tasks in air environment," Russian Aerospace Force Commander-in-Chief Colonel General Viktor Bondarev told Zvezda TV Channel.
The commander also said that a sixth-generation aircraft should not be only a fighter-interceptor, but should be present in all the branches: strike and military transport aviation, as well as long-range strategic aviation.
Meanwhile, Sergei Korotkov, chief designer of Russia's United Aircraft Corporation, told the Russian news network Zvezda that Russia's sixth-generation fighter jet will be equipped with an artificial intelligence system capable of making key decisions without the pilot's involvement in certain emergency situations.
Earlier on Thursday, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said military aircraft developers are creating scientific and technical groundwork for developing the sixth-generation fighter jet.
