Sixth-generation fighter jet expected to replace the F-22 beginning in 2030

The lessons from Ukraine war:

- "zerg" cheap mass produced unit approach is superior to "protoss" expensive but few units

- if you have expensive kit, better hide it in a drone/mid range rocket proof shelter

- pilots are a bottlneck resource in a peer war

- "jack of all trades" systems are inferior to "do one job well" systems

Why? The F22 barely got any use at all.

Wouldn't swarms of cheaper drones be more useful, if only to loiter and launch air to air missiles?

Possibly, but an F22 can launch an air to air missile from 65,000ft flying at Mach 2.2, which makes the missile a lot more lethal. A drone with comparable performance might not be that much cheaper.

Maybe we need missiles that can launch their own missiles...

The age of automated warfare is beginning.