Will development of good AI routines be beneficial for developing an UAV?

[Bobb4]

Moaning has its virtues... It lets off steam.
However to your point why unmanned drones are not use more in patrol type engagements.
Logistics pure an simple.
Having a drone for every unit makes no sense and unlike a plane with a human element who can act on hunches a drone is just a flying camera with a few heat sensors.
What you saw in Ross Kemps Afganistan was war, pure and simple.
Having been in similiar situations however not with said armies, technology helps a lot but it is always the grunt on the ground that takes the objective.
As for operational budget, let's just say the grunt on the ground does not give a sh%t how much a javlin costs.
How much do you think it costs just to keep the fast movers on standby... $10 000 and when they unload a smart bomb, well add +/-$20.000 to the bill.