Re: All will be well then...
"It ought to make sense to have smaller drone-ships, in the few hundred tonne class of missile corvettes though, that could operate to support a larger fleet, and be maintained by them (as well as acting as their protective pickets)"
Yes, I agree with most of your points, especially the above point where there is a use for drone ships to some extent. Likewise, both navy and air force will still have a use for piloted aircraft in many situations as well. I can't imagine a pilot-less aircraft doing emergency evac in a disaster zone on improvised runways. Although with time, pilot-less helicopters might be able to some of the work.
Getting back to drone naval ships though, what about a complete design change above the waterline and inside? There's no need for an unmanned drone ship to have much, if any, of a superstructure, possibly even to the extent that it would effectively be a surface based "submarine", ie a smooth, curved top-side with almost no radar reflection, hatches opening as required for firing weapons etc. and little worry about the sort of weather and waves it can deal with since a "sealed" ship, with no worry about how much it pitches, yaws and rolls (no loose meatbags and their stuff) could handle almost anything. I'm sure there are a number of missions such a ship cold perform, not least of which would be carrier protection where the drone-ship operators could be based.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
