Can anyone give a figure for what percentage of the useable comms bandwidth each UAV uses for its up & downlinks? Given that info it should be possible to determine the maximum number of UAVs that can be operated in one area at the same time.
It needs to be borne in mind that base stations are not necessarily aware of what the other is doing, and allowances would need to be made.
With regard to combat UAVs operating autonomously, one shouldn't forget the Battle of New Orleans which took place after a peace treaty between the two parties had been signed, but the message had not got through to the combatants. Timescales are a bit different these days, but a white flag detector may need to be standard fit on an autonomous UCAV...