Also, questions are starting to be asked about how long an RPA would survive in contested airspace where an opponent has an IADS.
Quite so. Once the opposition have cottoned on to that, it wouldn't take long to develop a drone-swatting capability.
In addition, there is the unpalatable consideration of the terrorist threat to the drone operators themselves. Safe in the Nevada desert is one thing, but in the UK less than an hour from where the 'bruvs' breed in droves, it probably wouldn't take long before some ba$tard 'martyr' decided to commit an outrage.
Sending a real pilot off to a remote part of the world for a tour in a secure environment would be one thing, but expecting someone who might just have splattered Ali bin-liner all over the desert to spend the next 5 years looking over his shoulder is something else.
Drones have been successful, I agree. But for anyone to want to spend a career operating the things is perhaps a different matter.