This was all proposed when DARPA first looked into Network Centric Warfare. It was rejected, which was a mistake. When defending against small drones, the scal

This was all proposed when DARPA first looked into Network Centric Warfare. It was rejected, which was a mistake. When defending against small drones, the scaled down equivalent of a combat air patrol (CAP) would work. That CAP can be extended over enemy positions as well, like air superiority with scaled-down aircraft. I can imagine one side having air dominance in the large & manned air domain, while the other side has air dominance in the small & unmanned air domain. These small jets are also a great way to keep track of enemy activity. Having a payload on it makes sense for the same reason it makes sense for a forward observer to also be a sniper.