"The first, and so far only, nuclear weapons used against people were carried by bombers and guided into position by human pilots. In the decades since, nuclear delivery systems expanded to include missiles as well as bombs. At the same time, the vehicles carrying such payloads expanded to include submarines and specially designed trucks. But in all of these situations, the human at the launch control always remained a key part of design.

As Russian military planners look to the middle of this century, could that mean putting a nuclear weapon in the control of a robot?

An announcement by Russian leaders was not so explicit. Speaking to a newspaper in December, Lt. Gen. Sergey Kobylash of the Russian Aerospace Forces stated that Russia would have a sixth-generation strategic bomber by 2040, and that this strategic bomber would already be unmanned."

c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2020/01/03/will-russias-nuclear-armed-bombers-in-2040-be-drones/