Required RC radio

Can the software be configured to operate without a RC radio RX?

It’s not recommended - I’m pretty sure no one has gone through the code to ensure it would work correctly without an RC receiver.

I take it that this is not something that is planned.Since cheap bidirectional telemetry radio’s have twice the range (at min), requiring a RC uni-direction connection is a little short sighted. $180 pair of telemetry radio’s is in the 40Km range.

There are many long range RC systems available that match the 40Km range of the telemetry radios.
However you need to check your local regulations as many countries don’t alow BVLOS flight which means you cant fly bond (500m in the UK).
EzUHF Is one example.

Point I was trying to make, telemetry radios are longer range and faster data rates, so why are rc radios required? Telemetry radios range are directly related to tx power (at the antenna), this is where the FCC (in the USA) sets limits and what/who/how these limits may be exceeded.