Elon Musk Declared War on the F-35 Fighter
Manned fighters like the F-35 and bombers like the B-21 Raider could be flying control stations for future unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
Elon Musk Said 'Idiots' Are Still Building Manned Fighter Jets: Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk likely walks into a room and he "knows" (at least in his mind) that he's the smartest person – and yet, he has a long history of saying (and doing) really stupid things. And yet, Musk has become a darling of the MAGA movement for his support for President-elect Donald Trump and arguably played a critical role in Trump's historic comeback.
Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have been charged with helping transform the U.S. government by reducing waste and cutting costs. To do this, they're heading the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE – which just happens to be the name of his cryptocurrency. Helping create a more efficient government by creating a new agency seems to be an odd way to go about it, but that's not what should be worrisome today.
It is Musk's criticism of one of the military's most important platforms.
Musk – Visionary or Blind to Reality on F-35 and U.S. Military?
While Elon Musk, now the world's "richest man," has been described as a tech visionary, he has shown a level of hubris not uncommon with a James Bond-level supervillain bent on world domination. Musk – who actually owns the prop car from the Bond film The Spy Who Loves Me – bought Twitter more than two years ago for $44 billion and now has a broadcast platform to share his mad scientist dreams with the masses.
We shouldn't worry that he wants to go to Mars, or that he believes Tesla's Cyber Truck is actually cool. Most people probably agree that the truck looks like some 1960s vision of the future that is out of pace with what consumers want, and only rich showoffs are likely to buy it! As for Mars, if Musk wants to blow billions of dollars getting there this reporter won't complain.
However, what should be seen with very serious worry is that he believes Chinese drones are more capable than the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. In a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Musk said "Some idiots are still building manned fighter jets like the F-35."
We shouldn't dismiss this as just another stupid thing Musk has said, even as it has been seen nearly 100 million times and has received no shortage of pushback.
He has the ear of the incoming president of the United States, who is surrounded by all too loyal sycophants including Congressional lawmakers. The president must sign the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which provides the budget for future military acquisitions.
Drones Can't Replace the F-35 or M1 Abrams
Musk isn't alone in suggesting that our current platforms could be (or worse should be) replaced by drones. Last month, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the U.S. Army's fleet of M1 Abrams main battle tanks (MBTs) should be replaced by drones.
"I read somewhere that the US had thousands and thousands of tanks stored somewhere," Schmidt said during the Future Investment Initiative in Saudi Arabia. "Give them away. Buy a drone instead."
Give them away – that's the plan from a billionaire!
Of course, there is a reason Schmidt might feel that way – namely that he is the founder of White Stork, a start-up that builds loitering munitions, also known as "kamikaze drones." No doubt Schmidt would love to see White Stork getting some of the lucrative government contracts that could be on the fiscal year 2026 (FY26) NDAA.
In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal last year, Schmidt called drones the "future of war," and arguably he's not wrong.
Drones are the future, and the U.S. military would be wrong not to develop such technology. But, it is already is – and there are multiple unmanned/AI initiatives being undertaken by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense (DoD).
However, we can't let the pendulum swing too far toward innovation, just as we can't let it swing the other way. Indeed, military leaders haven't always been forward thinkers. The machine gun was dismissed at first, just as the tank was, and the aircraft carrier, long-range bombers, etc. Too often those in charge believed the old ways were the best, and that would remain true in the future.
At the same time, we should worry that Musk and Schmidt would have the Pentagon retire – or give away – platforms that have a place on the modern battlefield. It is true that drones have been a game changer in Ukraine, but tanks aren't likely to go the way of cavalry or even the battleship. Likewise, manned fighters like the F-35 and bombers like the B-21 Raider could be flying control stations for future unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
Most actual military analysts believe we will embrace a hybrid approach where manned systems operate with unmanned platforms. It is a real problem that these tech visionaries can't see it or don't want to see it.
Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
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