Elon Musk has made a stunning claim that could reshape military aviation: manned combat aircraft are obsolete. The tech mogul, freshly appointed to a new U.S. government efficiency ministry, has set his sights on the F-35 fighter jet, calling it a costly and inefficient relic in the era of drones.
A Direct Attack on the F-35
In a series of provocative statements, Musk didn’t hold back, especially targeting the F-35, the flagship fighter jet of the U.S. military. “Combat planes with pilots are obsolete,” Musk declared, arguing that these jets serve only one purpose—risking the lives of pilots. With his usual flair for disruption, he took to social media, mocking the F-35 as a waste of taxpayer dollars. The fighter jet, widely regarded as a fifth-generation stealth aircraft, has been plagued by skyrocketing costs, technical issues, and delays since its inception.
Musk’s stance is clear: drones are the future of air combat, and the F-35 is a fossil of outdated military thinking. “Meanwhile, idiots are still building manned combat jets like the F-35,” he quipped, posting a video showing hundreds of drones flying in formation, a visual contrast to the traditional fighter jet. This stinging critique couldn’t be ignored—the F-35, despite its advanced features, has failed to live up to its billing as a versatile weapon of the future.
The F-35: An Expensive Disaster?
Musk’s attack isn’t just based on opinion—he points to the F-35’s massive development costs and its lack of specialized combat capabilities. For Musk, this plane has become a symbol of inefficiency, a monolithic failure born out of trying to be everything to everyone.
“The F-35 is a complex and costly machine with no specialty in battle,” Musk argued, criticizing the program’s design flaws. These comments are a direct challenge to the hundreds of billions spent by the U.S. military and its allies on the program, which has been frequently criticized for its sky-high price tag.
Musk’s words carry weight, but so does the counter-argument. Experts, like Mauro Gilli, a researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, defend the F-35, arguing that the real cost isn’t the pilot, but the software and electronics that make the plane’s advanced technology so expensive. However, Musk has his own response to that—drones, he believes, would be far cheaper and more efficient, without the need for humans in the cockpit.
Will Drones Replace Human Pilots?
Musk’s bold statement raises a bigger question: Will drones truly replace human pilots, or is this just another step in the endless march of technological progress? Musk envisions a world where unmanned combat is the norm, where machines take the place of humans in dangerous situations. But as with most of Musk’s ideas, this isn’t just about saving lives—it’s about saving money and pushing the boundaries of what technology can do.
Yet, Musk’s critics argue that eliminating manned aircraft programs would have far-reaching geopolitical consequences. The F-35, they say, isn’t just a U.S. asset—it forces other nations, like Russia and China, to match or exceed American technology. Removing this strategic tool could loosen pressure on U.S. rivals, potentially allowing them to catch up in stealth technology and advanced radar systems.
For now, Musk’s comments may stir controversy, but one thing is clear—his vision for the future of warfare is radically different from the status quo. Drones over pilots, according to Musk, is the only way forward.
