Among his first targets as co-leader of incoming President Donald Trump’s (advisory) Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk took to his social media platform X with scathing statements concerning the Lockheed Martin 5th Generation F-35 stealth fighter – and manned combat aircraft, in general. Musk wrote: “…some idiots are still building manned fighter jets like the F-35.”
Never having studied war and not being that great at AI and tech, I lay no claim to knowledge of the efficacy of the F-35 vs drones etc. Elon Musk has that edge on me, that’s for sure.
I also do respect Elon Musk as an engineer and his ability to muster an effective and successful engineering and business Space X team. I am awestruck by every Space X launch, recovery, public R&D and RUD spectacle. And Tesla does build fine electric cars if you’re not into automobile autopilots etc. Kudos to Elon Musk for fine electric cars. Wish I could afford one. Then there’s Starlink. Maybe if I’m lucky someday I’ll buy a Starlink system for when I go camping in the wilderness which I have been doing for years. On the other hand I’ll probably defer Starlink and remain off the social media grid sans FB and X etc. accounts as I’ve always done.
I also acknowledge that Elon Musk is good at making money at taxpayers’ expense while also getting laid, an accusation which according to Mark’s article he purports to make of Air Force officers. Word on the street is that he has sired at least 11 children for whom and for whose mothers as far as he can determine whom they may be is very nobly wanting to build a living home compound.
At this point, it goes without saying that while many if not all of us are good at what we principally do, none of us, even Elon Musk are infinitely good at everything under the sun. None of us are God even if one of us thinks we are. Perhaps now might be a strategic time for Elon Musk to limit himself to what he is good at, ie: Space X and Starlink, electric cars, and getting laid (as long as he takes appropriate anti-procreative measures from here on out). Apart from that, particularly at trying to be co-president, now might be a strategic time for him to stifle himself.
"Musk’s assessment goes beyond slamming the multi-mission F-35 program, suggesting that any and all crewed fighter aircraft are obsolete, and unmanned drones should replace them across the board. "
They tried that in the 50s, with Duncan Sandys. Look how far that got! Yes the technology is EMERGING, but it is nowhere near mature enough to ditch manned aircraft, so wind your neck in Musk.
Ask the price of an F35 and you get answers varying from $89 million each to $125 million each, bit like asking the price of a Tesla from one day to another (tough luck if selling second hand…)
Assuming cruise missiles / drones cost $3 million to fly at similar speed with similar stealth and hopefully bang on the ground, should be able to buy around 30 for one F35, but the cruise missiles and drones do not come back, and have use by dates, of a few years, no more. Plus they need as many ground staff as jet fighters. Good luck Mr Business Efficiency in squaring the circle…
I am sure Musk will use his role as “Secretary of Government Efficiency” responsbily, and will e.g. not dispose of those bodies regulating his own multi-billion work for the government, likely including selling drones…
Beware of Musk. He controls a lot of information, X, Space X, Tesla, and most importantly Starlink. He can, flip the switch to off and the consequences can be dire, (think Ukraine). He has no loyalties, except to himself. While the F-35 has been a trial, it exists whether he likes it or not.
The future of warfare is unmanned. Anduril shops ready shown that small, expendable drones can hold a superpower at bay.
In the age of hypersonic missiles and drone swarms (that’s today, these exist), our carriers and 5th gen fighters are like trebuchets. They’ll do a little damage, but they’ll quickly be neutralized. And we cannot backfill our losses. DJI alone can produce a new Air Force every day.
Yes I was as I said except that I referred to it as “RUD” which I believe is the “official” term. You and I are on the same page regarding Elon, bud, except that I stand behind my real name while you don’t.
I am willing to bet money the people highest on his list to cut back will be those that stand in his way to do his business. Whether it’s rocket launches, crap cars or whatever. It’s all about him.
While most everyone chides Musk as the villain here, no one has yet to acknowledge the assumed $180,000,000,000 cost overrun on just this one project (in the words of the article, not Musk). Is this the cost of the project, or is this the “overrun”? Speaking as a a pilot, we are all very quick to point out accounting errors on our dinner tab or aircraft maintenance invoice. So why are we so critical of this notion to ask questions when it comes to government spending of our tax dollars? Why not audit the government instead of the government auditing us?
I think a lot of us have harbored a growing sense that the manned fighter development realm is on an unsustainable course, with the improvement curve rising only marginally while the cost curve soars. A huge factor is that a human body with all its limitations must be accommodated within the weapon. Even the USAF recognizes this problem, as evidenced by tentative moves toward making the fighter pilot an on-scene drone controller, so to speak.
As far as Musk is concerned, I for one think having someone with influence free to speak truth within an otherwise politically constrained government is well worth the annoyance of hearing it come from someone you don’t like for personal reasons.
Elon is closer to the point of future fighters than all the detractors here. A human has been the limiting factor of fighter design and capability for decades. An unmanned fighter that can pull 50g+ will wipe the sky of manned fighters. Yes, man has some advantages, but they are going away fast.
Musk has been given his orders from his new friend, Putin. Weaken the U.S. government and especially the DOD. F-35s are just the start of his attempts.
Regardless of what one thinks of Elon Musk, the issue of piloted vs unpiloted tactical aircraft has been around for at least 30 years. I love aircraft as much as anyone else here, but pilot training and proficiency consumes enormous resources. Computer code is expensive, too, but it doesn’t require proficiency training and doesn’t draw retirement or health care benefits. And of course, there is the issue of life support systems aboard, including oxygen generation, ejection systems and a lot of visual displays that could be displayed remotely to a ground operator.
The F-35 is more the result of lobbying than of need. Like the “high/low” mix of the 1970s that led to F-14 and F-15 numbers being sacrificed for a larger number of “cheaper” F-16s and F-18s, lobbying severely limited the F-22 program to allow funding of the less capable F-35. I don’t think the nation saved money with 16s and 18s and don’t expect much savings from 35s, either. In a real shooting war, large numbers of unpiloted aircraft would be more effective and less costly than sending highly trained officers into territory defended by a sophisticated, well-funded adversary to fly low-level missions against ground targets.
Elon is right.
As a pilot, Model X, CyberTruck owner and Starlink subscriber I’m amazed at the number of commenters here who: 1. want to fly an F35 into battle 2. drive Teslas 3. sub to Starlink 4. have military experience 5. understand that Elon, twitter and President Trump just saved democracy and the Western world from communism 6. have an account on X. That number is obviously zero. Hopefully your grandkids will be more insightful or appreciative. Enjoy the coming four years.
Sometimes the arrogance is on the other side. In 1925 a visionary Army colonel warned the Army that it’s method of fighting wars was outdated and predicted that future wars would be fought from and in the air. The arrogant generals and admirals decided that airpower could never be a realistic threat to our great ships. This colonel would go on to criticize the military’s leaders for their obstinance in the news media which brought charges of insubordination. During his court martial this colonel actually predicted that our country would not only be attacked by airpower but the attacker would be Japan. As a pilot I love flying and attend air-shows every chance I get. But I also want our country to have the advantage in any future wars and that requires thinking outside the cockpit. Sometimes we need to listen to visionaries and consider that our current way of doing things may be outdated. The movie “Court-martial of Billy Mitchell” can be found on youtube.