Elon Musk says the US's F-35 stealth jet 'would have no chance' against a 'drone fighter plane'

David Choi Feb 28, 2020, 4:03 PM


Elon Musk said the US military's vaunted F-35 stealth jet "would have no chance" against a drone remotely piloted by a human.
"The competitor should be a drone fighter plane that's remote controlled by a human, but with its maneuvers augmented by autonomy," Musk tweeted on Friday.
"It's not that I want the future to be this. That's just what the future will be," Musk said in separate comments. "The fighter jet era has passed. Yeah, the fighter jet era has passed. It's drones."
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk suggested that Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II, the costly stealth jet considered to be pinnacle of US military aviation, "would have no chance" if pitted against a drone that is remotely piloted by a human.

At the US Air Force's Air Warfare Symposium in Florida, Musk said there should be a competitor to the F-35 program, according to a tweet by Lee Hudson, the Pentagon editor at Aviation Week.

Musk responded in his own tweet, saying that the "competitor should be a drone fighter plane that's remote controlled by a human, but with its maneuvers augmented by autonomy."

"The F-35 would have no chance against it," he added.

The F-35, variants of which are used by the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, has had its critics since its inception. Lawmakers have scrutinized it over multiple delays in production and its price tag, which at $406.5 billion, makes it the costliest weapons program in US history.



Problems with the F-35 surfaced soon after it joined the fleet. Over 800 flaws riddled the software, according to a recent report by the Defense Department's director of operational test and evaluation, which also said the 25 mm cannon on the Air Force's F-35A, the most common variant, displayed an "unacceptable" level of accuracy.

The F-35 was also unable to meet a branchwide goal set by the previous defense secretary, James Mattis, in 2019. Mattis wanted 80% of F-35s and other stealth aircraft to be "mission-capable" 80% of the time.

The Air Force conference at which Musk made his comments included senior US military officials and pilots.

Speaking with Space and Missile Systems Center Commander Lt. Gen. John Thompson, Musk said autonomous drone warfare "is where it's at" and "where the future will be," according to Defense News.

"It's not that I want the future to be this. That's just what the future will be," Musk added. "The fighter jet era has passed. Yeah, the fighter jet era has passed. It's drones."

https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-f-35-drone-fighter-2020-2

F-35 is an overhyped bird. Israeli military has yet to reveal the truth about what really happened to her f-35 that got hit by Soviet era SAM in Syria. We don't buy the swarm of birds narrative lol.

Military Industrial Complex uses Military Budget to siphon funds off-world.

America politicians are so naive to agree to fund such expense on a piece of mechanize that is not worth its weight in gold.

Shows me how ignorant humans are and why this Lucifer Experiment is working so precisely.

it was all a joke something that can't fly for hours in all condition...even a corolla 2004 is more reliable

Haha united snakes of amerika and their puny overhyped flying coffin cc.zoharariel

The F-35 fighter jet program is the greatest boondoggle of the 21st century.