Elon Musk, who is getting ready to co-head the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with Indian-American biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, launched a tirade against Pentagon’s modern fighter jets, F-35, saying that drones were the future of air combat.
Using a trash can emoji, Musk in a post on X slammed the “idiots” who still manufacture manned combat jets like the F-35.
“Meanwhile, some idiots are still building manned fighter jets like the F-35,” the billionaire tweeted, while sharing a video of synchronized Chinese drones in operation.
Musk’s criticism supports the broad federal budget reforms that he and DOGE co-leader Ramaswamy are advocating. The Pentagon has been facing special scrutiny due to its ambitious plan to reduce the federal budget by at least $2 trillion.
The most costly and sophisticated weapons program in the Department of Defense is the Lockheed Martin-producedF-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.
Elon Musk says F-35 ‘will just get pilots killed’
The SpaceX CEO intensified his criticism on Monday, claiming that the jet’s design was essentially faulty from the start since it was an effort to satisfy several contradictory criteria.
“The F-35 design was broken at the requirements level because it was required to be too many things to too many people. This made it an expensive & complex jack of all trades, master of none. Success was never in the set of possible outcomes,” Musk stated.
“Manned fighter jets are obsolete in the age of drones anyway. Will just get pilots killed,” said the head of X, in another post, drawing support from President-elect Donald Trump ally Matt Gaetz, who responded, saying. “The F-35 is a failed platform. It’s time to shift entirely to drones.”
Musk used the “100” emoji to reply to a user’s tweet insisting, “Drone superiority is the new air superiority.”
How Musk’s remarks could cause a rift with Trump?
The remarks could cause a rift between Musk and Trump, who hailed his role in lowering the prices of the Lockheed Martin program and then applauded the fifth-generation stealth aircraft, claiming at rallies that it is “invisible.”
According to Musk, UAVs, whether autonomous or remotely piloted, provide more accuracy and remove the hazards associated with human pilots.
UAVs have been essential in contemporary battles, especially in Ukraine, where they have been playing a key role in countering Russian forces.
Despite Musk’s claims, Pentagon representative for the F-35 joint program office backed the jet’s value.
“We have combat-capable aircraft in operation today, and they perform exceptionally well against the threats for which they were designed. Pilots continually emphasize that this is the fighter they want to take to war if called upon,” the Pentagon said.