Musk Tells USAF Fighter Era Is Over

Lee Hudson

ORLANDO, Florida—Billionaire entrepreneur and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has told the U.S. Air Force the fighter era is over.

“The really dangerous future” is autonomous drone warfare, Musk said Feb. 28 during the annual Air Warfare Symposium here. Musk said he does not necessarily like this idea but it will become reality.

Another controversial opinion he offered is that the Lockheed Martin F-35 should have a competitor.

A few hours after his presentation, Musk elaborated on Twitter: “The competitor should be a drone fighter plane that's remote controlled by a human, but with its maneuvers augemented by autonomy. The F-35 would have no chance against it.”

Over the next five years, artificial intelligence will be the most transformative technology to shape the space industry, Musk says. Accordingly, he encourages young people to study physics and computer science. The Pentagon continues to invest in this technology and is proposing that a substantial amount of its research and development dollars go toward artificial intelligence.

Musk warns if the U.S. does not invest heavily in space it will fall behind adversaries, but said establishing a Space Force is a step in the right direction. The nation must rapidly innovate and instill the idea that failure is acceptable, he added.

If the U.S. military does not let its people innovate and fail, Musk cautions, the nation may fall behind when developing future technology. For example, when SpaceX developed its Starlink constellation it started manufacturing satellites while still evolving the design. This helped the team discover what parts were difficult to build and redesign those sections for easier production.

https://aviationweek.com/shows-events/air-warfare-symposium/musk-tells-usaf-fighter-era-over