"Idiots are still building F-35s" Musk finds fighter jets unnecessary - Zurich expert dismantles him

US billionaire Elon Musk considers drones to be far more advanced than fighter jets like the F-35. An expert from Zurich's ETH disagrees.

For Elon Musk, the matter is clear: building modern combat aircraft is pointless. The billionaire, who has been appointed as an advisor by US President-elect Donald Trump, writes on Platform X: "In the age of drones, manned combat aircraft are superfluous anyway. They only get pilots killed."

Mauro Gilli is an expert in military technology and international security at the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich. He doesn't think much of Musk's statement. "The claim is unfounded and contradictory in several respects," he tells blue News.

First of all, only one jet has been shot down in the last 33 years. "And that incident was due more to mistakes by the US Air Force and the innovative power of the Yugoslav military than to the performance of the aircraft." In addition, military drones can be shot down without any problems. "The only way to make them survivable is to rely on the same stealth technology that the F-35 uses," says Gilli.

Swiss army has ordered dozens of F-35s

However, it is precisely this F-35 that Elon Musk is particularly critical of. The fighter jet from US arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin has been in service since 2015 and is considered the most modern combat aircraft in the world. "Meanwhile, some idiots are still building manned fighter jets like the F-35," writes Musk in response to a video showing hundreds of drones in formation in the sky.

The F-35 can be used as a stealth bomber and also for reconnaissance. The Swiss army has ordered 36 aircraft. There were problems during the development of the jet, particularly with the software. The very high operating costs of the F-35 are also regularly criticized. Musk called the aircraft "an expensive and complex jack-of-all-trades that can't do anything".

Mauro Gilli also considers this claim to be unfounded. It is currently the only Western stealth aircraft of relevance in an international comparison. "Especially as China is increasing production of one of its J-20 stealth fighters and has recently introduced a new model, the J-35, which appears to be a competitor to the F-35."

"The performance of the F-35 is impressive"

The F-35 has "a major technological advantage", according to the Swiss Armed Forces' website. As a result, the fighter jet "can be used until the 2060s" and has achieved the "lowest procurement and operating costs - with by far the highest benefits." In addition to Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Finland and Romania have also signed contracts to purchase this aircraft.

"In fact, due to the large production volumes, the unit costs of the aircraft have fallen considerably in recent years," says Gilli. For some models, it has even fallen to 75 million US dollars, which is a comparatively low price.

Gilli is also positive about the benefits: "From public information, including reports from fighter pilots, reports on military exercises in the USA and operations carried out by Israel, we know or can at least deduce that the performance of the F-35 is indeed very impressive."

Jets in the future despite drones

And this is not just because of the stealth technology, i.e. the ability to avoid detection by enemy air defenses: "F-35s have sensor equipment as well as data fusion and data transmission capabilities that can provide other aircraft with accurate data in real time."

According to Gilli, fighter jets are unlikely to be completely replaced by unmanned drones any time soon: "One day they will be, but that day is still in the future." At the moment, autonomous systems are still associated with considerable restrictions. "Just think of the limitations of autonomous cars, which have problems recognizing objects they haven't encountered before."

It is extremely difficult and time-consuming to train the algorithm for all possible cases and, in any case, it cannot take into account all possible outcomes or events. "In military operations, the problem is even more serious because simulations and exercises can only provide limited or incomplete data," says Gilli. In addition, the enemy will try to deceive the algorithm and actively shoot down the unmanned aircraft - a problem that at least autonomous cars do not have.

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