US President Donald Trump on Friday announced he will offer the F-35, considered the world’s most advanced fighter jet, to India. The big announcement came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with Mr Trump during his whirlwind US visit. But amidst the buzz around the announcement, Elon Musk’s old comment is gaining traction on the internet, where he criticised the fighter jet, calling it “the worst military value for money in history”.
In a post on November 24, 2024, Musk remarked on a video showcasing a fleet of small drones, stating, “Meanwhile, some are still building manned fighter jets like the F-35.”
Meanwhile, some idiots are still building manned fighter jets like the F-35 🗑️ 🫠
pic.twitter.com/4JX27qcxz1— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2024
In a follow-up post, Musk elaborated on what he perceives as the flaws of the F-35, stating, 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. And manned fighter jets are obsolete in the age of drones anyway. Will just get pilots killed.”
“Crewed fighter jets are an inefficient way to extend the range of missiles or drop bombs. A reusable drone can do so without all the overhead of a human pilot. And fighter jets will be shot down very quickly if the opposing force has sophisticated SAMs or drones, as shown by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Fighter jets do have the advantage of helping Air Force officers get laid. Drones are much less effective in this regard.”
Crewed fighter jets are an inefficient way to extend the range of missiles or drop bombs. A reusable drone can do so without all the overhead of a human pilot.
And fighter jets will be shot down very quickly if the opposing force has sophisticated SAM or drones, as shown by the…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2024
Musk’s anti-F-35 rhetoric reached a high point when he said, “Some US weapons systems are good, albeit overpriced, but please, in the name of all that is holy, let us stop the worst military value for money in history that is the F-35 program!”
Some US weapons systems are good, albeit overpriced, but please, in the name of all that is holy, let us stop the worst military value for money in history that is the F-35 program!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2024
The aircraft is renowned for its advanced stealth features and intelligence-gathering capabilities. However, it has consistently faced criticism due to its high operating costs and ongoing technical issues, especially with its software.