AIR FORCE SECRETARY CONCERNED ABOUT MUSK'S F-35 PLAN, SAYS HE NEEDS COMBAT EDUCATION
Frank Kendall has now addressed Elon Musk's comments about crewed fighter jets being unnecessary due to the use of drone technology. The departing Air Force secretary said in a teleconference that although he respects Musk as an engineer, the billionaire does not have the experience and knowledge of a warfighter.
The secretary’s response came from Trump wanting to end the F-35 program, so Kendall said that Musk should gain more knowledge about what goes on in military operations. He questioned Musk's ability to understand military strategy and tactics, emphasizing that he doesn’t have a ground for his statements.
What Elon Musk Has to Say About the Air Force
In a series of tweets on his social media platform X in November, Musk referred to people who were creating jets like the F-35 as "idiots." He claimed that manned fighter jets are obsolete in the age of drones, which gained a lot of traction from the military community.
Musk, the owner and CEO of SpaceX, has supported Donald Trump this year and has since grown to be a significant confidant of the next president. Musk and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy were appointed by Trump to lead a task team called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which will look into ways to reduce federal expenditure.
Trump quickly mirrored Musk's harsh remarks in a series of posts on Wednesday over a proposed continuing resolution measure that would finance the government for three months and be put to a vote by Congress. Republican lawmakers rejected the CR as a result, creating uncertainty in the funding process and increasing the risk of a government shutdown during the Christmas holiday.
Musk has already offended the Air Force on the subject before with his sentiments about crewed fighter jets. He said that the fighter jet era has passed during a 2020 Air Force Association conference.
Air Force Secretary Hits Back at Musk
Kendall’s response to Musk is that the technology needed to implement his vision of a drone Air Force is still years away. Kendall also believes that it's intriguing, and there may come a time when something like that can happen.
It will take decades before the nation is prepared for it, given the current resources and capabilities. He thinks it will be some time before the military can operate jets without a pilot.
Frank Kendall is leaving his position as Air Force chief, and he gave one piece of advice to the incoming Trump administration. Kendall affirmed that the F-35 is here to stay, and the moment is not right to discuss replacing manned fighter jets with drones.
What Is a Collaborative Combat Aircraft?
Collaborative combat aircrafts, or CCAs, are autonomous drone wingmen that the Air Force is quickly implementing. These aircraft would be used in tandem with F-35A fighters and potentially the service's next Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter.
Although crewed fighters cannot yet be abandoned, CCAs demonstrate the increasing significance of uncrewed fighters in the Air Force's arsenal. He stated that it would be crucial to have a human battle manager on hand to oversee the Air Force's CCAs as a team via a highly secure communications stream when they are flown into combat.
According to Kendall, pilots in simulators are already beginning to learn how to control a lot of CCAs. And they are doing it while still flying their own jets. They are excited about the new opportunities and methods that CCAs will offer them to successfully complete their missions.
Kendall described the F-35 as a "state-of-the-art system that's continuously being upgraded." It is in high demand from allied countries worldwide and should be purchased by the military going forward. According to Kendall, the Air Force's ultimate purchase target of 1,763 F-35s may vary based on how successfully CCAs and NGAD go.
NGAD Analysis ‘Mostly Done’
Kendall paused the NGAD program earlier this year to do additional analysis on the platform. Now, he seemed to affirm that the analysis is mostly over, though the future administration will still have to decide how to proceed. Regarding NGAD, he stated that they are generally finished with the analysis after some inspections.
With an election approaching during the service's analysis, the Air Force secretary said that he doesn't want to make a decision that's going to be disrupted and reversed by the new admin which might adopt a different perspective on NGAD.
Kendall stated that they’re very close to being ready. A decision on it will be required soon from the new leadership since it is important to the service's fiscal budgets in 2025 and 2026.
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