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The Air Force is not planning to halt their purchasing of human-piloted jets, despite criticism from Elon Musk who believes they should invest in drones instead. Military officials argue that human pilots are still necessary for their operations.
Written by Eric Lipton
Edwards Air Force Base is located in California.
The Air Force is still years away from being prepared to cease purchasing and operating manned fighter jets such as the F-35, but it is also hesitant to quickly develop a new generation of these expensive aircraft until it has a clearer understanding of its requirements.
This week, the Air Force discussed the dilemma it is currently facing regarding its spending on manned fighter jets. The scrutiny over this spending has intensified, especially with criticism coming from Elon Musk, who has been tasked by President-elect Donald J. Trump to assist in a government-wide cost reduction initiative.
Elon Musk made fun of the Air Force by posting on his social media platform at the end of last month that there are still people building manned fighter jets like the F-35. He accompanied this with a picture showing many Chinese drones flying in a coordinated manner in the sky.
This week, two high-ranking officials at Edwards Air Force Base in California disagreed with Mr. Musk’s assertion that their training and testing methods were outdated. The base is where Air Force pilots are trained and new aircraft and technology are tested, including one that utilizes an artificial intelligence system to pilot the plane autonomously.
Brig. Gen. Douglas P. Wickert, the commander at Edwards, mentioned that there may come a time when we can depend entirely on robotized warfare. He made these comments while talking to Pentagon reporters about the potential military threat from China and the efforts being made by the Air Force to be ready. However, he also stated that he believes this scenario is many centuries in the future.
The Air Force is working on developing and purchasing its initial set of robotic fighter jets, which are estimated to be priced at around $30 million per unit. This is significantly cheaper than the cost of an F-35, which is approximately $80 million.
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