“The competitor should be a drone fighter plane that’s remote-controlled by a human, but with its maneuvers augmented by autonomy. The F-35 would have no chance against it,” he wrote. His cars murder its occupants and he thinks radio jamming isn't a thing?
That's what the Canadians thought back in 1959 when they cancelled the Avro Arrow and bought Boeing Bomarc missiles instead - what a mistake!
The demise of Musk has been widely reported for some time. You have to at least give him points for survivability.
Unmanned aircraft have higher performance envelopes because they don't have to worry about the bags of water inside of them. Secure communication is the piece to figure out, because even the Iranians were able to jam and down a drone. First-world disruption capabilities must be higher. The other problem is the policy decision to allow truly autonomous devices the ability to target and kill humans. That's a -long- step towards Terminator. Full disclosure, I'm just a civilian without any special knowledge other than an ongoing interest in autonomous devices.
I remember when the F4 came out and it was declared that no fighter would need a gun after this fantastic plane hit the scene with its amazing missiles. 50 plus years later, all fighters still have guns. Sure, autonomous aircraft will make the scene and become extremely valuable members of the fighting force. They will be accompanied and directed by humans in fighters though. The rules of engagement generally prevent the use of these advanced weapons. Most ROE's require visual identification of a target by a human. That's going to make it tough for these technical marvels to fly unimpeded. They will be restricted by human rules, not be technical capabilities. Full disclosure: I'm an instrument rated pilot but have zero military experience except from obeying orders from the Major (aka, my wife).
Autonomous devices have been killing humans for some time now, they're called cruise missiles. They can also carry nukes. The big problem with advanced fighters is the cost. The Pentagon had to purchase far fewer F-22 fighters than what they wanted, due to the high cost. A 6th gen fighter will cost even more.
That sounds bad, but in the context of car accidents, you're going to have deaths. The system has probably saved more people than it killed. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-10-09/tesla-s-autopilot-could-save-the-lives-of-millions-but-it-will-kill-some-people-first
Cruise missiles are not autonomous devices. They have a specific target that is defined by a human and they are launched by a human.
Escalating costs and delays are a big factor in political opinions and decisions, and both aircraft had their share of both.
That's not what the Air Force said: https://www.flightglobal.com/us-lawmakers-want-cost-data-for-building-194-more-f-22s/120345.article
Musk needs to put down the bong and let the professionals conduct the serious business of weapon system development.
Human drivers don't exactly set that high of a bar. And they seem to be getting worse every year for some reason. Like seat belts, autopilot for cars will likely be a requirement in the not to distant future.