Elon Musk criticized that fighter jets would lead to the death of pilots.

American billionaire Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX, criticized modern fighter jets for their "complex systems and excessive costs," arguing that they should be replaced by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Musk made statements by quoting Bloomberg's article titled "Pentagon's declassified F-35 report details reliability and security issues of the U.S.'s most expensive weapon" on his X account.

"THEY WILL ONLY CAUSE PILOTS' DEATHS"

In the post, Musk stated that the design of the F-35, produced by the American defense company Lockheed Martin, is based on a faulty foundation due to "misidentification of needs and objectives," saying, "This has made the aircraft a costly and complex tool that plays every instrument but is not an expert in any."

Musk assessed, "Manned fighter jets are already outdated in the drone age. They will only cause pilots' deaths." This comment from Musk led to reactions such as "Elon Musk declared war on the American arms industry."

RELIABILITY AND MAINTENANCE ISSUES

According to the annual report published by the U.S. Operational Test and Evaluation Directorate, F-35 fighter jets faced some challenges in reliability, maintenance, and availability in 2023, performing only 51% and falling below the targeted 65% mission readiness rate. The report published at the end of January stated that the F-35 continues to fall short of the reliability and maintainability criteria presented in the Operational Requirements Document.

Similarly, the report published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office in April stated, "The cost of keeping the F-35 fleet operational continues to rise. The cost increased from $1.1 trillion in 2018 to $1.58 trillion in 2023."