Kerby Anderson

Elon Musk is in the news again, but his comments this time are about the military. Recently he posted that “America needs a large quantity of long-range drones.” He argued that “Anything manned will die very fast in a drone war.” In a previous post, he shared a video of Chinese drones, with the caption, “Meanwhile, some idiots are still building manned fighter jets like the F-35.”

This is a quick way to get criticized by certain members of Congress and companies that make up the military industrial complex. But there are military strategists who believe we need to change strategies. An essay in The New York Times explores the idea of “Reimagining the American War Machine.”

The war between Russia and Ukraine illustrates why the current administration wants to change the type of weapons the Pentagon buys. “In Ukraine, drones of all types — from cheap quadcopters and radio-controlled boats to long-range attack drones — have radically altered battle in the war with Russia.” And it is worth mentioning the speed of innovation. “The Ukrainian military reportedly introduces drones with new capabilities every few weeks. As the Russians adapt, the Ukrainians respond in turn.”

We are entering into a new age of autonomous warfare. However, as I mentioned in a previous commentary about “killer robots,” we must not allow AI, robots, and drones to fight battles with little or no human oversight.

Modern warfare is changing, and the Trump administration is ready to scrap a 20^th century warfare mindset and swap it for a 21^st century military. Elon Musk may be the one criticized for his comments about the military, but there are others in the administration convinced we need to be better prepared for the future.