Can AI Solve the Air Force's Fighter Problem?

[@dociekania]

A market without competition becomes expensive; all it takes is for you to start buying in Europe, and the mere possibility of that will cause prices to drop.

[@vda6402]

The problem with unmanned drones being a "solution" is that the new "fighter aircraft" did not actually become cheaper. Instead, you just have less of a an aircraft (when you remove the life support systems, seats, etc.) that's why its cheaper. Yet the solution itself while innovative in my view fails to address the crux of the problem - Americas shrinking industrial base and capacity, which itself is not limited to the Air Force since the Navy also experience's a shortage in dry docks and ship maintenance facilities that its even considering outsourcing a part of it to Japan and Korea. Rather, the solution in my view should be in increasing America's industrial capacity, and in order to manage costs, by applying AI and automation on the manufacturing side of the process that way both manned and unmanned fighters can be produced cheaper and most importantly faster. Because if a war with China is really on the horizon, America is gonna need a much larger industrial base anyway, why not start it now?

[@proxy3386]

I agree with this.

[@buzzlightyear3715]

He is a chip expert, chip ban policy expert, supply chain expert, AI expert, Taiwan expert, Xi Jinping expert. Now AI ebabled pilot-less jet expert.

[@MrGriff305-d3u]

I didn't know the Air Force had a problem. Thanks for establishing that.

[@jonahhekmatyar]

The only reason I can imagine the USAF dialing back the NGAD programs funding is to build out CCAs in scale

[@grumpyfinn]

the reason ithey dont have the budget is because the icbm program devours all funds

[@darkzealot88]

Seems like NGAD was just a decoy when in reality they were truly pumping out CCA

[@CharlesFosterMalloy]

When in doubt, do all of the above - keep all options on the table at all times and be ready to switch gears on focus at the drop of a hat. Keep them all working on it. If nothing else, the attritable can always be used, always, look at Ukraine; the manned can always be used; and the higher end autonomous drones could always be used as substitutes for the manned QBs, if it ever comes to that situational necessity. The CAAs are cheap extensions of the NGAD/F/A-XX and the attritable are basically flying bombs or munitions or one way (or potentially two way but not necessarily so) albeit somewhat expendable). Bring it back if it’s worth it, otherwise blow it up in self destruct in a safe place. Move forward with all plans concurrently and adjust where you apply the gas (money) at full throttle - if anywhere, from time to time.

[@WilliamMacLeod-en3pm]

Well produced piece Andrew &co ❤

[@RictorScale]

Love this video keep it up

[@peterboy209]

Build a modern F-20 or the Gripen if you need more planes quickly

[@briellehill1929]

This is an impressive push by the DOD to remain innovative and embrace the opportunities AI provides while remaining mindful of the risks. Looking forward to future analysis of this program's impact!

[@WalterBurton]

Cool, ChatGPT. Glad to know you're onboard. 👍🙄

[@GeorgiaAdamson-m2v]

Well produced and researched! Interesting stuff

[@grumpyfinn]

one reason per unit cost is so high is cause airforce orders x amount, economy of scale brings price down... congress cuts budget, airforce cuts orders... now price balloons cause no more economy of scale.......

[@ricky1231]

In a peer war , other companies like Boeing , Northrop, BAE, Mitsubishi , Leonardo even Airbus will all be co opted to build F35, F15 , F16 under licence from Lockheed Martin War has a way of scaling up production of such things at much faster rates Even pilots get trained at lightening pace 😂😅 Look at Russia at the moment using 30% of GDP to produce weapons

[@HenryRiche]

Fascinating look at the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program! The integration of AI and advanced autonomy in unmanned systems is a game-changer for future warfare.

[@grumpyfinn]

that 30 year average is skewed by the lifetime of b52s and others....

[@tombuilder1475]

nice analysis! subscribing!

[@trails3597]

Will there be a need for support aircraft carriers for all these new AI planes?

[@importantname]

It takes some 60 000 man-hours to build the latest F-35. That is why there are fewer modern jets compared to older fighters. Its not possible to build the same amount now, as previously. Unless US forces decide to not have the best, the number will continue to reduce.

[@jordanmascarenhas7974]

Or politicians can choose to properly invest in America’s defense manufacturing industrial base/capacity 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@jameshoney2506]

40 yrs ago when I worked at GD-FW, we were rolling out one F-16 every day.

[@rsKayiira]

Excellent video!!

[@katerynabondar1862]

Ask Ukrainians how to build “good enough stuff” fast and cheap. And let the commercial tech solve the problem, not the primes

[@Palora01]

How many "good enough" jets has Ukraine built since 2022? What impact have they had on the battlefield? Moreover the US does not want "good enough", frankly nobody should, good enough reduces the cost in money, time and know how and increases the cost in lives. Do you wanna give your life or would you rather throw money at the problem? Obviously "good enough now" is still better than "MAYBE perfect next year" when you are in a war but the USA is not and has the time and superiority to wait for next year, or even next decade. The reason developing a next gen fighter is so expensive is because we've reached the top of what we can do with 'good enough'. It takes new technologies, paradigm shifts in thinking and rare and expensive materials for a slight increase in existing capabilities. It's like going to Usain Bolt after he beat the world speed record and saying: "that's great, now do it again and do it even faster".

[@ThmsPng]

@@Palora01It’s like Usain Bolt asking a high school varsity runner about winning another gold medal 😂 Ukraine is a charity case, not an industrial player. Like you said they don’t build much. Poorest country in Europe by far even before the war.

[@FLORIDIANMILLIONAIRE]

I am American and I can do a much better job than a Ukrainian in any field including robotics give me the money and I will make American money better not to Ukraine. Their tech is not going to match up with American ingenuity.

[@BravoCheesecake]

Seems like we had a decade or more to figure this out. What happened did the big brains from the Navy find their way into the Air Force? Only problem now is that we don't have to fight dudes in flip flops, we have to fight an army designed and hell bent on destroying us from day one.

[@scene247]

Dang... haven't seen the full video yet, but the title makes me think, what problem does the greatest airforce in the galaxy have??? Too good???

[@Plexi417]

The Falco AI system went undefeated against USAF pilots. It was, however, beaten multiple times by a gamer from South Korea.

[@nekoJens]

The statistics on fighter jet costs exploding just cannot be right. An inflation adjusted F-14 Tomcat would be about 300 Million Dollars in todays terms, much more than an F35… making the whole premise this analysis is built on questionable.

[@Palora01]

That's what people forget, development of new cutting edge war machines has always been expensive, because it's damned hard to innovate and improve, B-29, F-4, F-14, F-15, F-22, F-35 were all hugely expensive to develop, but they did produce fantastic results. People also forget that the price per unit is lower the more units you produce. The F-35 is a massive success, despite all the misinformation from Russia, China and US Reformers (a bunch of dumb dumbs who would rather throw lives than money at the enemy). It's THE best multi-role aircraft in the world and has been sold in massive numbers to lots of US allies which allowed and allows the US to make even more of them for them selves at even cheaper prices. And yeah the entire premise is flawed: because you still need to spend money to make an AI good enough to create the next gen fighter.

[@WalterBurton]

This is assertion is so wrong it's somehow not even wrong. Consider this, just for starters: We're not building F-14s, we're building F-35s.

[@Palora01]

@@WalterBurton lol, learn to read, and learn what inflation is. The OP was saying that the F-14 was more expensive for the US of 1988 than the F-35 was for the US of 2022. Which is entirely TRUE. Adjusted for inflation a single F-14 set the USN back by ~170 million in 2022 dollars. One F-35A was "only" 78 million in 2022 dollars. So the premise that plane prices are only ever increasing, let alone exploding, is factually wrong.

[@jamarplunkett3283]

@@Palora01I’m glad you made this observation because I really didn’t think about it that way. But it makes so much sense. 1 dollar today gets you less than 1 dollar many years ago. So adjusting for inflation is the only sensible option.

[@wilirobinhood]

Boeing Australia is already testing the mq-29 ghost bat. If we need this stuff yesterday why don't we just start pumping those suckers out ASAP. The software can always be upgraded what we need is some mfing hardware let's GOOO

[@jerdab]

1) im happy that less pilots have to risk their lives. 2) I think it's obvious that Ai piloted fighters would win in dog fights : they don't have to deal with G's or worry. 3) I feel as though AI piloted planes will have to target civilian populations after they have attacked military infrastructure in order to cause an enemy to totally submit. If not they can just fight an infinite number of one another that are fresh off the factory line. call me crazy. what do you guys think?

[@pandoraeeris7860]

ASI can solve every problem, including those that cause us to need fighter jets in the first place. 🤔

[@tomcullen8367]

Per Robert Haddick, the F-35 lacks the range to be relevant in a fight over Taiwan. Our carriers and land bases will be made completely unusable by China's PLARF out to the Second Island Chain. Hence the CCA concept seems to be flawed for that situation. More funding needed for procurement and maintenance of our Nuclear attack subs. More funding needed for thousands of long range anti-ship missiles like the low cost PJDAM. How to fix the out of control cost of the B-21 stealth bomber program? Can Red Dragon palletized system substitute for our lack of long range stealth bombers? Should the commander of IndoPacom be an Air Force or Space Force General and not a Navy Admiral? The Indo Pacific is no longer a Naval battleground but a contest for Air and Space Dominance.

[@BUF-vr5cr]

AI autonomous aircraft are not burden by the moral issues of dealing mass death that humans have to grapple with, therefore making them superior.

[@YlmazDALKIRANscallion]

Good video.

[@Tripple_Threatt92]

While we do need to the the CCA program the f-14 is something like 300m in today’s inflation adjusted dollars

[@swimming_blerd2180]

No

[@Erik-rp1hi]

Letting Chinese go to our universities for STEM education is wrong.

[@ZhangWei02]

Letting anyone other than our closest allies study STEM in the US is wrong.

[@-NiEr]

The Swedish Air Force has also decreased to 1/3...

[@malloc7108]

Wait, did DOD really sell the CCA by having pilots dogfight? with basically missiles?

[@rgloria40]

Have you seen the new CHINESE stealth fighters? mmm...I could have sworn I see parts of CCA on that CHINESE jets...Leaks... The only thing weapons platform the CHINESE has not copy of the US yet is JUMP JET Technology.

[@funstuffkeepmunchinbethank7848]

No more wars We are one Energy cannot be destroyed 😮 🛑 Stop

[@accountantthe3394]

Already lost the 6th gen. race, welp. Things are only going downhill from here on out, good luck

[@mohdasmadibinramliasmadi-x6w]

safe my position

[@pauldannelachica2388]

❤❤❤❤ The US should really pursue its goal. With spacex starship to have rods from god. And colonized the Moon and Mars

[@jayl3254]

I fail to see how China is backing Russia or threatening to start wars in other regions. This guy lost credibility.

[@muhammadshahzad2864]

Next new policy air force happy new 🎉🎉bawaG world news gnn pakistan

[@panama-canada]

Give it to SpaceX or Anduril to build.

[@proxy3386]

SpaceX???????????????? The only thing they build is spacecraft - they have no experience in manufacturing Aircraft, and especially nowhere near manufacturing aircraft with weapons.

[@EnergyPlantingGreens]

😊2025

[@rl9860]

Delete the silly background music!

[@ismailnyeyusof3520]

So, Elon Musk was correct to criticize the F-35 fighter. They are good planes but far too expensive to deploy in a war with a near peer like China. US manufacturing must step up, and ahead, to remain credible in deterrence.

[@proxy3386]

he was not???????????

[@proxy3386]

he was completely incorrect in a LOT of areas