Ex-Google CEO Schmidt Urges US Army to Replace Tanks with AI-Powered Drones

Former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt is advocating for a dramatic shift in US military strategy, urging the replacement of “useless” tanks with AI-powered drones, reports Bloomberg.

Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative in Saudi Arabia, Schmidt highlighted how cheap drones have transformed modern warfare.

“I read somewhere that the US had thousands and thousands of tanks stored somewhere,” he told the audience. “Give them away. Buy a drone instead.”

Cost-Effective Warfare

Schmidt, who has reportedly founded a startup building autonomous kamikaze drones for Ukraine, pointed to the stark economic reality of modern conflict. He explained how “a $5,000 drone can destroy a $5 million tank.”

READ MORE: WHITE STORK: ERIC SCHMIDT’S AMBITIOUS LEAP INTO AI-DRIVEN MILITARY DRONE TECH

Rapid Evolution of Drone Tactics

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine serves as a prime example of this transformation. According to Schmidt, drone tactics between Ukraine and Russia change every three to six weeks as both sides rush to innovate. Ukraine has been utilizing cheap, off-the-shelf drones to counter Russia’s military supremacy, though tanks remain central to its defense strategy.

Future Predictions

“The cost of autonomy is falling so quickly that the drone war, which is the future of conflict, will get rid of eventually tanks, artillery, mortars,” Schmidt predicted.

However, he indicated that Western governments and armed forces might be slow to adapt to this change.

Institutional Challenges

Schmidt criticized the current system’s resistance to change:

“The system is precisely wrong for this kind of a scenario,” he said, noting that despite radical changes on the battlefield, organizational and political structures “are not changing.”

DroneXL’s Take

Schmidt’s position on the future of military drones aligns with emerging trends we’ve observed in artificial intelligence and drone warfare. His experience leading the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence from 2016 to 2020 lends particular weight to these observations.

What are your thoughts on the future of military drones? Share your perspective in the comments below.

Photo courtesy of Ana Tutova / X