Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO and founder of defense startup White Stork, has urged the U.S. military to replace its tanks with AI-powered drones. In a recent speech at the Future Investment Initiative in Saudi Arabia, Schmidt criticized the military’s reliance on tanks, calling them “useless” and advocating for a shift toward drone warfare.
Russian drones costing less than a thousand dollars crush two German Leopard 2A6 tanks, one of which costs 8.5 million dollars! pic.twitter.com/xQI3RxPSbi
— S p r i n t e r (@SprinterFamily) October 24, 2023
Schmidt cited examples from recent conflicts, like the war in Ukraine, where drones have proven remarkably effective against costly armored vehicles. Even inexpensive drones have destroyed expensive tanks by dropping grenades directly through turret hatches. Schmidt’s company White Stork aims to build AI-powered drones that can function without human operators and resist GPS jamming.
Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt says the future of war is electronic warfare and automated drones powered by artificial intelligence fighting other drones, where it is too lethal for humans to enter the front line, "if you look up and you see a drone, within 2-3 minutes you're dead" pic.twitter.com/pmrLxjMAHX
— Tsarathustra (@tsarnick) October 15, 2024
The former Google executive argues that falling costs in autonomous technology could soon make tanks obsolete. Russia’s losses in Ukraine, estimated at around 3,000 tanks, have only added to doubts about the future of tank warfare. However, both Russian and Ukrainian forces still rely on tanks, with Ukraine continuing to request Western assistance in bolstering its armored units.
Many tanks now include advanced systems such as the Trophy active protection system, designed to detect and intercept incoming threats. Experts believe that a complete replacement of tanks with drones is unlikely. Instead, the U.S. Army is expected to pursue a strategy that incorporates both drones and tanks, ensuring flexibility in modern combat.
