Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google and a known ally of Hillary Clinton, is advocating for a dramatic shift in U.S. military strategy: ditching tanks in favor of AI-powered drones. Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative in Saudi Arabia, Schmidt called the military’s thousands of stored tanks “useless” and argued they should be replaced with advanced drone technology.
Schmidt’s view stems from the effectiveness of drones in recent conflicts like the war in Ukraine, where affordable drones have destroyed costly tanks.
Even consumer-grade drones have dropped grenades through open tank hatches, proving how effective these devices can be on the modern battlefield. Schmidt, who leads a defense startup called White Stork, is focused on creating AI-driven drones that could operate independently in environments where GPS jamming is present.
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
Schmidt believes the declining cost of autonomous technology could signal the end for traditional tanks, artillery, and mortars. Russia has reportedly lost around 3,000 tanks in Ukraine, further fueling the debate on the viability of tank warfare. However, tanks still play a crucial role for both Russian and Ukrainian forces, with Ukraine requesting additional Western tank support.
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
Many modern tanks now include advanced defenses, such as active protection systems (APS) like Trophy, which intercept incoming threats. Military experts suggest that rather than abandoning tanks, the U.S. Army will likely adopt a balanced strategy that combines both drones and traditional armored vehicles in future warfare scenarios.
