the u.s navy is finally creating america's next fighter jet
a sixth generation fighter is a conceptualized class of jet fighter aircraft designed more
advanced than the fifth generation jet fighters that are currently in service and development
several countries have announced the development of a sixth generation aircraft program including
the united states the united states air force and united states navy are anticipated to field
their first sixth generation fighters in 2025 to 2030. the u.s air force is pursuing the
development and acquisition of a sixth generation fighter through the penetrating counter air
to replace its existing air superiority fighters such as the mcdonnell douglas f-15 eagle and
complement existing platforms and service such as the lockheed martin f-22 raptor the u.s
navy is pursuing a similar program called the next generation air dominance likewise intended
to complement the smaller lockheed f-35 and replace its existing aircraft such as the boeing f
a 18 e f super hornet however with very little reporting on progress on sixth generation fighters
slippage being reported in production of variants of the fifth generation fighters like the f-35
and timelines for aircraft and development like the fa-xx program being delayed 2032 is a more
realistic time frame for fielding sixth generation fighters the u.s navy is laying the groundwork
to field a new fighter jet sometime in the next decade the next generation air dominance fighter
meant to replace the fa-18ef super hornet should start flying off america's aircraft
carriers in the 2030s u.s navy aircraft carriers typically embark four squadrons of fighter jets
as part of the carrier air wing right now all four squadrons fly the f a-18 ef super hornet
over the course of the next decade the navy will retire older super hornets in favor of
the carrier-based variant of the f-35 the f-35c by the 2030s a carrier air wing should consist
of about two squadrons of upgraded super hornets the block iii and two squadrons of s35cs
the navy wants a new fighter in the 2030s to replace block 3. now according to the
usni news the navy has stood up to the program to oversee development of the fighter which it calls
the next generation of air dominance or ngad the fighter would be the pentagon's first new fighter
jet since the f-35 the f-35 fighter jet took more than 20 years to take from blueprints to
an operational fighter during that time the us went from an era of relative peace as the soul
and challenge superpower to the present where an aggressive russia and surging chinese military
are emerging as strategic competitors from early on the f-35 was locked into design choices that
made sense in a period of non-competition such as relatively short range low supersonic speed
and a small internal weapons bay if the pentagon knew in the mid 1990s what it knows today
it might have asked for a vastly different plane the ngad is a chance to build that
airplane the navy wants a crude fighter as opposed to an uncrewed aerial vehicle
it also wants up to 50 percent greater range a longer range will enable the ngad to fight farther
from the aircraft carrier helping keep the big ship out of range of enemy weapons such as chinese
anti-ship ballistic missiles the navy needs an entirely new fighter the so-called clean sheet
design that isn't a derivative of an existing aircraft this would allow the navy to build
exactly the plane it wants what might an all-new ngad look like the aircraft could be a two-engine
multi-role fighter capable of tackling air-to-air and air-to-ground roles in the same mission
it would be stealthy incorporating the latest radar signature reducing technology
it would almost certainly be a large plane both to accommodate larger fuel tanks and a larger
internal weapons bay while third and fourth generation fighters could easily extend their
range and weapons load by hanging fuel tanks and munitions off the fuselage and wings 5th and 6th
generation fighters must carry both internally to preserve the airplane's stealthy shaping
a newer fighter may have a shorter range and carry fewer weapons
but it's a calculated trade-off to ensure the airplane and pilot will survive to fly more combat
sorties while the navy wants an all-new fighter it's not clear that it will actually happen
fifth generation fighters including the f-22 f-35 russia's su-57 and the chinese j-20
are immensely complicated machines that take a decade or more to develop
already experts believe the 2022 defense budget will be flat or suffer
a 5 percent cut depending on whether or not a republican or democrat wins the white house
the size of the federal budget deficit and the impact of the covet 19 pandemic
on america's economy will inevitably impact the u.s defense budget throughout the 2020s
time and budgetary pressures are beginning to stack up against the new plane as a result the
navy might eventually be forced into accepting a derivative of the f-35
a new adaptive cycle engine currently under development adds a third stream to the existing
after burning turbofan engine design allowing a
pilot to optimize the engine for high performance or long range
general electric which is developing an adaptive cycle engine for the f-35 believes the new engine
will increase the jets range by 35 percent a partial redesign of the plane's fuselage can
increase the f-35s internal fuel supply allowing the new plane to reach the 50 range increased goal
an update of the f-35s avionics computer system
and perhaps even an onboard laser weapon would round out what might eventually be called the
f-35d the prospect of a new american fighter jet is an exciting one
but expectations should be tempered against reality
developing a new fighter is exponentially more difficult than it was half a century
ago and there might well be less money to do so than the navy anticipates
on the bright side it might finally be
the opportunity to build the f-35 that satisfies everyone
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