By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
Is it possible to build and fly a stealthy air superiority platform faster, better, stealthier and more lethal than today’s upgraded F-22? The Air Force says yes, and many weapons developers report fast-progress and very high hopes for the future 6th-generation stealth fighter, the Next-Generation Air Dominance platform.
The US Air Force F-22 has been upgraded with weapons and computing enhancements to fly for several more decades, and the Pentagon has already mapped out an extensive, software-driven modernization plan for the F-35 … but neither of these lessen the need for the Pentagon to fast-track the new airborne Next-Generation Air Dominance 6th-gen stealth fighter.
Very little about the program is known for security reasons, yet the platform is airborne and senior Air Force leaders have said it will operate as a “family of systems” and control drones, yet also operate with an air-supremacy, speed, maneuverability and air-combat capability much better than the world has ever seen.
An intriguing, mysterious and reportedly extremely promising cloud of possibility surrounds the largely “black” and “unknown” 6th-generation aircraft, an already airborne stealth platform expected to completely change the paradigm in the realm of speed, AI, sensing, weapons and overall air supremacy.
The urgent need for a 6th-generation aircraft like NGAD is largely driven by the current threat circumstances, which include the emergence of the Chinese J-20 and J-31 and Russian Su-57. While there is no clear indication that these platforms are in fact superior to a U.S. Air Force F-22 and F-35, their existence certainly drives an additional need to stay in front of great power rivals. China and Russia already suffer from a significant numbers deficit when it comes to 5th-generation aircraft, yet the attributes and specific performance parameters of Russian and Chinese may be somewhat of a mystery. All the more reason why breakthrough or “disruptive” technologies need to be leveraged.
There are far too many of those most needed attributes for a 6th-generation fighter to cite, however, AI-enabled targeting data analysis, sensor range, and fidelity will need to be paradigm-changing. A breakthrough high-speed, ultra stealthy 6th-generation aircraft will massively achieve overmatch if it has an F-35-like long-range and high fidelity targeting sensors to see and destroy enemy targets from standoff ranges before it is seen itself. An ability to network with ground command centers, drones, other fighter jets, ground vehicles, Navy ships, and even satellites will enable the platform to gather and process time-sensitive data needed to move in and attack and destroy an enemy.
While speed and maneuverability will of course be critical, long-range sensors, networking, high-speed, AI-enabled computing, and weapons guidance will likely be what separates the 6th-generation fighter from competitors.
For understandable security reasons, the Pentagon is pretty quiet about its 6th-generation plans in an effort to protect its potential future air superior
A stealthy, supersonic, semi-autonomous 6th-gen fighter maneuvers undetected through heavily armed enemy air space, evades radar detection to …. jam the adversaries command and control systems with EW weapons, gather, analyze and transmit targeting data across huge areas of terrain in milliseconds using AI-empowered computing, launch and operate groups of nearby minidrones, fire air-launched hypersonic missiles and then… incinerate enemy aircraft with fighter-jet fired precision laser weapons … all while flying too quickly at hypersonic speed and too stealthily to be targeted.
Taking this hypothetical mission yet another step farther, what if the 6th-Gen fighter not only performed many of its missions with complete autonomy but also operated with a kind of self-regenerating coating or even composite armor which used synthetic biology to essentially regenerate and restore external structures lost or damaged by enemy fire? The concept of regenerating armor has not been mentioned or suggested by the Pentagon when it comes to 6th gen, yet the technology is something of great relevance now being pursued by several of DoD’s research laboratories.
The alignment and collective execution of these now-in-development technical attributes rests almost entirely on the continued pace of Pentagon and industry innovation now striving to prepare for and anticipate the unknown, if not even somewhat mysterious, future warfare environment. Making these things happen, and integrating them to one another such that they complement one another in a coordinated fashion, requires visionary thinking, some amount of guessing and a delicate blending of art and science combining the best conceptual theorizing with early evidence of scientific promise. Generally speaking, these are the kinds of innovations now being explored by the Pentagon, senior weapons developers and some of its key industry partners such as Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works and Raytheon’s Advanced Concepts & Technology division.
Coming to life
The Navy and Air Force variants of a 6th-generation Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) stealth fighter are rapidly coming to life, and not a moment too soon as the current threat environment is such that a faster, stealthier, and far more lethal fighter jet could soon be deemed critical.
It is important to recognize that, through ongoing software upgrades, the F-35 may well remain dominant into the 2070s and beyond, as many of the most substantial technological leaps forward will likely be in the areas of computing, AI, mission systems, weapons, and command and control.
These areas can be modernized in paradigm-changing ways without having to reconfigure the main fuselage or fundamental architecture of the plane itself.
The F-35 Can Fly Alongside NGAD
In short, the F-35 seems to have the potential to stay in front of threats for decades. However, this does not mean there is not an urgent need for a U.S. Navy and Air Force 6th-generation fighter for several key reasons. The F-35 is a multirole fighter with speed, maneuverability, breakthrough computing, and a drone-like 360-degree surveillance capability. Attributes that make it an ideal “partner” or supplement to an ultra high-speed, ultra-stealthy 6th-gen stealth fighter.
A sixth-generation craft will be more of an F-22 replacement in terms of air supremacy and speed, yet many of its breakthroughs will come in the realm of “manned-unmanned” teaming and command and control. New datalinks, command and control technology, and AI-enabled data analysis will enable a 6th-generation “family of systems” wherein a single manned platform simultaneously operates five or six drones.
The concept for a 6th-generation fighter or NGAD , as explained by Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, is described as one of the s
ervices’ key “operational imperatives” wherein a family of systems will perform a wide range of missions.
There are far too many of those most needed attributes for a 6th-generation fighter to cite, however, AI-enabled targeting data analysis, sensor range, and fidelity will need to be paradigm-changing. A breakthrough high-speed, ultra stealthy 6th-generation aircraft will massively achieve overmatch if it has an F-35-like long-range and high fidelity targeting sensors to see and destroy enemy targets from standoff ranges before it is seen itself. An ability to network with ground command centers, drones, other fighter jets, ground vehicles, Navy ships, and even satellites will enable the platform to gather and process time-sensitive data needed to move in and attack and destroy an enemy.
While speed and maneuverability will of course be critical, long-range sensors, networking, high-speed, AI-enabled computing, and weapons guidance will likely be what separates the 6th-generation fighter from competitors.
The urgent need for a 6th-generation aircraft like NGAD is largely driven by the current threat circumstances, which include the emergence of the Chinese J-20 and J-31 and Russian Su-57. While there is no clear indication that these platforms are in fact superior to a U.S. Air Force F-22 and F-35, their existence certainly drives an additional need to stay in front of great power rivals. China and Russia already suffer from a significant numbers deficit when it comes to 5th-generation aircraft, yet the attributes and specific performance parameters of Russian and Chinese may be somewhat of a mystery. All the more reason why breakthrough or “disruptive” technologies need to be leveraged.
Pacific & European NGAD variants
Demonstrator aircraft of the NGAD have been airborne for more than a year now. This development captured the national imagination, as the public was previously unaware that an aircraft had actually taken to the sky.
Choosing among the competitors is of momentous importance, given that Russia and China, as well as several other countries, are reportedly making progress building sixth-generation stealth aircraft of their own. What is at stake is nothing less than the ability to establish air supremacy.
The force that achieves air superiority will of course be extremely well positioned to prevail in any large-scale conflict, so it seems likely that the NGAD will operate in a multi-domain capacity connecting space, surface, air, and land nodes to one another across a joint operating environment.
While the Defense & Aerospace report related to the Air Force NGAD, the U.S. Navy’s F/A-XX NGAD effort is also underway, and it certainly seems possible that a different vendor could be chosen for each variant.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Brown has said there may indeed be two separate variants of the sixth-generation aircraft, perhaps one meant for the Pacific and another for Europe. A variant for the Pacific, for instance, might be larger, and thus able to hold more fuel for longer missions across the expansive Pacific region.
A European NGAD would likely not need as much refueling. There might also be a carrier-launched Navy variant that differs from the platform chosen by the Air Force. Essentially, there might be several opportunities for different major contractors to participate, even if only one vendor is chosen to build the Air Force NGAD
Kris Osborn is the Military Affairs Editor of 19 FortyFive and President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
