How Will the 6th-Gen NGAD Be Better Than the F-22?

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.