New Air Force 6th Gen Stealth Fighter to Make Up For Too Few F-22s

Video Above: Northrop Grumman & Eastern Shipbuilding Group Build New Coast Guard OffShore Patrol Cutter

byKris Osborn– Warrior Maven

Here’s What You Need to Remember: Newer networking technologies, such as radios able to connect F-22s and F-35s in stealth mode and two-way LINK 16 connectivity between the two fifth-generation platforms means secure interoperability between fifth- and sixth-generation fighters is expected, a technological scenario enabling a massive expansion in tactical warfare possibilities. 

Now that the Air Force has officially “flown” a sixth-generation stealth fighter, many might wonder what this means in terms of when the aircraft might actually arrive?

Since several of the artistic renderings of the plane show an absence of tail fins or any vertical structures, perhaps sixth-generation aircraft will be stealthier? Perhaps it will be faster and more maneuverable than its fifth-generation predecessors? These could truly be crucial attributes given well documented rapid advances in enemy air defenses. 

The other, potentially less recognized element of this is simply that a sixth-generation aircraft will be expected to complement and operate alongside the F-35. Not only does the Air Force plan to acquire more than 1,700 F-35s, but the service plans to fly the aircraft well into the 2070s. Plans for this include the often referred to Air Force’s continuous development upgrade program intended for the F-35. Many of the anticipated huge breakthrough technologies are expected to be software-reliant, computer-based or related to advanced sensing and AI, therefore enabling a jet like the F-35 to make massive leaps forward in performance without needing a new airframe configuration. Lockheed engineers built the F-35 with this in mind, meaning it was technically configured to be upgradeable for decades.

For example, the F-35’s sensor fusion already encompasses early iterations of AI, given that advanced computer algorithms are able to aggregate, analyze, organize and transmit clear, integrated information to pilots. New yet-to-exist sensors and weapons configurations could be accommodated by this kind of technical infrastructure.