This fighter redefines stealth with a bomber-like, finless design, promising unparalleled agility and AI-driven combat capabilities.
By Kris Osborn, Warrior
The emerging 6th-generation F-47 seems to incorporate new generations of stealth technology, as its external, blended wing-body horizontal configuration suggests that a bomber-like level of stealth can be achieved with an agile, high-speed maneuverable stealth fighter jet.
The observer's eye can discern a purely horizontal fuselage, which by design lowers radar signature by virtue of not having any vertical structures, sharp edges or protruding contours more likely to generate a return rendering to ground-based radar. Electromagnetic “pings” can bounce off shapes, edges and angles to transmit a more structured return signal, indicating range, size, shape and even speed of a threat object. A fuselage without vertical structures or sharp edges, however, generates an entirely different and much smaller return signal to ground radar. Accordingly, a fully horizontal blended wing-body aircraft is engineered to appear as a “bird” or small undetectable object to ground radar.
Stealth Breakthrough
The breakthrough in stealth appears to be that engineers and innovators have found a way to architect a fighter jet with bomber-like, fully horizontal broadband stealth that is able to “vector” and “maneuver” like an agile, high-speed fighter jet — yet without any fins, tails or vertical structures historically built in to enable high-speed maneuvering. Can fighter aircraft maneuver like an F-22 or F-35 without needing vertical wings, tails or fins? This would appear to be the case in the 6th-gen F-47. In essence, the F-47 may combine the best of bomber-like stealth technology with new generations of thrust, speed and agility necessary for a “fighter” or “air superiority” platform.
Of course the success of stealth pertains to a mixture of variables beyond external configuration to include radar absorbent coating materials, thermal or “heat signature” management and conformal antennas and sensors. An optimal mixture of these factors, combined with a specially engineered external configuration, could potentially create an agile, high-speed fighter jet able to fly with “bomber-like” stealth.
6th-Gen Computing
The largest technological leap forward with the F-47, beyond breakthrough stealth capability, likely resides in the area of AI-enabled computing. Many regard the F-35 as a “flying computer” with its sensor fusion, Mission Data Files threat library, computer automation and Delta flight path software designed to assist pilots with aerial maneuvers and flight path stability. All of these attributes are certain to be massively enhanced or expanded upon with the F-47, as its computers will doubtless operate with higher-speed processing, data analytics and AI-enabled information management and transmission.
Advancing AI
AI is increasingly being built-in at the point of collection, meaning forward-operating platforms and technologies are no longer merely gathering and transmitting data, but rather processing, organizing and analyzing data at the point of collection. This increases efficiency, reduces latency and massively accelerates sensor-to-shooter timelines, meaning targets and moments of relevance can be found and verified in milliseconds from within seemingly limitless volumes of incoming sensor data. Advanced, AI-enabled algorithms can be trained to identify brief, yet highly relevant moments of relevance or threat objects from within extremely vast amounts of data.
New generations of sensing and computing can also support greater levels of autonomy and manned-unmanned teaming, something of great relevance to the F-47s mission to operate several drones, or Collaborative Combat Aircraft at one time. Advanced computing can organize incoming sensor data from otherwise disparate or disaggregated points of origin, perform the necessary analytics and make time-sensitive combat determinations. Using the necessary interfaces and gateways able to exchange, aggregate and analyze information, advanced AI-capable computers can integrate incoming information from otherwise disparate sources or transport layers. Perhaps some data arrives through GPS, yet other critical data is received through different datalinks, RF or wireless signals, the right interfaces and gateways can enable interoperability by essentially pooling and “translating” data from otherwise incompatible transport layers
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in 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