Secretive new fighter jets may fly exclusively for America, wielding drone swarms and AI to dominate the skies.
By Kris Osborn, Warrior
There appear to be two clear, yet contrasting pictures regarding future prospects for the F-47 and F/A-XX, as many wonder if they will be taken down an F-22-like only America path … or move toward an F-35-like multi-national allied network. There are clearly advantages and concerns or liabilities associated with each potential scenario, a circumstance generating a complicated “juxtaposition” with many nuances and complex strategic variables.
Certainly very few specifics regarding new technologies built into 6th-Generation platforms are publicly available for security reasons, yet there is a large volume of general public commentary from U.S. military leaders that the new platforms will combine paradigm-changing stealth and speed with the ability to control a family of drones and operate as an AI-enabled “node” or “gateway” in the sky.
While the Pentagon’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program is believed to be the stealthiest fighter ever to exist, it will also function to a large degree as an aerial command and control node, performing critical sensing, data analysis, and transmission across a multi-domain force.
Not only will the F-47 and F/A-XX control drones from the sky to conduct forward surveillance, test enemy air defenses, and deliver strikes when directed by a human, but they are also expected to introduce paradigm-changing levels of sensing, computing, and AI-enabled data analysis.
Lockheed and Pentagon weapons developers explain that, given current customer acquisitions and production rates, there is expected to be as many as 600 F-35s across the European continent. With a common data link and ability to “mass” and disperse across wide formations, a multi-national force of allied 6th-generation stealth aircraft could prove “decisive” in any major great power conflict. Technological superiority alone may not be sufficient to ensure large-scale combat overmatch, so large numbers of 6th-gen aircraft would likely be needed for the U.S. and its NATO allies to prevail in a large scale conflict.
Alongside speed, agility and new levels of lethality, the Pentagon’s 6th-Gen platforms perhaps best represent breakthroughs in the realm of AI and multi-domain networking. More secure, integrated and seamless networking technology opens up the possibility of new Concepts of Operation, as a multi-national group of F/A-XX jets could operate across a vast theater of war to share data, control drones, transmit targeting and intelligence information, and optimize the speed, method, and effectiveness of attack.
Case of the F-35
The case for a multi-national allied force is perhaps best evidenced by the coalition of F-35 nations. The F-35 is specially engineered with a common, multi-national data link called Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL), which enables all F-35s from all member nations to securely and quickly share data across expansive air-combat formations. This networking capability could, in theory, be applied to a multi-national force of allied F-47s and F/A-XXs uniquely positioned to share data, network with one another, and coordinate attacks.
F-22-like Unique superiority
The argument against selling NGAD is also clear and straightforward, as it pertains to the need to safeguard some of the most advanced and unique technologies the world has ever seen. There is always the unlikely possibility that today’s allies may not be allies in 20 or 30 years, so selling a platform with this ability could arguably introduce a measure of long-term risk.
There is always a possibility that the geopolitical landscape could change in unpredictable ways, which could place the US at risk should an allied NGAD- member nation no longer be an ally for some reason.To safeguard against this contingency, allies are often sold scaled-back “export variants” of top-level US military platforms to protect American superiority, yet even export variants of a platform such as the NGAD would likely be extremely dangerous if used against the US.
It may be that its technologies are simply too advanced, unique, and paradigm-changing in the realm of stealth, sensing, networking and computing that it simply should not be sold or shared in any capacity.
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