By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization A stealthy, supersonic, semi-autonomous 6th-gen fighter is likely being designed to maneuver undetected through heavily armed enemy air space, evade radar detection, jam an enemies’ command and control systems with EW weapons, gather, analyze and transmit targeting data across huge areas of terrain in milliseconds and achieve and sustain air superiority to launch attacks as needed. The jet will more than likely operate with 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 and too stealthily to be targeted. Therefore, an intriguing, mysterious and reportedly extremely promising cloud of possibility surrounds the largely "black" and "unknown" 6th-generation aircraft, an already airborne stealth platform which could change the paradigm in the realm of speed, AI, sensing, weapons and overall air supremacy. Demonstrator aircraft of the NGAD have been airborne for more than a year now. When this first happened, the development captured the national imagination, as the public was previously unaware that an aircraft had actually taken to the sky. Two Variants of NGAD Former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Brown, who now serves as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, previously indicated that 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. Air Force Breaksthrough with manned-unmanned teaming A European NGAD would likely not need as much refueling and could therefore be highly maneuverable, built for speed an designed for pure and complete air superiority across the entire threat spectrum. 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 [https://www.19fortyfive.com/2023/03/chinas-j-20-stealth-fighter-a-blatant-f-22-and-f-35-rip-off/] and J-31 [https://www.19fortyfive.com/2021/09/chinas-j-31-stealth-fighter-a-threat-to-the-u-s-air-force/] and Russian Su-57 [https://www.19fortyfive.com/2023/03/russias-su-57-felon-stealth-fighter-has-some-problems/]. 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 what the Pentagon is sure to see as 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 platforms are likely to remain an area of focus for 6th-gen weapons developers. A breakthrough high-speed, ultra stealthy 6th-generation aircraft will massively achieve overmatch if it has expanded F-35 [https://warriormaven.com/air/f-35-fighter-pilots]-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. Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven - Center for Military Modernization and the Defense Editor for the National Interest. 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.
