Next Gen Air Dominance Fighter Still Being Competed, Drones Farther Out
Joseph Trevithick - Yesterday 4:40 PM
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall has said he expects a new sixth-generation manned stealth fighter-like jet that is being crafted as part of his service's Next Generation Air Dominance program, or NGAD, to follow a more traditional and potentially protracted development schedule. Kendall added that a previously proposed and questionably ambitious concept for acquiring new aircraft, focused on the relatively rapid development and purchase of smaller batches of highly adaptable designs, will not work in this case due to the highly complex nature of the design.
At the same time, the Secretary said that work on semi-autonomous "loyal wingman" type unmanned aircraft under NGAD would likely follow a more iterative approach, but that this drone development effort is also less mature.
Next Gen Air Dominance Fighter Still Being Competed, Drones Farther Out
NGAD is a broad, multi-faceted effort to field next-generation tactical air combat capabilities that are specially honed to fight deep in contested territory. This 'family of systems' initiative includes new weapons, sensors, networking, and battle management capabilities, in addition to the program's 'centerpiece,' a sixth generation manned jet that won't really be a traditional fighter design, and various drones, that are all built to work together. You can read more about NGAD's potentially game-changing architecture here.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/next-gen-air-dominance-fighter-still-being-competed-drones-farther-out/ar-AAYYqRo?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=9173bc7dc04f4fbd819f5a2a5baa9ae9
