With Next-Gen Fighter in Limbo, F-22 Must Dominate
9/6/2024
By Sean Carberry
The Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance fighter is facing fiscal headwinds and conceptual turbulence, with service leaders recently announcing a pause in the program designed to field a sixth-generation fighter to replace the F-22 Raptor.
“We are taking another look at the NGAD platform itself, and before we make the commitment that we’re close to making, we want to make sure we get the right design concept there,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told reporters at the Royal International Air Tattoo show in July.
“NGAD was conceived before a number of things happened, before the threat became so severe, before [collaborative combat aircraft] were introduced into the equation and before we got some of the issues with affordability that we’re currently facing. So, we’re going to take a hard look at NGAD before we move forward,” he said.
https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2024/9/6/with-next-gen-fighter-in-limbo-f22-must-dominate