Finally! USAF Revealed The New 1200 Crewed and Uncrewed 6th Generation Jet Fighter
A minimum of 200 Next Generation Air Dominance NGAD fighter aircraft are desired by the US Air Force. Frank Kendall, the secretary of the Air Force, said as much last week when addressing a service conference. This is the first time the Air Force has specified how many of the new fighters it desires.
The Air Force’s initiative for developing the sixth-generation fighter jet and any supporting systems is known as the NGAD program. A fleet of 1,000 drones, many of which will be assigned to fly alongside F-35 Lightning 2 planes, will support the new fighters. The 1,200 crewed and uncrewed aircraft will be the very tip of the US fighter force’s spear.
1200 New Planes, But Only 200 Crewed Planes
At an Air Force Association gathering in Aurora, Colorado, Kendall presented the strategies. According to Kendall, the figures are “notional” and “rather arbitrary,” as stated in Air & Space Forces Magazine. The figures are often used for planning purposes rather than as an inventory target. This implies that the Air Force does not want people following along with the research to believe it only requires 200 NGAD fighters. The number is possibly a starting point for success in some circumstances, with more fighters securing quicker American air superiority in a future confrontation.
Two Collaborative Combat Aircraft CCA, unmanned, high-performance drones with autonomous action, would accompany each NGAD fighter into battle. Each CCA would probably be equipped with radar and infrared sensors, extending the range at which a human pilot can spot an adversary. Another strategy is electronic attack, such as enemy radar and other sensor jamming. The quantity of air-to-air missiles that the human pilot has access to could be greatly increased if other CCAs were equipped with extra air-to-air missiles. This will be especially helpful because it’s likely that NGADs would carry weaponry inside, which lowers their radar signature but also limits the amount of missiles they can carry.
F-35 Lighting 2 Will Also Have Drone Wingmen
300 F-35 Lightning 2 jets will also receive two CCAs in addition to their NGADs. The F-35 has the ability to perform air-to-ground tasks, unlike NGADs, which are most likely going to be pure air-to-air fighters. Although it’s likely that this force of 300 F-35s will mostly perform air superiority missions in support of NGAD fighters, this hints that CCAs will also have air-to-ground capabilities.
It’s a little perplexing why so few F-35s will have CCA drones assigned to them. The Air Force began purchasing F-35s in 2007 and has a goal of acquiring 1,763 F-35s by the year 2034. Given that the F-35 series currently lacks the necessary hardware or software to handle drones, it is feasible that the 300 F-35s will be later production versions upgraded in this way. Increased operational range would benefit F-35s with a new adaptive-cycle engine, enabling the jet to battle over farther distances, especially over Asia and the Pacific.
[ad_2]
source
