U.S. 6th Generation Fighter Jet: Secretly Tests

U.S. 6th Generation Fighter Jet: Secretly Tests. What is the threat to Russia?

MilitaryEzyInfo.com | U.S. Air Force (Air Force) Assistant Secretary of Purchasing Will Roper said in September that the Department of Defense has designed, built, and airlifted at least one prototype X aircraft in secret under the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. By the latter, he means new generations of unmanned and manned aircraft, including, among other things, sixth-generation fighter jets.” Lenta.ru” tells us what it means to be a purchasing agent.

U.S. 6th Generation Fighter Jet: Budget Killer

“In the real world, we have already built and flown a full-scale demonstration flight model, and we are breaking all kinds of records in this business. We are ready to start manufacturing the next generation of aircraft like never before,” a purchasing representative said in an interview with Defense News.

Roper noted that the development of the X-jet requires more than just flexible development methods, open architecture, and digital engineering, like the U.S.-Swedish eT-7 Red Hawk jet trainer.” We aim to be the most sophisticated system ever built, and we’ve tested all the capabilities of this digital technology. In fact, [we] have demonstrated that it really works wonders,” the purchasing manager added.

Roper refused to name the number of X-engine prototypes built, design features, objectives, combat characteristics such as speed and control modes (with or without pilots), the product’s primary developer or where the first flight took place. However, purchasing officials stressed the importance of this testing because the Air Force has proven its ability to test digitally designed products using advanced technology in this way.

Different approaches

U.S. 6th Generation Fighter Jet | The U.S. is currently considering starting production of the first phase of the NGAD program, which, in the broadest sense, means creating a new generation family of unmanned and manned aircraft controlled by new thin fighter jets. The latter is a further development of the F-35 Lightning II concept, acting as a link to slave aircraft and various multi-mode sensors.

“I believe that you should conquer every mission and it’s not wise to always build one aircraft,” Roper believes.

If Congress approves the program, he said, the Air Force plans to contract with multiple contractors to buy 50-80 new fighter aircraft every eight years. As a result, the scheme, called the “Digital Century Series” (after the relatively short-lived F-100 through F-106 aircraft), would increase development costs by 25 percent and production costs by 18 percent, but would cut total operating costs in half and cut upgrade costs by 79 percent. . According to Roper, the Air Force contractors will use a common set of standards to conduct computer simulations and simulations of advanced products prior to production and actual testing.

“Each industry partner can’t create their own [simulation/simulation] mechanism,” he said. The same rigor of digital design and assembly is required as when assembling physical structures,” said the purchasing manager.

Finished product

Judging by these statements, it can be said that American industry is really ready to produce a new fighter jet. According to Roper, production of the NGAD can be done “fairly quickly,” but before that can happen, the Air Force needs to determine exactly how many X aircraft will be purchased and when.

The NGAD, which will cost about $1 billion in fiscal 2020, could fundamentally “shake up” the U.S. defense industry on the one hand and jeopardize planned military equipment purchases on the other. In addition to the DoD’s traditional contractors, the NGAD program is believed to be able to involve new companies, especially even SpaceX, which can offer competitive prices for their products; for example, the advanced development methods used in the program eT-7 Red Hawk, a 30-year It is believed to reduce the cost of programs like the F-15 Eagle by 10 percent during the life cycle of

Popular Mechanics notes that NGADs “enter a crowded shopping cart”. In the same edition, it says that over the next decade, the Air Force will develop the F-35 Lightning II, F-15EX Advanced Eagle, B-21 Raider heavy strategic bomber, eT-7 Red Hawk, KC-46 Pegasus refueling aircraft, and GBSD (Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent) intercontinental ballistic missiles. Recall that we are planning to purchase, develop and upgrade.” How will the Air Force pay for it all?” – “Assuming that NGAD comes first on this list,” the publisher wonders, “what would be the point?”

Defense Opé writes in a publication of Roper’s statement that “the new plane may not be the product of one of the defense giants” like Boeing, Northrop Grumman, or Lockheed Martin. The magazine recalls that it received 18 entries for the Air Force’s unmanned aircraft competition for manned aircraft in July.” Defense Opé writes, “There is evidence that the digital design tools promoted by Roper have allowed smaller jumps to enter a market that was once dominated by certain contractors only.

U.S. 6th Generation Fighter Jet: Competition and Innovation

U.S. 6th Generation Fighter Jet | The unexpected appearance of Looper’s statement may be linked to the Air Force’s expectation of adequate budgetary resources, especially in the face of uncertainty due to COVID-19. However, it makes sense to draw an economic rather than a military conclusion. As we have repeatedly noted, the current development and production of new thin U.S. fighter jets, strategic bombers, and drones is not a revolutionary innovation, but a high-tech routinization. In addition, despite the limited number of large companies in the military industry, the United States continues to create a competitive environment for new players to enter the market that can provide the Department of Defense with non-standard but effective solutions.

Perhaps U.S. competitors can pay attention to the fact that the relatively low cost of new NGAD drones (based on life cycle), in the management premised on the active use of artificial intelligence systems, indirectly demonstrates their increased lethality. On the other hand, according to Roper, the continued development and production of fighter jets will give the United States a strategic advantage by putting countries such as China and Russia in a state of technological uncertainty about America’s true military capabilities.