The U.S. Navy launched its sixth-generation
The new flying machine is also known as the Next Generation Air Dominance Platform. On May 18, the United States Department of the Air Force announced that it is looking to award a contract for the Next Generation Air Dominance Platform in 2024.
U.S. Air Force to award sixth-generation fighter contract in 2024. May 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force intends to award a contract in 2024 for its sixth-generation fighter jet as it races to retain its edge against rapid advances in Chinese military technology, the service said on Thursday.
The U.S. Department of the Air Force issued a classified solicitation to industry for an engineering and manufacturing development contract for the Next Generation Air Dominance Platform (NGAD) program with the intent to award a contract in 2024.
The NGAD is a next-generation tactical combat aircraft that will be capable of performing missions alongside drones. It will reportedly provide the air force with a modern critical combat capability for counter-air operations.
Its top speed of 3,675 kilometers per hour (2,300 miles per hour) will allow it to shoot down hypersonic missiles.
The F-22 Raptor is the most powerful air superiority fighter in the world, while the F-35 is probably the most advanced multi-role fighter right now. That means that the Raptor is more effective in air-to-air combats (faster and could operate at higher altitude).
“The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is the cornerstone of our future fighter force and air superiority. Achieving air superiority in a future fight is strongly dependent on full-spectrum dominance. The F-35 and its 5th Generation capabilities are part of our fighter force design that outpaces key competitors.”
The F-22 cannot be matched by any known or projected fighter aircraft. A combination of sensor capability, integrated avionics, situational awareness, and weapons provides first-kill opportunity against threats.
According to the report, the NGAD is expected to replace the F-22 beginning in 2030. The new project, meanwhile, will likely include a mix of crewed and unmanned aircraft and feature complementary cyber and electronic systems. All this means that the program may not resemble that of a traditional fighter.
The NGAD fighter is to replace the F-22 Raptor, a fifth-generation stealth fighter that is considered one the best air-to-air combat jets ever built. The F-22 can fly at supersonic speeds without using an afterburner and has thrust-vectoring engines giving it more maneuverability than prior-generation jets.
The F-35A is the U.S. Air Force's latest fifth-generation fighter.
1. Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. In 2006, the F-35 embodied the latest in combat aircraft development. With its advanced stealth features it can be declared the world's most powerful aircraft engine and the most advanced radar.
The process for the F-22s will also set a precedent for the B-2 bomber when that aircraft retires circa 2030, and the rest of the F-22 fleet, also retiring around that year.
The United States still maintains the largest stealth fleets in the world, with more than 450 F-35s, around 150 F-22s, and 19 B-2 Spritis in active service.
Here's why: The F-22 was canceled after just 186 airframes were delivered and large portions of its production line were then used for the F-35, making building new Raptors all but impossible. The F-22's design and avionics are increasingly dated.
The J-20 is both faster and has a longer range than the F-35, while later models of the J-20 have supercruise – an ability to fly at high speed without afterburners. However, the Chinese fighter jet does have inferior stealth attributes to the F-35.
Larger at 69 feet and without a powerful engine and thrust-vectoring nozzles, many believe the J-20 cannot perform the gut-wrenching tight maneuvers in a dogfight, which cedes the advantage to the F-22 in this domain.
The Su-57 is literally thousands of times larger on radar than American jets like the F-35 and F-22. Any holes or gaps in the exterior shell of a stealth aircraft can dramatically increase its detectability.
The F/A-XX is expected to be the manned fighter component and centerpiece of the Navy's Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) family of systems. Although identically named and sharing some technology developments, this program is distinct from the U.S. Air Force's NGAD sixth-generation fighter program.
The F-22 is faster than the F-35, but both aircraft are considered to be very fast. Range: The F-22 Raptor has a combat radius of approximately 600 nautical miles, while the F-35 Lightning II has a combat radius of approximately 590.
MELBOURNE, Australia — American F-22 fighters are training in northern Australia alongside the host nation's F-35A jets as part of an initiative meant to improve interoperability between their armed forces.
The answer is that the F-35 cannot match the F-22 as an air superiority fighter—it was never designed as such. The U.S. Air Force's original plan was for the F-22 to be its high-end air superiority fighter while the F-35 was designed to be primarily an air-to-ground strike aircraft, but one which could defend itself.
For the most part, the F-15 is superior to the F-35 in terms of weapons and ability to defend itself. The F-15 Eagle supports more weapons load capacity with nearly 20 different options for armament. It's more versatile when you compare that to the payload capacity of the Lightning II (which only has room for 6).