Washington –
Fighter jets the most advanced today such as the F-35 or F-22 is the fifth generation. The F-35EX purchased by Indonesia is in the 4.5 generation category. Well, fighter jets sixth generation a more sophisticated one has also been prepared, especially by the United States, although its development is still a secret.
The newest fighter jet is called Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD). Reportedly there are two US companies that have developed it and a prototype has been flown in secret.
The NGAD is intended to replace the F-22A Raptor stealth fighter in the 2030s. Despite being highly agile and ultra-stealth, the Air Force’s relatively small fleet of F-22s proved prohibitively expensive to operate, due to reliance on a 1990s-era system architecture.
Reportedly, there is only one type of future fighter jet that the US is preparing for. The US Air Force opened submissions for the NGAD design last May.
As quoted detikINET from Popular Mechanic, the winning design will be announced in 2024, and the AU is aiming to acquire around 200 NGADs, each costing hundreds of millions of dollars to procure.
By comparison, the F-35A stealth fighter currently costs around USD 85 million. The NGAD jets will be equipped with better sensors and communication systems than the F-22, as well as having greater agility than the F-35.
NGAD research, development, testing and evaluation is expected to cost USD 16 billion over the next five years. However, the Air Force reportedly wants the future fighter to have far lower operational costs than the F-22 and F-35.
The procurement of these jets is increasingly important amid the Chinese threat and the country’s ability to manufacture fighter jets that are increasingly catching up to the US. The NGAD is likely to have a much wider reach for operations across vast distances in the Pacific Ocean.
Short range is the main limitation of US warplanes at the moment, making them vulnerable to attack by Chinese missiles if they get involved in a conflict over Taiwan or Japan. Refueling in the air is not only logistically demanding, but also dangerous because tanker aircraft are not stealth aircraft.
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2023-08-29 22:45:27
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