AFA NEWS: Secretive Jet Fighter Program Reaches Design Section — Kind Of
NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland — The Air Power’s secretive next-generation air dominance program has reached a brand new section of improvement, the service’s prime civilian official mentioned Sept. 19.
Air Power Secretary Frank Kendall mentioned the service’s next-generation jet fighter has reached its design section, however clarified that he meant that “colloquially.”
“We’re engaged on the precise design of the plane … so which means we’re within the engineering, manufacturing improvement section,” he instructed reporters on the Air and House Power Affiliation’s annual convention in Nationwide Harbor, Maryland.
Nonetheless, it has not reached what within the acquisition world is called “Milestone B,” the engineering, manufacturing improvement, or EMD, section. That requires an expert design evaluation, which has but to happen, he added.
The Air Power has described the next-generation air dominance program as a sixth-generation jet fighter and a household of methods that may help loyal wingman ideas the place a manned jet will management unmanned plane that may carry out quite a lot of duties. Service leaders have tapped it to exchange the F-22.
Kendall mentioned the aim is to start out the brand new plane’s manufacturing “by the top of the last decade.”
In the meantime, the loyal wingman idea continues to be very a lot a part of this system’s future, Kendall mentioned.
The loyal wingman idea can have 4 to 5 robotic jet fighters accompany the manned NGAD, or an F-35, into battle, he mentioned.
“You possibly can consider it because the quarterback or play caller for that formation,” he mentioned.
The robotic wingmen can carry quite a lot of payloads and carry out quite a lot of duties, he mentioned.
One wingman might simply carry sensors, one might function a “bomb truck” and one other might merely be a decoy and draw fireplace, officers have mentioned.
There may be additionally the concept that they are often expendable, Kendall mentioned. “There is a willingness to place a few of these platforms in danger with the intention to get an operational benefit,” he mentioned.
The thought is to create a number of targets that an enemy can’t ignore, he mentioned.
Analyses have proven that the Air Power might achieve massive operational benefits by way of the loyal wingman idea and it could possibly be value efficient as properly, he mentioned.
“Now we have quite a bit to work our means by way of to develop this new subject and plenty of questions on how far we will go,” he added.
He has requested the Air Power Science Advisory Board to look into what sorts of duties the next-generation air dominance system will be capable of perform in its first iterations, he mentioned.
“I believe we will go fairly far,” though there will probably be limits, Kendall added.
“I’m satisfied that we must always transfer on this route. And we’ll do this,” he mentioned.
Matters: Air Power Information