The race is on for a sixth-generation fighter jet..Both China and United States are throwing everything they have at it and are hoping to come out in front, even if it's just by a month..“I cannot tell you today what’s going on in China except they’re planning for their 20th National Party Congress [in October]," commander of Air Combat Command Gen. Mark Kelly said during a round table at the Air and Space Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber conference last week.."But I can tell you what’s not happening. They’re not having a debate over the relevance of six-gen air dominance. And I can also tell you they’re on track,” Breaking Defense reported..Kelly said he’s determined “we get to sixth-gen air dominance at least a month prior to our competitors.”.Of China and other potential adversaries, he said, “They’re not dummies. They know what they’re doing. We need to get there before they do. It won’t end well if we don’t.”. Artist's rendition of possible 6th-generation fighter.Artist's rendition of possible 6th-generation fighter. .Fifth-generation fighters are highly advanced — and very expensive — that just three nations have designed and built models: the US, Russia, and China..The technology — stealth, super-cruise, super-maneuverability, interconnectivity — is still cutting edge. Yet, the great powers are already looking ahead, as great powers tend to do, and are contemplating the sixth-generation of fighter technology..While most nations, including the US, have divulged little about their advanced fighter programs — they exist only in concept thus far — China has been even more secretive..What we do know, is that China's approach to developing advanced aerospace technology is highly iterative, according to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Air & Space Forces magazine reported.. Gen. Mark Kelly.Gen. Mark Kelly. Credit: .“We, as a nation, tend to let go of the trapeze and kind of make a leap for the next rung,” while “our Chinese ‘frenemies’ tend to iterate—5.1, 5.2, 5.3. They tend to iterate what they have, and morph and evolve.”.This was China’s approach to building its fourth-generation fleet, he said..“They started with Su-27, morph into Su-30, then their own J-16, Su-35,” he said, ticking off the upgrades and advancing versions of the Russian Flanker series of fighters..“Then they build on that technology base,” he said. The Su-35, designed by Russia but which China has certainly tweaked to its own specifications, is “a good airplane,” Kelly acknowledged, calling it a fourth-generation airplane “with fifth-gen avionics [and] fifth-gen speed.”.These aircraft will “make it a little easier when they go off the rung” to their next fighter, he told Air & Space Forces magazine..During a 2019 interview, Wang Haifeng, chief designer for the Chengdu Aerospace Corporation, stated China was conducting pre-research on a next-generation fighter, with an eye to having a new capability ready to “protect the sea and sky” by 2035..While Wang said little about China’s design, he pointed to several elements that he believed would characterize future US fighter capability, such as being able to team with drones, the use of artificial intelligence, improvements in stealth and omnidirectional sensors, Breaking Defense reported.. Artist's rendition of British Tempest fighter.Artist's rendition of British Tempest fighter. .Designs could also feature “less certain” disruptive technologies, such as drone swarms, lasers and adaptive engines, he said..The US Air Force is on track to become the first six-gen fighter user, provided it can begin fielding its Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) family of systems on time — “by the end of the decade,” according to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall..The service first flew a manned NGAD prototype in 2020, and Kendall said the service could pick a manufacturer for the program in the near future, Breaking Defense reported..However, the program is very complex — with a family of systems that includes a manned fighter, new weapons and likely several varieties of drones..Kendall told lawmakers that the NGAD fighter would cost “multiple hundreds of millions of dollars” per plane, dwarfing that of the F-22 Raptor, which had a unit cost of about US$143 million per plane, according to the air force.. Lockheed Martin Skunk Works concept art of a sixth-generation fighter.Lockheed Martin Skunk Works concept art of a sixth-generation fighter. .During the round table, Kelly said China’s conception of a sixth-gen fighter seem to mirror the United States’ own..“By and large is they see it greatly the way we see it in terms of an exponential reduction in signature and exponential acceleration in processing power and sensing, and the ability to iterate in terms of open mission systems, to be able to essentially reprogram at the speed of relevance,” Kelly said..“The differences, I think, are a nuance.”.In his speech at ASC, Kelly said “China is building a first-rate air force… When it comes to a nation’s blood, treasure, and stature on the globe, the only thing more expensive than a first-rate air force is a second-rate air force.”.He also said the F-22 Raptor must be kept credible and relevant to a modern fight right up until the Air Force makes a “hot handover” to the NGAD — that's slated to happen in 2030..Several countries are working on 6th-generation fighters — some of which have never even created a fifth-generation fighter — including Russia, Japan, the UK and France, Business Insider reported..And like the F-35 in the fifth generation of air fighters, sixth-generation fighters will need to integrate with a variety of other jets, drones, soldiers, and sensors in a saturated network meant to provide warfighters with a comprehensive battlespace picture..The emphasis on close-combat dog fighting, which dominated 20th-century aerial warfare, is also becoming a peripheral concern of aircraft manufacturers, Business Insider reported..Instead, ground attacks, cyber warfare, and even space warfare are increasingly relevant. Beyond-visual-range missile combat is also still important..The foundation of sixth-generation technology will be the "brains" of the aircraft: advanced digital platforms with networking ability, onboard AI, data fusion and advanced communications equipment..In addition to a new-age instrument panel, new fighters will likely feature "virtual cockpits" presented into the pilot's helmet, Business Insider reported..Some speculate that sixth-generation fighters will even feature directed-energy weapons, like the CIWS radar-guided laser weapon..Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman all have sixth-generation projects in the works, but there's some speculation that Lockheed has the inside track..US efforts to develop fifth-generation technology — in the form of the F-22 and the F-35 — were notoriously plagued with delays and cost overruns. It's feared that the pursuit of sixth-generation tech may hold similar pitfalls, on both sides.. F-22 Raptor over Alaska. Photo
