Forget the F-35, the Navy is already looking to its future sixth-generation stealth fighter.
The U.S. Air Force may be considering a special “Pacific” variant of its new sixth-generation stealth fighter. That new warplane surprised and impressed many last year by suddenly becoming airborne years ahead of schedule. Very little is known about the secretive jet, yet in an interesting new development, Air Force Chief of Staff General Charles Brown said there may be some consideration being given to developing two variants of the aircraft one for Europe, and one for the Pacific.
Brown did not indicate any particular plan, yet when asked about the prospect from a reporter at the 2021 Air Force Association Annual Symposium, he did not rule out the possibility, adding that indeed more range would be needed for fighter jet operations in the Pacific.
Can the U.S. Navy Build a Sixth-Generation Stealth Fighter?
The race for the next interation of stealth fighters is on as China and Russia pour money into their own future warplanes.
As China and Russia forge ahead with a slew of sixth-generation fighter projects, is the U.S. Air Force (USAF) lagging behind in efforts to develop similar capabilities?
The U.S. military’s nascent sixth-generation fighter ambitions harken back to the late 2000s, just as Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II was entering a turbulent testing and production stage. Launched in 2008, the F/A-XX program identified a need for a new air superiority fighter platform to replace the Navy’s aging stock F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. The Pentagon initially sought to procure a single consolidated platform for both the Navy and Air Force but, given the poor track record of prior joint projects, eventually decided against it. The F/A-XX has since become the Navy’s sixth generation fighter program, while the USAF equ