Brown said recently that a future fleet could include the A-10, F-16, F-35, F-15EX, and the NGAD.
The F-22 was the first fifth-generation stealth fighter.
The US Air Force is thinking about what its future fighter fleet might look like, and that picture apparently doesn t include the fifth-generation F-22 Raptor.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles CQ Brown said at a McAleese and Associates conference Wednesday that the service is trying to find the right mix of aircraft for the future fleet through an internal tactical air study, according to multiple reports. Right now we have seven fighter fleets, Brown said, according to Defense One. My intent is to get down to about four . really a four plus one, with the A-10, a ground-attack aircraft rather than a pure fighter, as the plus-one.
USAF plans to reduce fighter aircraft fleet to about four platform types
13 May 2021
by Pat Host
The US Air Force (USAF) plans to reduce its fighter fleet from seven platform types to about four, or “4+1”, according to its chief of staff.
General Charles Brown said on 12 May that these platforms will include the Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II close air support (CAS) aircraft as that platform will be around for some time because of a re-winging programme. The fighter mix, he said, will also include the new Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) platform, the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), the Boeing F-15EX Eagle II, and the Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon.
The US Air Force is looking to cut its fleet of fighter jets from seven to four which could spell the end for the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter.
Despite only spending 16 years in service and costing $150million the F-22 has been hit by an increasing number of repairs.
And now it could be retired alongside the F-15E Strike Eagle in a bid to modernise the force.
Gen. Charles CQ Brown said during the annual McAleese conference the service is trying to find the right combination of aircraft through an internal tactical air study.
The US Air Force is looking to downsize its range of fighter jet fleets from seven to four, with the F-22 Raptor (pictured) forced into retirement
The
B-21 Raider, the Air Force’s new bomber now in development, will have as much in common with its Cold War-era predecessors B-1/B-2/B-52 bombers as the F-35 Lightning II has in common with its World War II-era predecessor P-38 Lightning.
For example, the B-21 represents a significant step forward over the 30-year-old B-2 Spirit, as the B-21 is being designed by Northrop Grumman (who also built the B-2) to survive against the most advanced modern air defense systems such as Russia’s S-400 surface-to-air missile system and China’s J-20 stealth fighter, which entered service in 2017.
The B-21 will be a marvel of contemporary manufacturing that takes advantage of the latest digital capabilities to improve design, manufacturing, and support. Digital development is a new direction in procurement for the Air Force and the Defense Department writ large.