U.S., NATO Already Planning the Next Generation of Fighter Jets
The United States and its NATO allies are already looking to the next generation of fighter planes to ensure air superiority, according to the Wall Street Journal. The article cites new fifth-generation Russian and Chinese fighters as the impetus to develop a new round of combat aircraft due in the 2030s.
When we say fifth-gen warplanes, we're talking about aircraft designed to be stealthy, incorporate the latest active electronic scanning array radars, and cruise at supersonic speeds without the use of an afterburner. China's forthcoming Chengdu J-20 and the Russian T-50 (also known as PAK-FA) are expected to be formidable aerial adversaries for the United States and NATO.
The U.S. already fields fifth-generation planes in the form of the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. But three-fourths of U.S. planes are fourth-generation designs dating back to the 1970s. The Joint Strike Fighter will replace most of them, but some, such as the F-15E Strike Eagle and the F/A-18 Super Hornet, will need replacing in the 2030-2035 timeframe. So, in addition to the so-called "Penetrating Counter Air" fighter that the Air Force wants to accompany the B-21 Raider bomber deep into enemy territory, the service is already thinking about the next generation of fighter.
European countries, facing a resurgent and aggressive Russia, are also planning on a new generation of planes. After the end of the Cold War, many countries in Europe sought to replace their frontline fighter jets with a single, modern multirole design, such as the Eurofighter Typhoon, while allowing secondary fighter and attack jet fleets to age. Now the United Kingdom is buying the F-35 and working on joint research on future sixth-generation fighter designs with France. France, meanwhile, is planning to upgrade the Rafale fighter, and Germany wants to replace its Tornado IDS strike jets, which were purchased in the 1980s, with a manned or unmanned design.
Nobody knows what feature set will define sixth-generation fighters. Laser weapons, aircraft skins that act as sensors and antennas, and a lack of a cockpit are two possibilities. But after the soaring costs and development lags that typified the fifth generation F-22 and F-35, affordability and simplicity would be welcome features, too.
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