The U.S. Navy Will Face A Fighter Jet Shortage By 2035

A U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet on a mission over the Persian Gulf in September 2005. Wikipedia

Dave Majumdar, National Interest: F/A-XX: The U.S. Navy's 6th Generation Strike Aircraft...in 2035?

The U.S. Navy needs to start conducting an analysis of alternatives (AOA) this year if intends to field a successor to the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet by 2035. If one were to assume a best-case scenario, that would be the earliest a new clean sheet F/A-XX aircraft design could be developed and built, multiple industry sources agreed.

“2035, if you started right away, would be your best case IOC [initial operational capability],” one senior industry official said. “That means get this AOA started right away.”

The Navy is hoping to start an F/A-XX AOA this fall, but there is no set official start date yet, the industry source noted. The outgoing chief of naval operations, Adm. Jon Greenert has signed the F/A-XX initial capabilities document. But the document still has to clear the Joint Requirements Oversight Council and undergo a Materiel Development Decision (MDD) Defense Acquisitions Board (DAB) review before an AOA can formally kick-off. “The DAB has not been scheduled the last I heard,” the industry official said.

WNU Editor: The F-35 program is eating up all the funds. Realistically .... they have trouble making ends meet right now .... having monies available to develop and manufacture another fighter jet seems unrealistic to me.