USAF Composite
Warzone/The Drive: "B-21s With Air-To-Air Capabilities," Drones, Not 6th Gen Fighters To Dominate Future Air Combat
The Air Force's vision of the future of aerial combat has evolved greatly as of late and has moved away from plans for new, costly manned fighters.
The U.S. Air Force is still working to iron out just what it thinks air-to-air combat will look like a decade from now and what types of aircraft it will need to come out on top in any future fight. As part of its ongoing Next Generation Air Dominance program, or NGAD, the service is exploring a wide array of manned, unmanned, and pilot-optional concepts, as well as advanced associated technologies, including increased network connectivity and autonomous capabilities. At the same time, however, it has steadily moved away from plans for a once much-touted sixth-generation fighter jet.
A number of senior Air Force leaders have offered updates about NGAD recently, all of who stressed that the final force mixture will include a variety of different platforms, as well as munitions and other systems, all tied together at various levels. This could include manned aircraft networked together with “loyal wingman” drones, fully autonomous unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAV), swarms of low-cost unmanned aircraft, and more.
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WNU Editor: I would not write-off manned 6th generation fighters just yet.
1 comment:
When you look at the F15X, an upgraded version of the F15 designed to hold upwards of 16 air to air missiles, there is no denying that a stealth bomber could and should be retro fitted to outclass the F15X in share arsenal. The future of aircombat is an interconnected web of data, using beyond visual range ordnance utilizing stealth, speed and surprise.
But that been said, we can only fight what we can see. Russia aswell as China boast their own stealth capabilities, with sophisticated ground to air arsenals. With growing capabilities of radars and satellites the only question left is how they utilize all the data. The SU-57 currently costs 1/10th of the projected B-21, so it better be able to outclass 10 if not 20 of these air superiority fighters.
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