The head of the US Air Force Combat Air Command General Mark Kelly in an interview with the Defense News portal spoke about the secret program for the creation sixth generation fighters called Next Generation Air Dominance (New Generation Air Superiority, NGAD). At the same time, the general stressed that when creating fighters he had to face a whole bunch of problems: secrecy, cost and COVID-19.
The NGAD program, according to the general, includes the deployment of a large “ family of related systems '' for airspace warfare, which may include fighters, unmanned aerial vehicles, satellites in space, and platforms in cyberspace. In this regard, NGAD is sometimes referred to as a “system of systems”. The general declined to say more, citing the regime of secrecy.
Development of the sixth generation NGAD fighter began in the United States in the 2000s. Work at Boeing takes place in great secrecy. Therefore, the details of the NGAD fighter & nbsp; unknown, except that the developers managed to “ beat many records. '' The aircraft is tested jointly with one of the military-industrial companies. The promising aircraft will have to operate in conjunction with the fifth-generation F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II fighters.
It is also reported on the prospects of a new aircraft, for example, it has already been said that NGAD fighters should be able to enter the so-called A2/AD (Anti-Access/Area-Denial, high risk areas). , which NATO troops cannot penetrate without unacceptable damage, even with superior forces), shattering all air defense systems, destroying aircraft and the enemy's most important targets.
In 2010, a scale 1 to 16 mock-up of the aircraft was presented, a lightweight version with a takeoff weight of 18 tons. Then the “medium” was created. and “heavy” variations with a takeoff weight of 27 and 42 tonnes, respectively. The aircraft is built with heavy use of stealth technology. It has a flattened shape and the tail is absent. The device has 3 internal compartments for air-to-surface and air-to-air missiles.
It has also been reported that the sixth generation fighter under development under the NGAD project will receive a virtual co-pilot based on an artificial intelligence system. The AI co-pilot will most likely be based on the ARTU & micro; and will assume a supporting role.
It has been reported that the sixth generation fighter is being developed to take on Russia and China. Earlier it became known that the US Air Force's sixth generation fighter will receive an expensive 'Chinese'. and Russian cheap version. In the first case, it is a long-range aircraft designed for operations in the Pacific Ocean region. In the second, & mdash; on a shorter range fighter for Europe.
The NGAD fighter can also be used on aircraft carriers. For this, American engineers created and tested an electromagnetic catapult and a winch designed for 45 tons. It is supposed to use both piloted and unmanned versions. The aircraft will have two turbojets and air intakes on the sides of the cockpit. The flattened armored nozzles are expected to reduce the visibility of the vehicle to enemy radars.
Last year, the Pentagon said it had built and flew at least one next-generation prototype aircraft times in secret. It was not even stated whether this was an unmanned or piloted sixth generation fighter. It is also already known that the first prototype is undergoing flight tests. Small-scale production of the hunter is expected to start no earlier than 2022.
Source of information:
https: //www.defensenews .com/digital-show-dailies/air-force-association/2021/09/06/four-questions-with-the-chief-of-air-combat-command/