The Air Force (Air Force) of the United States, within the framework of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, conducted flight tests of the X-plane in secrecy, writes Defense News.
“We have already built and launched a full-scale flight demonstration in the real world, and we have broken all records in this business. We are ready to begin building the next generation of aircraft in a way never before, ”quotes the publication of a statement by the director of the United States Air Force for procurement Will Roper.
Defense News notes that the NGAD program is classified, and the leader most likely meant flight tests of a sixth generation technology demonstrator, in particular, an unmanned or manned aircraft, possibly a sixth generation fighter prototype.
According to Roper, the decision on the program could affect the budget for the 2022 fiscal year, and the production of the aircraft itself could be launched “quite quickly.” The publication notes that the NGAD program can “shake up” the American military-industrial complex, in particular, lead to the creation of a new aerospace company.
The Drive notes that in reality Roper may have been referring to digital engineering. “The last known prototypes of American fighters that took off were the Boeing X-32 and Lockheed Martin X-35, which participated in the Joint Strike Fighter program back in the early 2000s,” the publication recalls.
In September 2019, Roper announced that the US Air Force was preparing to fundamentally change its strategy for acquiring promising fighters, taking the industry five years or less to create new aircraft. According to him, the changes under the NGAD program, involving the creation of the next generation fighter, will come into force on October 1 of the same year. According to Roper, this approach is reminiscent of the situation with the development of the Century Series fighters, when aircraft from the F-100 to F-106 were created in a relatively short period of time. At the same time, the head noted that three principles will form the basis of NGAD: flexibility in software development, open architecture and digital engineering. The executive director added that the rapid renewal of the fleet of warplanes, receiving the same type of names, should create uncertainty for potential adversaries of the United States like China and Russia.
Currently, the US Armed Forces (AF) have two fighters of the latest (fifth) generation – the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning II (three variants).
