and this will mean acquiring cheaper fighters
than the F-22 and F-35. Some cost reductions
will be achieved through more efficient
manufacturing and through better programme
management, but some capabilities may also
be traded out in the pursuit of lower cost.
The purpose of this article is to explore
the new generation of aircraft that are being
designed and developed for service in the
2040s, and that will still be in production in ten,
15 or even 20 years’ time, rather than merely
looking at all current, ongoing programmes.
This is not, therefore, the place to discuss the
Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon or Saab
Gripen (even in its latest Gripen E form), nor
Boeing’s Advanced F-15 and Advanced Block
III Super Hornet, or the Lockheed Martin Block
70 F-16V. It will not include any assessment
of the MiG-29M2/MiG-35 or the Sukhoi
Flanker family, in any of its many forms, and
will not describe the in-production Shenyang
J-10 or Chengdu FC-1/JF-17 Thunder.
The exclusion of these types is not a matter
of capability – the pilot of a Rafale or Typhoon
today probably has more capability at his
fingertips than the pilot of a current Block 3F
F-35, and this will remain the case until the JSF
reaches maturity, with fully capable software,
and with more weapons integrated. We will also
exclude the F-22, probably the world’s most
capable fighter flying today, because it is long
out of production, and is not available for export.
JSF dominant... for now
The F-35 is the largest fighter programme
now under way and will dominate the combat
aircraft market for the next decade, accounting
for 1,466 of the 3,243 fighter aircraft that are
expected to be built and sold. This represents
more than 45% of the market. The F-35
will monopolise the global fighter fleet into
the 2040s, with deliveries to the US military
scheduled to continue until 2037 – the type
having a projected service life out to 2070.
The F-35 provides its pilot with an unrivalled
picture of the battlespace, giving unmatched
situational awareness. The aircraft is not well
optimised for the air defence role, however,
lacking persistence and having only modest
supersonic agility and acceleration – both
of which are crucial factors in beyond-
visual-range (BVR) air combat. In some
respects, a fifth-generation/late-fourth-
generation ‘mix’ may represent a better
solution to overall air power requirements.
Given good data links, the F-35 can act
as a ‘quarterback’, telling everyone else
what is happening and instructing other
fighters to ‘Go there! Shoot him!’
The dominance of the F-22, in particular, has
prompted the development of new fighters
in both Russia and China, and these aircraft
incorporate some fifth-generation features,
including a degree of low observability or
‘stealth’, at least in the frontal aspect.The Sukhoi Su-57 (previously known as the
T-50 and as the PAK FA) employs integrated
modular avionics and has an advanced
sensor-fusion system but appears to lack
all-aspect low observability, not least due
to its use of conventional circular-section
engine nozzles. Unlike the F-35, however,
the big Russian stealth fighter is capable of
supercruise and super-manoeuvrability.
The first T-50 prototype flew on January 29,
2010, and about ten development aircraft
are now flying. Production was expected to
begin next year, though India’s withdrawal
from the programme in April has removed
a vital source of funding and was widely
interpreted as indicating that technical
problems and deficiencies were greater
than had been officially acknowledged.
The Sukhoi/Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
(HAL) Fifth-Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA)
derivative of the T-50 was intended to be a two-
seater, carrying a pilot and a weapons systems
operator (WSO). India had gained a great deal
of experience in the operation of two-seat
strike fighters with its Su-30MKIs and may have
favoured a two-seater for the nuclear strike role,
or perhaps in the belief that modern sensors
might present too much information for a single
pilot to be able to absorb and act upon.http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #369 DECEMBER 2018 // 65
Shown in a brief video clip last year, this NGAD
concept from Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works
suggests a relatively small and agile manned
fighter. Exotic concepts, such as morphing metals,
‘self-healing’ capabilities and laser weapons have
all been mooted for NGAD. Lockheed MartinAbove: This older Boeing study makes an
interesting contrast with the later iterations of the
company’s notional fighter capability seen on the
previous pages. BoeingIn 2015 Northrop Grumman presented this vision of the NGAD, shown firing a directed-energy weapon.
The design combines features of the company’s B-2A bomber and X-47B drone and company officials
stressed its long range and weapons carriage capacity. Northrop Grumman