Certain new fighter programmes could move
away from the single-seat configuration of the
current crop of fifth-generation types. Many
illustrations of advanced fighter configurations
being studied by Airbus in recent years have
depicted two-seat aircraft. This may simply
reflect the influence of Luftwaffe Tornado
aircrew in defining the so-called Future
Combat Aircraft System (FCAS), though
Alberto Gutierrez, the head of Combat Aircraft
& Air Services for Airbus Defence and Space
said that the second crewmember may
be especially important for its concept of
operations, working within a wider network,
potentially as a command and control asset or
as a UCAV/UAV mission commander. He said
there had been an ethical discussion about
crewing, and that a two-seat configuration
meant that decision-makers would be “on the
scene”, instead of “killing at arm’s length”.
More recent design work by Dassault
(issued after Dassault teamed with Airbus
for a joint future fighter programme) has
illustrated a tailless, finless delta, rather than
the F-22-like aircraft depicted in earlier Airbus
proposals. Interestingly, the French Système
de Combat Aérien Futur (SCAF) studies still
appear to have tandem two-seat cockpits.
Last April the UK’s defence secretary said that
Britain could develop its own new-generation
manned combat aircraft, and this intention
was reiterated with the launch of the Combat
Air Strategy in July. A full-scale model of an
advanced fighter was unveiled at Farnborough, as
part of the Future Combat Air System Technology
Initiative. The project is being led by the RAF’s
Rapid Capabilities Office, with an industrial
consortium known as Team Tempest. Team
Tempest’s concept mock-up is a twin-engined,
single-seat tailless delta with canted twin tailfins.
In 2008, the US Navy identified a requirement
for an F/A-18E/F replacement, to enter service
from the late 2020s. The navy issued a request
for information (RFI) for the F/A-XX in April- The Chief of Naval Operations has said
that F/A-XX would be optionally manned, with
a modular bay for the cockpit or an additional
sensor pack. It has also been suggested that
the aircraft would not rely on speed or stealth
as much as previous-generation fighters,
but would instead use a new spectrum of
weapons to overwhelm or suppress enemy air
defences. The programme has been renamed
as Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD)
- an acronym also applied to the USAF’s
unconnected future fighter programme, though
the latter has also been called F-X and is now
referred to as Penetrating Counter Air (PCA).
PCA is seeking to develop a new fighter
to enter service during the 2030s,
replacing the F-22 and maintaining US air
superiority in future conflicts. Compared
with current stealthy fighters, the PCA
is likely to have a significantly longer
range and will employ new-generation
weapons. It may be considerably faster,
and may even be capable of hypersonic
speed, or alternatively it may be orders
of magnitude more stealthy than the
F-35 and F-22, over a wider range of
frequencies. Artist’s impressions of
possible PCA contenders have frequently
depicted finless, tailless designs.
Like the UK and Franco-German FCAS
programmes, PCA is explicitly seen as being
a ‘system of systems’, which will include ‘loyal
wingmen’ UCAVs and swarming UAVs in
addition to a manned/optionally manned fighter.
Though the navy’s F/A-XX and the air force
PCA are being developed to meet similar
requirements and timescales, they are likely
to remain separate initiatives, not least
after the problems experienced in the tri-
service F-35 programme. However, the two
projects are likely to share technology and
even weapons, sensors and sub-systems.
That, then, is a brief look at what the future of
air combat could look like in 25 years’ time. Of
course, we’d need a crystal ball to know if all
of these ideas will be pursued or if the resulting
aircraft will look anything like the current concept
designs. What is certain is that the era of the
manned combat aircraft is far from over... AFMhttp://www.airforcesmonthly.com #369 DECEMBER 2018 // 67
Above: This clip from an Air Force
Research Laboratory (AFRL) video
that went online in March shows an
F-35A working in concert with six
‘Loyal Wingman’ drones. USAF
Below Mitsubishi’s ATD-X or Advanced
Technology Demonstrator – X. The aircraft’s
maiden flight occurred on April 22, 2016,
powered by two IHI XF5-1 low-bypass
afterburning engines.