The US Navy and Air Force have become a tale of two sixth-generation fighter programs, with the former service pressing ahead with its F/A-XX and the latter holding fire on its NGAD. The divergent directions raise questions about the services’ future interoperability and the ability of the US to maintain air superiority in a future conflict with China.
US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti recently announced that the Navy plans to award an F/A-XX contract soon, with defense contractors Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman all in the running to build the carrier-based combat jet, Air & Space Forces Magazine reported.
The F/A-XX aims to transcend and replace the F/A-18 Super Hornet and E/A-18 Growler with advanced sensors, lethality, range and integration with unmanned systems. According to the Air & Space Forces Magazine report, the fighter is expected to enter service in the 2030s.
Poster Comment:
America has no future as a world military power.
Last week we had a deficit of $345 billion over a space of 3 days.
We have an infrastructure repair bill of $4 trillion.