Until an attribute becomes the definitive definition of the sixth generation (like stealth did for the F-22) I’d say let’s just wait and see.
Everyones perception of a 6th gen aircraft is entirely different but of course what I see something being perceived as 6th gen is rather 5th gen + but when someone says one aircraft design is one gen higher to me there has to be a significant technological edge that it must have to be granted to be called as such. aircrafts with stealth and manueverability are better than non treated stealth aircrafts as we noticed from the su-27 to T-50 patent or the said differences of frontal RCS value of F-22 to F-16. However for me aircrafts that fly near orbit will be perceived better than stealth aircrafts because air to air missiles have to burn alot of fuel to travel up than down and keeping the nose radar pointed at the higher altitude aircraft will be significantly hard. The higher altitude aircraft will get the entire body reflection of the low flying aircraft instead of just the front face value where RCS is the lowest.
GaAS radars was all 5th gen now(current F-35s, F-22s and Su-57s AFAIK) there is a good chance that GaN radars will be called 6th gen with all radar visibility for TFX, NGAD or Tempest but even the TFX is being offered something similiar in other words i can see both aircrafts being comparable to this at best I would label this as 5th gen plus. The performance for GaN will be better than GaAS and have a little higher bandwidth range but that is about it. Photonic radars have lower background noise levels that the difference is rather drastic especially with EW suppression protection it has. The su-57 in 2014 Rostec book was showcased with GaN EW modules for himalayas and according to some arguements at times it can be believed that it has 360 degree radar coverage since the back modules by a KRET official stated both passive and active detection in which I say he is no fool and says what he means. No idea if these GaN modules can be plug n play for the F-35
Data speeds of tempest are the city of Edinburgh, or 10,000 times more than current systems, I dont know what the **** that vague explanation is, but a single photonic component on pdf page 25
can go 400 gbs per second. Edinburgh with 4 other major cities amounts to 4000+ gbs per second
. meaning 10 photonic radar modules would be enough for not just Edinburgh but the other 4 major cities included. this is what I mean by major difference in generation.
Now I cant say anything right now if 3 stream cycle engines determine next generation or gets the 5th gen +, but I will use the baseline range and supercruise capabilities of the Izdelie 30(if that gets officially revealed later) to help me determine if Tempest or NGAD engines go a generation up or gets a + for example if the range and speed of NGAD or Tempest are like 5-10% more than the 2nd stage engine with a little higher altitude performance I will just give a + if it is significantly more and has like a 10km altitude height difference in performance it deserves to be next gen. Russia will have easier luck with 3 stream engine which they also stated before than operating a detonation engine which they claim success for aircraft use. We can all forget about the TFX because they want to go domestic on it, the only thing we can compare it to is radar and stealth capabilities to NGAD and Tempest because they are constructing their own anechoic chamber
2007 or 2008 there were talks that the F-35 would get DIRCM fastforward to 2022 there is none implemented yet(I will probably expect the same kind of expectations for MSDM), yet it was promised a 100 kilowatt laser that destroys things physically while the Su-57 only blinds, next they propose MSDM a minauture self defense missile that is 1 meter long, yet no tests are conducted while the pantsir which is to be quadpacked is actually testing 1 meter missiles against small drones. Russia switched to creating their own infrared detection systems instead of being reliant on the French, can't compare IRST but I can compare this
to this
and say I think they caught up. But if Russia wants a MSDM kind of system for their aircrafts I think its more preferable to have UV, infrared and 360 degree AESA or ROFAR(for better targetting precision) all sensor fused on the aircraft before implementing it. But besides the avionics upgrade for the Su-57 which we have yet to find out if some capabilities will be disclosed here. Using flares should set you a generation back which I hope the NGAD will move on from.
Also BAE Taranis, X-47B and Neuron all existed way before the Su-70 was even known fast forward again, you know those said countries developing said 6th gens have no production or in operation plans with any of those 3 yet Russia developed a much larger stealth drone with not only testing air to ground capabilities but also gave it a radar with air to air missile capabilities and are now moving on testing supersonic variants of the Su-75 to be unmanned, Krylo-SV(whirlwind engine is still a mystery besides its 1st stage) is going to be using runways to fly off and land with hypersonic speeds as having drone AI capabilities so I guess they are closer to having a unmanned near hypersonic 6th gen aircrafts which might add a bonus microwave gun weapon but that we dont know yet.
Russia already has internal hypersonic air to ground missile Larva-MD planned for Su-57, in before Tempest and NGAD try to promote this as a 6th gen feature, not even going to bother with turkey's missile capablilites
If any Western aviation fans were pissed before about Pierre Sprey, Christopher miller statements or General browns replacement plan along with trying to put the F-22s back in service before getting replaced by NGAD, I am sure they are going to get more pissed when comparisons of the 2nd variant Su-57 are ran between the NGAD or Tempest, before they themselves decide if a 6th gen developement would be included in their 2nd armement plan which might have different features.
