US military bureaucracy is getting more and more ridiculous by the day. At this point I would say the best option is to trash Sentinel to support other programs. You can do by with two nuclear legs but if fa-xx is cancelled the entire navy is devalued. Just send all the old minutemans to nuclear power plants or something.
US F/A-XX and F-X & NGAD - 6th Gen Aircraft News Thread
- Thread starter Jeff Head
- Start date
Here's a video that's a fun summary of the whole US 6th gen adventure:
The actual solution for the US is to purge their military and try to get rid of the corruption and institutional failings of the MIC. If they don't do this then the rot inside the heart of the American system will continue to fester and they will have has no chance of matching the PLA's growth.
This is completely undoable. The biggest rival right now to the US is China, and having just two nuclear legs is untenable when China is increasing its nuclear stockpile. Moreover, there is no guarantee that China will always be unable to detect American nuclear bombers so having a modern ICBM is absolutely necessary to uphold nuclear deterrence.
The actual solution for the US is to purge their military and try to get rid of the corruption and institutional failings of the MIC. If they don't do this then the rot inside the heart of the American system will continue to fester and they will have has no chance of matching the PLA's growth.
I looked at the program timelines of the F-22 and F-35 to roughly predict when the F-47 will have its first flight / reach IOC.
It's not looking good for the U.S. Even having the prototype fly within Trump's 2nd term would be a significant improvement over either 5th gen's timeline:
It's not looking good for the U.S. Even having the prototype fly within Trump's 2nd term would be a significant improvement over either 5th gen's timeline:
F-69 is a good designation for the US. I wonder why they didn't used it ?
There is still a desire within USAF and a chance that the engineering and development process will go faster this time around. That's what USAF was focusing on for the last decade or so.
First flight before end of Trump s term was announced as a plan. It may or may not happen but it's possible. That would be very start of 2029.
Furthermore, maybe this time original development time lines for f35 might happen. For example, back in 2006 usmc f35 was planned to reach ioc in 2012, with USAF version in 2013. Those were as we know 3 years late.
But if they are not late this time around and if first flight is indeed at the start of 2029 then sometime in 2036 is possible for the ioc.
Sure, there are many reasons why that Might not happen but keep in mind US dod views China as the biggest threat since basically early cold war. It may be inclined to do whatever it takes to expedite the f-47. Including throwing piles of money at it, cutting development corners, lowering ioc requirements and accepting a more risky development, even including crashes and accidents if it means getting the plane in service a few years earlier. For USAF, it may be a matter of life and death.
First flight before end of Trump s term was announced as a plan. It may or may not happen but it's possible. That would be very start of 2029.
Furthermore, maybe this time original development time lines for f35 might happen. For example, back in 2006 usmc f35 was planned to reach ioc in 2012, with USAF version in 2013. Those were as we know 3 years late.
But if they are not late this time around and if first flight is indeed at the start of 2029 then sometime in 2036 is possible for the ioc.
Sure, there are many reasons why that Might not happen but keep in mind US dod views China as the biggest threat since basically early cold war. It may be inclined to do whatever it takes to expedite the f-47. Including throwing piles of money at it, cutting development corners, lowering ioc requirements and accepting a more risky development, even including crashes and accidents if it means getting the plane in service a few years earlier. For USAF, it may be a matter of life and death.
In fairness, in both the F-22 and F-35 cases, there was only ~1 year between the first flight of the technology demonstrator and the selection of the prime contractor. Meanwhile, Boeing's 6th gen TD first flew in 2019. Again looking at U.S. 5th gen timelines, this would suggest a 2034 IOC for the F-47.
Whichever way we cut it, I don't see how the F-47 can enter operational service before the mid-2030s, i.e. after China's 6th gens.
Is there any pictures of this
I know of one satellite photo from January 2022 that likely shows either Boeing's or LM's TD:
