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China's naval expansion in the Pacific Ocean is poised to accelerate U.S. investment in anti- submarine warfare equipment, according to Ultra Electronics Holdings Plc, the world's biggest supplier of sonar detectors.

The Pentagon and its allies will focus spending on devices able to spot subs even in the noisiest shipping lanes as China's naval build-up heightens tensions with neighboring nations and underscores the need to secure commercial shipping flows, Ultra Chief Executive Officer Rakesh Sharma said in an interview.

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TerraN_EmpirE said:

First problem with that Delft, IT takes years too develop test and prototype a new aircraft, Especialy a highly complex one like a fifth gen. Sure going back too a 4.5 might work in the short run but with the number of nations involved and the number of new fifth Gens on the Way going back too a Gen 4.5 would be a no go.
Second Out side of the F35 Congress would be forced too deal with the capability gap and I know Obama Would never allow the best alternative. The F22A Raptor.
As too waiting well here's the Marine issue the Harrier though Capable is in worse shape then one would want. It's a Very old design and suffers a massive attrition Rate. Even with the Brit harriers I am betting the majority will be out of commission before you even realize we had them. Factor in the rest of the sky born devil dog fleet, F18c-d, and EA 6 and you have a very old fleet.
As too a new Program the NAvy and Air force are already in the very opening rounds for the next one taking the form of the Next generation Air dominance and Next Generation Tactical Aircraft but as the names imply they are looking too six gen fighters or may be gen 5.5 and will not be viable options until the 2020's that is assuming we get a demonstrator in the air on time and the program is not aborted by the dems for social programs or Repubs for budget.
In the end you would still end up with at least two fighter programs, The Marine Vtol, and Air force striker that is assuming that the navy just buys new F/A 18E/F and E/A18Gs with out puching for a new stealth even if the Airforce turned around bought new F15SE, F22A and F-16E/F That would leave the marines falling out of the skies. Sadly we put all our bets on the F35.

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Equation said:

Don't forget the Navy's X-47 still in the works. That should be coming out sometime this decade for first flight test.

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delft said:

Do you mean that the mistake of compromising the fighters for USAF and USN for the STOVL requirements of the Marines cannot be repaired because the US aeronautical industry has been committed to sixth generation or 5.5 generation next aircraft, so you might have to continue with obsolescent or even obsolete aircraft until you have spend the money and time to develop the next generation sometime in the 2020's?

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Are there alternatives to keep U.S. strike aviation viable if the F-35 program is delayed, reduced or killed by the budget sequestration?

The initial options available to Pentagon leaders, should the Joint Strike Fighter prove unaffordable, range from outright termination of the program to the deletion or delay of either or both the Navy’s F-35C or the Marines’ F-35B. Terminating the Air Force’s F-35A would kill the program, but it could be delayed, or full-rate production for the USAF could be cut back from the current goal of 80 aircraft a year.

“There is no alternative” and “There is no Plan B,” JSF advocates have repeatedly said in reaction to any plans to trim the colossal project. However, the threat of sequestration, the reality of fiscal crisis and the certainty of cuts to planned budgets are emerging at a point where the program and Pentagon leadership have yet to produce firm guarantees about the JSF’s future in terms of initial operational capability dates, procurement and support costs.

But there also are U.S. and international groups working on plans to sustain other in-production fighters like the F-15, F-16, F/A-18 and European products through mid-century to minimize the predicted fighter shortage. Supplementing those less stealthy designs will be unmanned strike designs, standoff weapons, electronic attack devices and signature reduction packages.

Nonetheless, vastly complicating the F-35 issue is the role of international partners. Individually, none of the eight partner nations is expected to take even 5% of the planned production run. But they need aircraft early, with the result that – under the current program of record – the collective partner buy in the low rate initial production (LRIP) phase is comparable in size to that of the USAF.

If the partners respond to delays and cost increases by sliding their own purchases to the right, or by leaving the program altogether, that will reduce production rates and increase unit costs during the LRIP phase, which is designed around a steep ramp-up from a few dozen aircraft annually to more than 200 by the fiscal 2016 buy year.

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