USAF's Sixth Gen Fighter demo may be to take to the air soon

a reply to: Fastmover

Probably, but not yet proven. Enough elements for doubt.

NGAD is not PCA is NGAD.

a reply to: Zaphod58

have they been flying the 2037 heavy bomber out recently? i was on 'vacation' and i saw a large triangle with two con-trails flying pretty high and silently?


but back on topic i wonder if the Amarillo mystery bird is testing for the new gen fighters

a reply to: penroc3

Silent you say? Triangle? Ooooh, nice sighting. 😎 I'm jealous

a reply to: penroc3

I think it's safe to say that Amarillo was *some* part of the new LRS systems, though whether it was a bomber demonstrator or related to PEA or PCA is another story. It's just a shame that we haven't had any good sightings since 2014.

Just a thought, but has anyone seen any renderings or broad stats for the LM hybrid F-35/F-22 proposal they recently offered Japan as part of its F-3 program? I thought it a little odd that they would offer such a potentially potent 5+ Gen airframe with apparently no upfront US involvement in the program. Could it be that PCA would be covered by this? I would think with an airframe stretch to accommodate a larger weapons bay and additional space for fuel and sensors it would fit the bill. Maybe something along the lines of a multi-role FB-22 but with an interceptor and SEAD capability is not as dead as we thought after all? It would certainly compliment the B-21 nicely.

a reply to: thebozeian

Whatever comes out of NGAD, whether it be PCA or some other critter, is not likely to be exported. We saw that drama already with the F-22 and things have become even more sensitive with export controlled tech now than back in the 90s: China wasn't considered a concern like she has become, yet Congress wished to constrict the 22's tech export.

We discussed the hybrid F22/35 here and it's really just a 5+ rather than a 6. I'm curious how Lockheed will dodge the restrictions on the 22. After all, the KF-X had items that were not as restricted denied export to the South Koreans.

My bet is there is a follow-on to the 35 that will be exported. it might be the F-35D that's been looked into: a gen 5+ with items like the HEL integrated.

a reply to: thebozeian

They are a long way away from having anything like renderings or even specs for the program. The earliest we might see some details is probably next year at the absolute earliest. And that's if they rush it. It's more likely we'll start seeing details some time after 2020-21.

Hybrid F-22/F-35 could mean just about anything. It could be anything from an air superiority aircraft, with F-35 avionics to something using tech from both.

a reply to: anzha

They're a little more relaxed with Japan when it comes to tech transfer. They've gotten a few things we didn't offer to anyone else.

a reply to: anzha

I wonder what is their full development timeline? Does it make sense to nail down the specs early and have something that is markedly better than what the Chinese/Russians have relatively sooner, or would it pay off to wait maybe 5 -10 years more, allow greater benefits from R&D to filter into the achievable category, and produce something that blows Russian and Chinese 5th gen planes utterly off the planet with capabilities they have not got a hope of matching for ages (assuming they have not stolen it) and meantime risk a gap of a decade or so where there is something like technical parity, and the real chance for conflict?

United Technologies Corp., East Hartford, Connecticut, has been awarded a $436,688,397 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification (P00027) to contract FA8626-16-2139 for designing, fabricating, integrating, and testing complete, flight-weight adaptive engines. The contract modification is for the execution of next generation adaptive propulsion risk reduction for air superiority applications. Work will be performed in East Hartford, Connecticut, and is expected to be completed by Feb. 28, 2022. Fiscal 2018 research and development funds in the amount of $10,000,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $1,449,687,297. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, is the contracting activity.

dod.defense.gov...

Interesting timing, that.

a reply to: anzha

What was interesting was when GE slipped up and admitted to having a bomber sized, flight ready ADVENT shortly before the B-21 award.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Pratt will have a F-35 sized engine in 2022.

How long until we would see an engine swap for the F135?

a reply to: anzha

They're planning sometime around mid 20s for the F-35 to transition.

a reply to: Zaphod58
Thats a pretty rapid generational change for engines when compared to the last 30-40 years. Realistically only around 8-10 years since IOC for the F-35. I would like to see what GE has to offer though as they do really nice engines and the competition and continued airworthiness from a second source has merit.

a reply to: thebozeian

The public timeline, and the actual timeline are a few years apart. GE let that cat out of the bag a few years ago, and they've continued working hard on ADVENT since. They were pretty close to a fighter sized engine according to what was said back then, so they should have something ready before then to start flight testing.

For those who are not aware.

Note: the F-35B isn't included in the improvements to range, at least in this slide...

originally posted by: anzha

Note: the F-35B isn't included in the improvements to range, at least in this slide...

They'll be lucky if they get funding for a fleet wide transition of As and Cs, developing a STOVL variant of the XA100 is probably way off.

a reply to: mightmight

I'd speculate it might be easier to transition the 35C, because by 2025, there won't be huge numbers of them, maybe 72 or so. And the Navy could use the range boost. Plus if the Stingray actually completes it would increase the strike range of the airwing a fair amount.