Summary and Key Points: The U.S. Air Force is developing the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program to replace the aging F-22 Raptors with a sixth-generation stealth fighter jet specializing in air superiority.
-With a projected cost of $300 million per jet, the Air Force plans to purchase around 200 NGAD jets, although high costs are causing concerns.
-The program aims for operational capability by the early next decade, with Lockheed Martin and Boeing competing for the main contract. NGAD will feature advanced capabilities, including manned and unmanned options and heavy reliance on artificial intelligence.
As tensions with China and Russia remain high, the U.S. military is working on its future weapons that would help it prevail in a near-peer conflict.
When it comes to the U.S. Air Force and air power, there are few more important programs that the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD).
The NGAD program aims to provide a sixth-generation stealth fighter jet that will specialize in air superiority. The NGAD fighter jet will replace the ageing F-22 Raptor fleet that has been in service for almost two decades.
The Air Force plans on purchasing only a small number of aircraft to replace the F-22 Raptors. Although there are no definite numbers, if the Air Force replaces the F-22 Raptor on about one-to-one ratio, then it will need approximately 200 NGAD fighter jets.
However, purchasing a small number of aircraft might increase their cost per unit. And that is something that is putting the Air Force in some thoughts about the program overall.
The extremely high projected cost of the aircraft is raising dust in Washington.
The Pentagon expects each NGAD fighter jet to cost around $300 million apiece. But Air Force officials say that the program is still alive and that they are looking to lessen the cost.
“The family of systems concept of Next Generation Air Dominance is alive and well,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told Stephen Losey of Defense News last week.
“I can tell you that we are looking at the NGAD platform design concept to see if it’s the right concept or not. We’re looking at whether we can do something that’s less expensive and do some trade-offs there,” the service chief added.
It is not crystal clear yet whether that high cost will result by the Air Force’s decision to purchase only a small number of aircraft to replace the F-22 Raptor or whether the high cost itself is curbing the Air Force’s appetite for more aircraft.
The Air Force expects to award a contract for the NGAD fighter jet in 2024 and wants an operational capability by early next decade. After Northrup Grumman opted out, Lockheed Martin and Boeing are the two defense and aerospace companies left competing for the main contract, while a number of supporting companies will get subcontracts.
“It’s a very expensive platform. It’s three times, roughly, the cost of an F-35, and we can only afford it in small numbers,” Kendall has said about the cost of the NGAD fighter jet.
“The design concept that came out of [the NGAD initiative] is a very expensive concept. Scale matters, numbers matter, and so does time. We want to get something there quickly,” Kendall has added.
Although not many details about the specific capabilities of the NGAD stealth fighter jet are known, we can say that it will have both manned and unmanned capabilities and rely heavily on artificial intelligence.
Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
All images are Creative Commons or Shutterstock.
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