US Navy goes its own way to 6th generation fighter jet

It's all about the 6th generation fighter jet: while the US Air Force's NGAD (Next Generation Air Dominance) model has been put on hold due to skyrocketing costs and the focus is now shifting to cheaper drones, the US Navy is still sticking with its planned F/A-XX fighter jet. The Navy assumes that the contract for the new model will be awarded soon and expects it to enter service in the 2030s.

This development comes as a surprise, as the US Senate wanted to cut 90 per cent of the development funds requested by the Navy for the F/A-XX in the middle of the year. A collaboration between the Air Force and Navy would now be possible, with the Navy assuming project sovereignty. One of the two branches of the armed forces must take the lead when it comes to the future 6th generation fighter!

The current plan envisages the F/A-XX replacing the F/A-18 and EA-18G as originally planned and possibly even replacing the F-35C stealth fighter. The F-35 could serve as a blueprint for the development - although it was designed for all three branches of the armed forces from the outset. The Air Force received the F-35A, the US Marine Corps the vertical take-off F-35B, and the Navy the F-35C specially adapted for aircraft carriers.

Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are currently competing for the 9 billion dollar project. However, the Navy's ambitious schedule has been met with scepticism - especially in comparison to the development of the F-35: the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme began back in 1993, Lockheed Martin won the tender with the X-35 in 2001, and the first F-35 only entered service in 2015.

So would it make more sense to focus on autonomous drones, which can be developed faster and more cost-effectively than manned jets? The answer probably lies in a combination of both concepts - because in order to master future threat scenarios, we will need both highly developed fighter jets and unmanned systems.