POTUS (President of the United States) actually wanted the F-47, the successor to the F-22 (Stealth Fighter, US Air Force), to be the "best and most lethal aircraft ever built" - fittingly named after the 47th President of the United States. To this end, the Pentagon was to withdraw all available financial resources from the development of the US Navy's competing F/A-XX in 2026 - which the Ministry of Defence promptly implemented. However, the Senate Committee on Appropriations is now intervening and submitting its own budget proposal, which once again earmarks 1.4 billion dollars for the F/A-XX and a further 650 million for a new early warning aircraft (E-7 Wedgetail).
The argument is as simple as it is compelling: how is the Navy supposed to survive a confrontation with China in the Pacific if it does not have the same state-of-the-art 6th generation air combat equipment as its potential opponent (who is already testing these aircraft)? Just for the record: the robust but ageing F/A-18E/F/G still belong to the 4th generation.
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