US F/A-XX and F-X & NGAD - 6th Gen Aircraft News Thread
- Thread starter Jeff Head
- Start date
Huh? I thought it became Fat amy with 2 buttholes (dual engine) now?
Its in bureaucratic limbo, potentially can be delayed by 3 years. Some sort of budgetary negotiation going on, the navy wants it right now, some Pentagon perhaps even WH officials are against spending on it, Pentagon even wants to put in a request to block the money that the program should get from congress this year. IF it is delayed by 3 years it is as you said, effectively dead. There was a TWZ article going in on this a couple weeks ago, there should be a post about it on this thread too.
Can't be because LM was booted out of the F/A-XX program, USN however could potentially see this as a alternative if F/A-XX gets cancelled.
I don't see how you can have enough money for Golden Dome and two separate sixth gen programs.
So what's next? Merging the F/A-XX program into the F-47 program to save cost? Then what about the USMC wants their own piece of the pie?
Hmm, sounds familiar...
Either way, who wants to bet which side gets their 6th-gen fighters onto their carriers first?
US first ofc.
They will announce that some drone is 6th gen, and have it fly off a carrier.
(capabilities and actual status/state of it be damned)
Might be straying a bit off the topic too much, but China has the chance now to do something beautiful, namely full speed ahead on the carrier J-50 variant. If the americans continue like they do now, chances are the J-50H will be in service before the F/A-XX even flies. Imagine the poor sods in an obsolete SH or a lame F-35C pondering their prospects at having to face 6th gen J-50s. It's like Hellcats vs Zeros of old, or bringing a turkey to a dragon's fight lol.
More than a few people appear to expect the F/A-XX program to merge into the NGAD program, and/or to be ultimately cancelled.
It's probably why Lockheed did not protest the USAF's decision to award the NGAD PCA contract to Boeing.
Once the F/A-XX program is cancelled or postponed long enough, the USN will have no choice but to order more F-35s, probably of some upgraded variety (perhaps akin to the evolution of the F-18 Hornet into the F-18E/F Super Hornet).