Is the preparation of sixth generation stealth fighter jet for its air force start of new arms race between the US and China?
The signs tell yes it is.
In June 2021, the
US Air Force announced that the use of the 'Next Generation Air Dominance'
(NGAD) masterpiece system in 'Sixth Generation' fighter jets would begin in the
next ten years. ۔
The Chief of Staff
of the United States Air Force (USAF), General Charles K. Brown Jr., told the
House Armed Services Committee that this new and modern fighter aircraft will
replace the F-22 Raptor and is capable of performing a variety of tasks
simultaneously.
In response to the
budget requests for the fiscal year 2022, the Chief of Air Staff said yesterday
that the main purpose of this fighter jet will be to maintain US dominance or
supremacy in the airspace, but at the same time it will be capable of hitting
targets on the ground.
He said the
sixth-generation fighter jet "has the ability to hit from the air to the
ground so that, first, it can ensure its survival and also provide" options
"to our air force commanders and joint forces."
Brown also said
that the NGAD fighter has expanded the scope of the F-22 and has the capability
to carry large quantities of weapons or ammunition, making it more
"Indo-Pacific" (Indian Ocean). It has the ability to strike long
distances from Asia (Australia and East America).
The NGAD has
always been referred to as the "Family Systems", which can carry out
missions such as electronic attack, possibly destroying the enemy's ability to
strike with a team of unmanned aerial vehicles. To be used as a machine to give
and to carry additional weapons. But US military officials say its basic system
is aircraft.
The United States
is planning this weapons system to counter the growing threat posed by the
Chinese air force and surface-to-surface missile force in the Nodops Pacific
region.
Chief of Staff for
Strategy, Integration and Requirements Lt. Gen. S. Clinton High Note said in
May that the "next generation challenge" of modern Chinese aircraft
and long-range missiles was "as much as we thought it would be."
He says the launch
of long-range fighter jets is part of a "transparency" campaign aimed
at alerting Congress to the threat posed by China and urging it to move faster
towards a force that Deal with this situation.
"Certainly
the time is approaching where state-of-the-art missiles such as the J20 could
pose a threat to the US Air Force's superiority," the High Note said.
The J20 is China's
first stealth fighter (invisible to radar and modern equipment) currently in
use in the field.
The High Note said
that there was a danger from this (Chinese plane) and that "we have to
break it."
The war of words
between the Chinese Air Force and its American counterparts has already begun.
Last year, China's
leading English-language newspaper, the Globe Times, reported that "China
will not lag behind in the global race for sixth-generation fighter jets and
will build its next-generation fighter jets by 2035."
"China's
sixth-generation fighter jets will be launched in 2035," said Wang Hefeng,
a leading Chinese fighter jet expert.
Wang Hefeng is the
chief architect at the Chengdu Aircraft Research and Design Institute who also
participated in the development of the J20 and J10. The fighter jet has added
new features, including drones directing, artificial intelligence and
aerodynamic (high-flying capability by reducing wind resistance) design.
Wang said lasers,
adaptive (fast and slow-flying) engines, hypersonic weapons (weapons traveling
four or five times faster than sound) and 'swarm warfare' (a collective attack
tactic) New technologies such as) may also be part of this new ship.
China will like
some of these features and will add them to the aircraft according to Chinese
requirements.
As a
state-of-the-art front-line aircraft of the US Air Force, it is likely to be
easily exported to NATO countries (nor India). Therefore, it seems that it will
not be related to South Asia unless there is a major geopolitical change in the
region.
What role of the Sixth Generation aircraft does
the US military commander see?
The chief of the
US Air Force said in a presentation in the budget for the fiscal year 2022 that
the main role of the fighter jet will be to establish air dominance or
sovereignty, but it will also have the ability to hit targets on the ground.
The Sixth
Generation aircraft "has some ground-to-ground capability. First, it can
ensure its survival (from destruction), but it also provides options for air
force commanders and joint forces."
Brown also said
that the range of the NGAD fighter jet will be wider than that of the F-22 and
that it is capable of carrying a large number of weapons, allowing it to
operate long distances in the Indo-Pacific region.
Brown said that in
May, the US Air Force plans to limit its fleet of fighter jets to four types of
aircraft, including F-35,15EX, F-16 and NGAD.
"Initially,
we will have the main aircraft, the F-15EX, and then the F-16," Brown
said.
The US Department
of Defense has published its budget demands for the 2022 budget, which calls
for resources for the NGAD.
The US Air Force
is asking for 1.5 billion to carry out the NGAD project, an increase of about 623 million over the previous year.
"We are in a
phase of change," Chief of Staff General Charles K. Brown Jr. told the
House Armed Services Committee in June.
He says the Air
Force can save by retiring some of its existing strength, which can be used to
build new aircraft, such as those that can defeat and intimidate a major
competitor like China.
He warned that if
we failed to take this step today, the "probable possibility" that
China would defeat the United States in a future air war would increase.
The 'Next
Generation Air Dominance Systems' (state-of-the-art fighter jets of the latest
generation) will be included in the Air Force's fighter jets as 'Wild Card'
(unpredictable or sudden). The US budget for 2022 calls for more than 1.5 billion in resources, much of which is secret.
He says the use of
sixth-generation technology on the aircraft is aimed at gaining air dominance
over the traditional rival of the United States, such as China.
What role does the
US military commander see in the Sixth Generation aircraft?
The chiefs of the
US Air Force said in a presentation in the budget for the fiscal year 2022 that
the main role of the fighter jet will be to establish air dominance or
sovereignty, but it will also have the ability to hit targets on the ground.
However, some
facts have been revealed.
Former Air Force
Acquisition Executive Will Roper said last September that the first NGAD was
flown in 2020. He has a record of flying high and his ability to fly even
higher is potentially in operation.
Brown told the
House Armed Services Committee in June that he expected the NGAD to be a
"multi-role" aircraft capable of attacking not only the ground but
also the air.
What will be
the targets?
Brown hinted that
the ability to attack the ground would be needed to "ensure the survival
of (this aircraft)."
The fighter must
have full spectrum stealth. (i.e. must be fully capable of not appearing on
radar or detecting aircraft)
NGAD has always
been introduced as a 'Family of Systems' (combining all the qualities of
fighter jets) that will be involved in the mission of unmanned aerial vehicles,
ie destroying the attack capability of the enemy army. In the form of
electronic attacks and the additional availability of weapons. But Rooper says
it will basically be a single-plane structure.
Rooper also said
that NGAD's idea is to quickly develop such a design and use the aircraft in
the field through 'digital thread' (modern communication system), but in
limited quantities, perhaps; 50 to 100. To keep the technology updated and fresh
the new addition or competitive design (aircraft) will be in the field within
five to twelve years and the old models will retire.
Top US Air Force
officials also suggested that the NGAD had two modifications or a
multi-aircraft configuration: one for longer distances to the Pacific and the
other for shorter distances to European theaters. Ability
The High Note said
it doubted that it would take ten years for the first NGAD to take effect, even
if it was in accordance with the "Event Draw One" (chronologically
scheduled) schedule.
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