While the military and industrialists impatiently awaited the designation of the aircraft manufacturer who will build the 6th generation fighter of the NGAD program, previously presented as imminent by the US Air Force, the latter announced, last June, that the The future of the program could be called into question.
However, the immediate future of the program, like the justifications put forward to explain the procrastination of the Air Force, were, untilnow, shrouded in a certain opacity, making it impossible to anticipate the next decisions concerning it.
In this context, the latest announcement from Frank Kendall, Secretary of the Air Force, will certainly not dissipate the thick fog surrounding the program. Indeed, the US Air Force has, it seems, decided to put things on hold for a while, by suspending for a few months, the development of the 6th generation fighter of the NGAD program.
In this section:
The development of the NGAD program has encountered headwinds in recent weeks
It is true that in recent weeks, the future of this new generation piloted combat aircraft has given rise to a destabilizing cacophony of announcements, counter-announcements and more or less convincing explanations, one after the other from the US Air Force military and civilian authorities.
During the initial announcements, necessary budgetary decisions, linked to the explosion in the development budgets of certain strategic programs, such as the Sentinel ICBM and the B-21 Raider strategic bomber, were put forward to explain the possible postponement of the fighter. of the NGAD.
Quickly, however, it became apparent that the US Air Force prioritized the development of its CCA collaborative drone program, to that of the piloted fighter of the NGAD program, in particular to be able to respond, within short deadlines, to the increase in the Chinese threat to Taiwan.
Over the weeks, and statements, sometimes contradictory, from different authorities, it appeared that the US Air Force seemed motivated, here, by much more than simple budgetary decisions.
This is how the very question of the development of a piloted combat aircraft, within the NGAD program, was, in reality, called into question, while the drones, in particular those of the CCA program, were called upon to play a increasingly important role in the air engagement doctrine currently being developed.
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall Announces Temporary Suspension of NGAD 6th Generation Fighter Development
While speaking at the Life Cycle Industry Days conference in Dayton, Ohio, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall once again offered a significantly different explanation than before. , and a new perspective, concerning the development of this fighter which we know is very expensive.
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