The announcement last June of budgetary tensions surrounding the US Air Force's new generation NGAD fighter program was, in the end, only a precursor to the major difficulties that are emerging today for the most powerful air force on the planet.
Indeed, after having announced the "temporary" suspension of the NGAD in August, in order to reassess its architecture, and especially to divide its unit price by three, it is now the turn of the NGAS (Next Generation Air refueling System) program, of tanker aircraft, to be threatened, according to Frank Kendall, the Secretary of the Air Force.
More generally, it is the whole of the new generation of American aircraft which appears, today, impossible to finance, in view of the means actually available in the years to come, and the imperatives and financing commitments already made.
However, this new generation of aircraft is also essential to meet the Chinese challenge in the Pacific, and particularly around Taiwan, while the Air Force of the People's Liberation Army and the Chinese aeronautical industry seem to be rolling out a perfectly controlled industrial and technological strategy.
In this section:
Chinese air power asserts itself at Zhuhai 2024
The FAAPPL and the Chinese aeronautics industry are preparing to make a formidable demonstration of forces at the next air show in Zhuhai, near Hong Kong, from November 12 to 17, 2024.
While China has traditionally been very discreet about the progress of its military aircraft programs, the show will see the official presentation of several highly anticipated aircraft, like the J-15T, a modernized version of the Chinese carrier-based fighter, adapted for the use of catapults, the J-15D, its electronic warfare version, or even the new versions of the J-20 stealth fighter.
Above all, the show will host The first public presentation of the J-35A Gyrfalcon (Gerfaut), the land-based version of the new Chinese medium stealth fighter, which is intended to be the equivalent of the American F-35A, while the J-35, its naval version, will be presented in the form of a model.
Several other new critical equipment will be presented at this show, in the field of combat or reconnaissance drones, support aircraft (tankers, advanced air surveillance, etc.), training aircraft, as well asThe new HQ-19 anti-ballistic system, which is intended to be the Chinese counterpart of the American THAAD.
Clearly, the Chinese military aeronautics industry has now caught up, technologically speaking, with the US and European industry, in proportion to a significantly different doctrine, and 2025 will certainly mark the year of the entry into service of these new aircraft and systems, designed to put the PLA on an equal footing with Western armies.
NGAD, NGAS, CCA…: for the head of the US Air Force, it will be impossible to meet the budgetary needs of 2030 and beyond
This rise in power of the Chinese air force, both technological and digital, with Chinese industry delivering almost 200 modern fighters per year to its armies, obviously poses an immense problem for American forces, particularly with regard to a possible confrontation around Taiwan by the end of the decade or the beginning of the next.
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I don't really understand why this is causing so many problems. The US still knows how to make long-range aircraft, they have most of the technological building blocks, all that remains is to integrate them into a slightly heavier aircraft. If we make combat aircraft, preventive maintenance is if the aircraft returns. In other words, rather than planning a jet that must last 10000 flight hours, we limit it to 1000. I feel like I'm constantly reliving the story of the shell that can be stored for 30 years, which costs $5000 each, versus the one that can be used immediately and costs $500.
This poses a problem because the prerequisite for the design of this aircraft is the reduction of the F-35A format, essential to free up budgets. However, the F-35 contract is so tied up in favor of LM, and the latter having many American senators and representatives in his pocket, such a hypothesis is unthinkable, at least not as long as the aircraft still has export potential.
Hello,
Small mistake in the conclusion: “their repeated moderations”.
Through your articles (and news in general) we can only see that Western countries are not ready for what is likely to happen in the next 10 years. Worse, they do not seem to be getting into battle order. Apart from turning the tables, that is to say, enacting a US disengagement from Europe within 3 years, twisting Israel's arm to converge towards a (relative) peace and re-establishing the entire policy and pragmatism of US policy, by relying on the resources thus freed up, I do not see what can "save us". Are we capable of it?
Corrected, thanks!
There is indeed cause for concern. We can only hope that in the current political turmoil, a major party will choose to put an ambitious and reasonable defence policy at the heart of its political programme. In my view, there are 4 to 5 years left to actually be able to deter the emergence of a major conflict in Europe.