Ozzy Blizzard
New Member
Boeing has described its "6th Gen" fighter in combination with a planned F/A-18E/F Block III:
Aviation Week
One has to beg the question as to wether this is just a ploy to sell some more Rhino's. Would the 6th gen fighter be ready by 2024, considering we know virtually nothing of its design goals or capabilities? Although 16 years is plenty.
What would be the criteria for the 6th gen fighter to distinguish it from 5th gen? I thought an interesting comment was "It could be unmanned, but I think you will see a combination of missions -- some manned, some unmanned." Perhaps fitted for but not with a Pilot? It seems the F-35A~C may not be the USAF's last maned fighter after all?
I would love to hear some opinions on this project.
Aviation Week said:"Boeing is touting an even newer version of its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet that, paired with an advanced sixth-generation fighter in the works at the company, would give customers what Boeing deems a better package of capabilities than Lockheed Martin's combination of the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The idea is that customers could buy 4.5 generation Super Hornets (perhaps 4.75 generation with the planned extra forward stealth and extra range of Block 3 aircraft) and then switch to a new, sixth generation faster than if they bought the fifth generation Joint Strike Fighter. To be available circa 2024, the sixth generation aircraft would feature a combat radius of more than 1,000 miles and stealth against a much wider spectrum of radars.
"The [Navy] C-version of the F-35 doesn't buy you a lot that the Super Hornet doesn't provide," says Bob Gower, Boeing's vice president for F/A-18 and EA-18G programs. "Our strategy is to create a compelling reason for the services to go to the next [sixth] generation platform. How do you bridge F/A-18E/F to get us there? We want to convince customers to stay with [Super Hornet] a few years longer -- by adding advanced capabilities and lowering price -- so that they can get to the sixth generation faster. If you go to JSF first, it's going to be a long time."
Another part of Boeing's argument is that the "Navy is comfortable with the Super Hornet against the highest [enemy] threat through 2024, with the [improved] capabilities we have in the flight plan," Gower says. "The ability to counter the threat gets you to about the point that [Boeing's] sixth generation is available."
It's part of Boeing's counterattack on Lockheed Martin's claim that the decreasing price of the F-22, which is now at $140 million each, will make it so attractive that Australia may reconsider its buy -- already being paid for -- of 24 two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornets. Until Australia's recent change in government, a number of U.S. officials said the government was considering a second lot of 24 Super Hornets and a six-plane squadron of EA-18G Growlers.
Boeing makes the argument that a sliding in-service date for the JSF is worrying both the Australians and the U.S. military.
"The U.S. Air Force and Navy are now talking a lot more about where they need to go with sixth generation to get beyond JSF," Gower says. "It could be unmanned, but I think you will see a combination of missions -- some manned, some unmanned."
For Boeing, the real discriminators are going to be extended range (1,000-1,500 miles), a small radar signature against low-frequency radars, expanded awareness through connections with the network, and the ability to carry a number of bombs internally."
Aviation Week
One has to beg the question as to wether this is just a ploy to sell some more Rhino's. Would the 6th gen fighter be ready by 2024, considering we know virtually nothing of its design goals or capabilities? Although 16 years is plenty.
What would be the criteria for the 6th gen fighter to distinguish it from 5th gen? I thought an interesting comment was "It could be unmanned, but I think you will see a combination of missions -- some manned, some unmanned." Perhaps fitted for but not with a Pilot? It seems the F-35A~C may not be the USAF's last maned fighter after all?
I would love to hear some opinions on this project.