Miss Febbraio - 6th gen. fighter USA

[nsauro]

Sembra che potrebbe esserci la Boeing che lo sta sviluppando 

[TT-1 Pinto]

NGAD navale ... la Marina USA continua a mantenere la segretezza sia sul velivolo che sui suoi costi ...

Cita

The Navy is spending more money to develop its sixth-generation fighter program but is keeping the costs classified for the third year in a row, the service said on Monday.
For the last three budget cycles, the Navy has classified the research and development dollars it’s spending on Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) and service officials have provided few details about the program due to the classification. 
The Fiscal Year 2023 proposal, unveiled Monday, lists NGAD under the aircraft section of its research and development efforts without dollar figures.
“Although NGAD is a classified line, investments do go up over the [Future Years Defense Program] somewhat dramatically for NGAD,” Rear Adm. John Gumbleton, the Navy’s deputy assistant secretary for budget, told reporters during a Monday briefing. 
Gumbleton was referring to the Pentagon’s five-year budget outlook.

... news.usni.org ... https://news.usni.org/2022/03/29/navy-keeps-next-generation-fighter-research-costs-classified-for-third-consecutive-budget-cycle ...

Modificato 30 Marzo 2022 da TT-1 Pinto
***

[TT-1 Pinto]

Il futuro velivolo di nuova generazione NGAD sarà in grado di ricevere aggiornamenti del software mentre vola ...

Cita

The U.S. Air Force says its next-generation fighter jet will feature a brand-new capability no existing fighter has: the ability to quickly change the onboard software that drives the plane’s hardware. 
That means Next-Generation Air Dominance’s (NGAD) computer system will allow the aircraft to update the software that controls the hardware, allowing the plane to quickly squash software bugs or unlock new capabilities while in the air.

... popularmechanics.com ... https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a39752243/ngad-software/ ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

NGAD ... il Segretario dell'Air Force Frank Kendall parla di prezzi da capogiro  ...

Cita

The manned fighter aircraft that will form the centerpiece of the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance program will cost hundreds of millions of dollars per plane, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told members of Congress on April 27—but the service can reduce costs in development and sustainment.
Speaking before the House Armed Services Committee on the fiscal 2023 budget request, Kendall specified that the main NGAD fighter would cost “multiple hundreds of millions of dollars … on an individual basis,” acknowledging that such a price tag “is a number that’s going to get your attention.”
By comparison, the F-22 cost roughly $135 million per tail, making it the most expensive fighter the U.S. Air Force has ever developed. 
The F-35A, meanwhile, costs around $80 million per jet, but that number could rise.
NGAD, according to Kendall’s estimate, will dwarf those costs, at least when it comes to price per plane. 
But the sixth-generation platform will fulfill a key air dominance role, Kendall noted.

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/ngad-price-per-tail-will-more-than-double-that-of-f-35/ ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Anche DefenseNews parla dell'argomento ...

Cita

The U.S. Air Force’s secretive Next Generation Air Dominance future fighter program could be the most expensive aircraft program in history, with each piloted, sixth-generation aircraft expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
When asked about the price tag for NGAD during a Wednesday appearance before the House Armed Services Committee, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall did not specify exactly how much an individual aircraft could cost, but said the service was talking about “multiple” hundreds of millions.

... https://www.defensenews.com/air/2022/04/28/future-ngad-fighter-jets-could-cost-hundreds-of-millions-apiece/ ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

NGAD ... un puzzle da ricomporre  ...

Cita

The Next-Generation Air Dominance family of systems remains highly classified. 
But some details are beginning to emerge.

 ... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/article/piecing-together-the-ngad-puzzle/ ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Il caccia F/A-XX della Marina USA sarà il "Quarterback" di una squadra di velivoli senza pilota

Cita

The future F/A-XX sixth-generation fighter will operate as the Navy’s “quarterback” for manned and unmanned teaming in future carrier operations, according to the service.
Navy officials described the vision for the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, meant to expand the range for carrier-based operations, in written testimony to Congress this week.
“The NGAD [family of systems] will replace the F/A-18E/F Block II aircraft as they begin to reach end of service life in the 2030s and leverage Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) in order to provide increased lethality and survivability,” reads joint testimony from Department of Navy acquisition officials. 
“F/A-XX is the strike fighter component of the NGAD FoS that will be the ‘Quarterback’ of the MUM-T concept, directing multiple tactical platforms at the leading edge of the battlespace.”

... news.usni.org ... https://news.usni.org/2022/04/28/navys-f-a-xx-fighter-will-be-the-quarterback-for-a-team-of-unmanned-aircraft ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Rapporto al Congresso sul programma "Next-Generation Air Dominance" (NGAD) dell'USAF ...

Cita

According to the Air Force, the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program is intended to develop “a portfolio of technologies enabling air superiority.” 
The Air Force intends for NGAD to replace the F-22 fighter jet beginning in 2030, possibly including a combination of crewed and uncrewed aircraft, with other systems and sensors. 
NGAD began as a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency project. 
Since 2015, Congress has appropriated approximately $4.2 billion for NGAD.
NGAD is a classified aircraft development program, but the Air Force has released a few details. 
On September 15, 2020, then-U.S. Air Force acquisition executive Dr. Will Roper announced that the Air Force had flown a full-scale flight demonstrator as part of the NGAD program.
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall announced on June 1, 2022 that NGAD program technologies have matured enough to allow the program to move to the engineering, manufacture, and design phase of development.

... news.usni.org ... https://news.usni.org/2022/06/24/report-to-congress-on-air-force-next-generation-air-dominance-program ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Da AW&ST ... un'opinione ...

Cita

Opinion: How The F-111 Sets A Precedent For NGAD ...
By Richard Aboulafia - June 28, 2022

U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall announced in June that the service’s Next-Generation Air Dominance program has entered engineering and manufacturing development. 
This transition from the prototype phase is a crucial step and a surprise, since the schedule remains classified - like almost everything about the program.
But based on what we do know, we have seen this movie before. 
The Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) long-range combat aircraft is new, large and expensive, leveraging advanced technologies to satisfy an Air Force requirement. 
That also describes the General Dynamics F-111, developed in the 1960s under the TFX program. 
The F-111 story may help predict NGAD’s future.
First, NGAD’s price may make it vulnerable. 
In May, Kendall said it would cost “multiple hundreds of millions of dollars” per airplane, a very worrying figure, putting it between the $130 million Lockheed Martin F-22 and the $600 million Northrop Grumman B-21. 
As with the F-111, the price inevitably will be higher than expected, the consequence of the Air Force getting all the range and capacity it really wants (coupled with stealth, of course).
The F-111 provides an unpleasant precedent. 
Program unit costs (including development) went from $3.97 million to a final $15.01 million. 
That increase was accompanied by a procurement plan collapse from 1,388 jets to just 466, a near death spiral. 
These pre-inflation values sound quaint today, but the massive price increase almost led to the program’s cancellation.
Fortunately for the F-111, the strategic environment did not change much during its development. 
The threat, requirement and defense budget remained in place, so the program survived, barely. 
The strategic driver behind NGAD - the rise of China as a possible peer adversary - is unlikely to change, but it could. 
This would derail NGAD in much the same way that the Northrop Grumman B-2, F-22 and other single-service programs were stopped by the end of the Cold War after procurement of a small fraction of the planned buy.
Second, the F-111’s optimization for one service and the associated high price killed hopes for a bigger customer base. 
The Navy considered the F-111B for carrier operations but went with the smaller Grumman F-14 instead. 
The UK Royal Air Force hoped to buy 50 but cancelled its order. 
In the end, the only export sale was 28 aircraft to Australia.
With NGAD, this will likely repeat itself: very few countries will have the requirement or financial resources to afford an aicraft in this class, especially since the key possible markets (Australia and Japan) will have just made budget-breaking investments to buy Lockheed Martin F-35s. 
A U.S. Navy NGAD variant likely will follow the F-111B to cancellation due to cost, size and other factors. 
Even the Air Force will not be able to afford as many as it wants, complicating legacy replacement and force structure plans.
Third, there is the technology question. 
The F-111 was the first production aircraft to use variable-geometry (“swing”) wings. 
NGAD may be the first production aircraft to use variable-bypass Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP) engines. 
Both of these technologies are a way of reconciling speed and range. 
While NGAD will offer other features to improve range, the AETP likely will be the best way to exceed the persistent 600-nm combat radius limit on USAF fighters.
Yet those swing wings contributed heavily to the F-111’s technical problems and cost overruns. 
It has been over 40 years since any new design used them, and when the last Panavia Tornado and Rockwell B-1 are retired in a few years, swing wings will be remembered as an interesting experiment that was not worth the cost, complexity, weight and maintenance expense. 
While AETP engines are quite promising and offer more than just additional range, there is no guarantee that they will not result in the same outcome. 
That’s another program risk.
Despite these concerns, the F-111 story also offers hope. 
It was not much of a tactical fighter, but with its large airframe, the F-111 proved adaptable to a wide variety of other USAF missions. 
An additional 76 FB-111 bomber variants were built, and 42 of the fighters were rebuilt as EF-111 electronic attack models. 
In 1985, strategist Edward Luttwak opined in 'The Pentagon and the Art of War', “today, some 20 years after the controversy, the F-111 . . . remains the most valued of all Air Force aircraft.” 
The Royal Australian Air Force did not retire its F-111s until 2010. 
With its F-35A and Boeing F/A-18E/F/G force, Australia no longer has anything like the F-111’s range and payload.
In other words, NGAD development may be risky and extremely costly, but if the F-111 is any guide, it will be a successful enhancement to the U.S. arsenal.

[Flaggy]

Boh, io a 'sti paralleli credo poco. Siamo appena usciti dalla fantacazzata F-105 - F-35 (per fortuna non se ne sente più parlare) e manco abbiamo visto questo benedetto NGAD che già  lo si accosta all'F-111?

Ogni aereo fa storia a se, ma almeno facciamogliela cominciare al nuovo arrivato...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Nuovi motori per gli F-35 e i velivoli di sesta generazione ... nonché timori circa la possibile perdita del vantaggio a suo tempo acquisito nel settore dei sistemi di propulsione militare ...

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/air-force-official-were-starting-to-lose-our-lead-on-propulsion/ ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Assegnati nuovi contratti ...

Cita

The Air Force’s propulsion program tasked with producing engines for the Next Generation Air Dominance fighter awarded contracts to a mix of both engine-makers and aircraft-builders Aug. 19 (*), hinting that integration could be a priority in the prototyping process.
Boeing, GE Aviation, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Pratt & Whitney all received indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts with a ceiling of $975 million for the prototyping phase of the Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion program. 
As part of the contracts, those companies will focus on “technology maturation and risk reduction activities through design, analysis, rig testing, prototype engine testing, and weapon system integration,” the award states, with work expected to last until July 2032.

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/integration-key-air-force-contracts-prototype-next-gen-engines/ ...

(*) ... defense.gov ... https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/3134553/ ...

[Flaggy]

Altri rendering...da prendere con gigantesche molle.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/new-next-generation-air-dominance-fighter-renderings-from-lockheed

[Flaggy]

La US Navy intanto va avanti per la sua strada...

https://www.rid.it/shownews/5616/l-us-navy-chiede-9-miliardi-di-dollari-da-qui-al-2028-per-il-futuro-caccia-f-a-xx

[Ale9]

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/new-views-of-northrop-grummans-totally-notional-long-range-stealth-fighter

Spero che non sia già stato postato. Interpretazione della Northrop del caccia di 6ª generazione

[Ale9]

https://theaviationist.com/2023/07/03/lm-next-gen-aircraft/

Sarà così?

[Flaggy]

Considerati più che altro i precedenti tenderei a dire: "no".

[TT-1 Pinto]

[engine]

A vedere i disegni di massima , si punta su furtività e velocità

[TT-1 Pinto]

[TT-1 Pinto]

Esclusivo ... il programma per il velivolo di nuova generazione di Lockheed Martin ha un nuovo logo ...

... theaviationist.com ... https://theaviationist.com/2023/07/09/lm-next-gen-fighter-logo/ ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

L'Australia sta cominciando a guardare oltre ...

... aviationweek.com ... https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/aircraft-propulsion/australia-starts-looking-beyond-f-35-next-gen-fighter-needs ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Intanto ... 
Leonardo ... al via il progetto UK "Excalibur" per testare tecnologie per il combattimento aereo ...

... leonardo.com/it ... https://www.leonardo.com/it/press-release-detail/-/detail/14-07-2023-new-contract-sees-modification-work-start-on-uk-s-excalibur-combat-air-flight-test-aircraft-project ...

... rid.it ... https://www.rid.it/shownews/5895/leonardo-134-milioni-dal-mod-uk-per-il-progetto-excalibur-per-testare-nuove-tecnologie-nel-ambito-del-gcap ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Northrop Grumman non farà offerte per il caccia "NGAD" dell'USAF, ma i programmi "CCA" e "F/A-XX" sono ancora in gioco ...

Cita

Northrop Grumman non competerà per essere l'appaltatore principale del programma ipersegreto del caccia "Next-Generation Air Dominance" (NGAD), ma non ha escluso un'offerta per il corrispondente programma "F/A-XX" dell'US Navy o per il programma "Collaborative Combat Aircraft" (CCA) dell'USAF,  ha dichiarato, il 27 Luglio scorso, Kathy Warden (*), Amministratrice Delegata di Northrop Grumman, in una chiamata sui risultati finanziari del secondo trimestre.
"Abbiamo notificato all'USAF che non abbiamo intenzione di rispondere alla RFP (Request For Proposals) per il programma "NGAD" come appaltatore principale", ha detto Warden.
Tuttavia, non ha escluso di essere partner o fornitore di altre aziende che presenteranno offerte nell'ambito del programma "NGAD".

... airandspaceforces.com ... https://www.airandspaceforces.com/northrop-out-ngad-fighter-cca-f-a-xx/ ...

(*) ... northropgrumman.com ... https://www.northropgrumman.com/who-we-are/leadership/kathy-warden/ ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Il futuro caccia F/A-XX dell'U.S. Navy si trova in fase di maturazione progettuale ... al tempo stesso sono state annunciate le aziende che saranno in competizione ...

Cita

Il programma segreto del caccia di nuova generazione della Marina degli Stati Uniti ha completato il perfezionamento del concetto ed è entrato in una fase di maturazione del progetto, mentre il servizio ha annunciato ufficialmente le aziende in lizza per i contratti.
Confermando i nomi attesi da tempo, la Marina ha annunciato il 26 Agosto scorso che Boeing, Lockheed Martin e Northrop Grumman sono in corsa per la cellula, mentre GE Aerospace e Pratt & Whitney sono in competizione per il motore.

... aviationweek.com ... https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/budget-policy-operations/us-navys-fa-xx-design-maturation-competing-companies#:~:text=Confirming the long-expected names,are competing for the engine. ...