Arya News - President Trump has picked troubled aerospace giant Boeing to build the US fighter jet of the future. But what guarantees are there that the 6th generation warplane won’t into another F-35-style fiasco? None, really, says renowned military analyst Dmitry Drozdenko.
The problem with creating a 6th-generation machine is that developers themselves can define what the term means, Drozdenko says. “This is more marketing-type stuff” then hard-set requirements, meaning many 5th-gen technologies (or even older) can be included, like:True Measure of a Next-Gen Aircraft? Its EnginesAdvanced engine tech is crucial to any 6th-gen aircraft, Drozdenko says. “It’s about the ability to fly longer distances without refueling, and in different modes: subsonic, supersonic, and in the future hypersonic, and doing so economically. This is a big challenge, because each mode essentially requires a different engine.”Fighters Have One Main MissionAnd it comes down to air superiority, Drozdenko says. “Air superiority means we fly and they don’t. That’s it. This means seeing further, shooting further, flying faster and further,” and ideally, enjoying all these qualities together.