Hunt For 6th Generation Fighter Begins Today

The hunt for a sixth generation fighter plane officially began today at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. An office of the US defence establishment (Aeronautical System Center) today put out a capability request for information (CRFI) calling for concepts before December 17 to support a Capability Based Assessment (CBA) on a next generation tactical aircraft that can achieve initial operational capability by 2030. The request is being seen as the first step towards a replacement for the only operational 5th-gen fighter today — the F-22 Raptor.

The CRFI [doc] puts down that the primary mission in the future Next Gen TACAIR definition is Offensive and Defensive Counterair to include subset missions including Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD), Close Air Support (CAS) and Air Interdiction (AI). It may also fulfill airborne electronic attack and intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance capabilities… The future system will have to counter adversaries equipped with next generation advanced electronic attack, sophisticated integrated air defense systems, passive detection, integrated self-protection, directed energy weapons, and cyber attack capabilities. It must be able to operate in the anti-access/area-denial environment that will exist in the 2030-2050 timeframe.

Some of the technologies the US gov wants to know more about include non-kinetic weapons, secondary power generation, heat rejection and optionally manned systems.

Suddenly the whole fourth generation vs fifth generation argument seems to … well, dwindle.

19 thoughts on “Hunt For 6th Generation Fighter Begins Today”

  1. The F-35 9 years back was predicted to be the last manned combat aircraft. The USAF is obviously very hopeful of another boondoggle. It would be a terrible waste of money. The technology wishlist sounds like moonshine, I am surprised they haven't asked for Death Rays and robotic Klingons

  2. Seems like they have already started working on creating a leash on India in the future 2030-40 time frame when India would acquire the 5-Gen Fighters. I hope DRDO folks are tuned in, and worried about 2030-40 time frame to field a LCA Tejas-MK2. I say to DRDO folks, start actually thinking about exotic futuristic capability requirements for our next-gen fighter a/cs and start preparing for research "atleast" in those areas. Go a step ahead of the curve (in this case, Americans) and start innovating new types of fighter platforms, not just plain turbo jet fighters. Think about Plasma Jets or make sci-fi a possibility. That is the demands of modern research. Just being behind the curve is "not good-enough". It will not protect Indians from international insult in future. Encourage more university level research and provide more funds in the form of Venture capital to Indians who can make "Dreams come true".

  3. Same old mistake – a "fighter" with a CAS role (among others) will end up being a glorified F-35.

    And this is estimated to receive IOC by 2030, with "estimated" being the operative word… if you think we no longer need to talk about 4th gen and 5th gen fighters just because someone is *thinking* of 6th gen, then you are gravely mistaken….

  4. Well the I thought that sixth gen was all about artificial intelligent drone planes. Days of manned fighters are numbered. In a few decades we should more and more automated planes taking to skies.

  5. yeah, we will see after 20 yrs (even for the US)

    Right now, let's celebrate Kaveri engine success. 4th and 5th generation fighters are not going anywhere. Heck, even Mig21 is going to be around for another 15 yrs.

  6. Funnily enough, that's when the AMCA is likely to become operational. Looks like once again ADA will be developing a fighter that's one generation behind the latest standard.

  7. LOL while we are still stuck with the "4.5" gen LCA, the americans are moving on.. God, DRDO really needs to get its ass in gear if it wants to remain in place.. oh no, wait, it is in babustan, which means that it doesnt need to do anything.

  8. The F22 has been a disaster as it is as fragile as a bowl of Swarovski crystal. Its EMI absorbing coating degrades in rain, it goes crazy in EMI dense environments (like once when it flew around the NY-NJ Ports area its sensors got fried). It is a white elephant. There's a good reason the Russians waited and watched before launching their own 5th gen project with limited aims. It's been a good thing so far.

  9. Are we comparing the speed of innovation at the govt. run DRDO with the private sector defense behemoths in the US?? hahaha LMAO!. The US has been the epicenter of cutting edge innovation whether it be an iPhone or an F22.

    Honestly why should the the guys at DRDO do anything? No matter what they have job security, have nice salary and will retire with a pretty pension.
    All a DRDO employee needs to be worried about is that
    a)he has a house b) his wife is happy c) his kids go to college so that they can get into the best private sector company.

    Build cutting edge aircraft for the Indian defense forces…are you crazy?! They are govt employees; its not in their job description.

  10. 1947 Roswell crash ..alien tech recovered .. USA has been secretive about it .. all these stealth tech the USAF now uses is from the reverse engineering of such space tech … AREA 51 tests all such secretive fighter jets using recovered alien tech .. AREA 52A an C also tests some " ION ENGINES " for futuristic aerospace warfare including microwave guns to be fitted on fighter jets .. sounds very scifi . bu the truth is stranger than fiction … nobody 50 year ago thought about a F22 but today it exists …. so does the AURORA fighter which replaced the SR 71 BLACKBIRD…

  11. This will burst lots of indian bubbles…will you ever catch up with us here in the west….NEVER!

    instead you will work for us writing code and paying our pensions…haha.

    Welcome to our new world order. It is the same one as we had back in the 18th century by the way.

  12. My dear ArkAngel, it seems you are one of those pravasi bharatiyas who are like dhobi ka kuttas neither here nor there.

    Any nations' greatness depends on the quality of it's people. By 2050 India will overtake USA's economy. India will be a very different country by 2020, let alone 2030. It is due to these scenarios, every major country in the world wants some kind of alliance with India. Even the venerable MIT has drawn attention to India's advanced space program.

  13. the 6th generation fighters are in a catch-22 situation from the very beginning.

    If the 6th generation fighters are arriving then no one shall purchase F-35 which does not have any semblance with the 6th Gen, and if no one purchases the F-35 then no one accumulates the enough money to develop the 6th Gen.

    I think the 7th generation fighter will be the muti-role fighter that carries at least two Brahmos hypersonic missiles.

  14. 6th gen ration is already in testing some of the avionics and the weapon system have been tested on drones and the data used for the 6th gen fighter but what is more to this is that the US is still to come up with the new brain(super-computer)for this child once intregrated with the test it will be a hell of a combination

  15. Whole drama Seems funny to me. I mean is there any fighter exist/under dev which can counter f-22. They could easly restart f-22 production line and upgrade it. why US wants to waste so much money. already they r not in a positon even to buy f-22s. They want to go for more costlier one?

    Any way best of luck

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