Taking a quick break from the horrors of trench war and artillery combat in Ukraine for a week, we instead try to gaze forward towards the 2030s and the future of air combat.
Fighter jets are among the most expensive, complex platforms that any nation builds and maintains (losing out to submarines and warships mostly because of the scale of the latter).
For years, the US was the undisputed leader in the fighter domain, having introduced the 5th Generation F-22 Raptor in 2005, while challengers like the SU-57 would have to wait until the 2020s (and rise to fame a little thanks to the new Topgun film).
But technology moves on; drones, engine technology, sensors, stealth...it all improves, and eventually countries are left with the choice to either build something new or fall behind.
Many have chosen to compete, and in this video I introduce some of the projects pushing for next generation fighters, including the British-Japanese-Italian GCAP, Franco-German-Spanish FCAS, and two American programs.
Whether I look at those in any detail in the future (or at the Russian, Chinese, and other programs) will likely depend on how this video goes.
Caveats: While sources are listed, information on 6th Generation fighters in the public domain is generally a mixture of extreme speculation, carefully calibrated marketing speak, and rumour.
Please regard this video as what it is, a fun, speculative look at what is involved in producing the next generation of fighter aircraft (and their associated systems).
Sources: To be populated post release
Timestamps: 00:00:00 — OPENING WORDS 00:02:28 — SPONSOR: PRIVATE INTERNET ACCESS 00:03:45 — WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT? 00:05:18 — FIGHTER GENERATIONS 00:05:22 — The Naming Game 00:06:18 — 1st Gen. 00:07:05 — 2nd & 3rd Gen. 00:07:48 — 4th Gen. 00:08:33 — 4th Gen. Plus 00:10:02 — 5th Gen. 00:11:16 — Networking & Sensor Fusion 00:13:12 — A Three Horse Race? 00:14:19 — WHAT MAKES 6TH GEN? 00:14:30 — The Next Steps? 00:15:21 — Manned Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) 00:16:28 — Adaptive Cycle/Variable Cycle Engine (ACE/VCE) 00:17:33 — Directed Energy 00:18:14 — Why Build Them? 00:20:58 — The Challenge 00:21:01 — A Development Starshot 00:22:02 — The Combination Problem 00:22:34 — Directed Energy Weapon Testing 00:23:05 — Single Features are Easy 00:23:28 — Enabling the Requirements 00:26:18 — Counting the Costs 00:29:01 — Solution 1: A New Way to Design Aircraft 00:31:08 — Solution 2: Fleet Size 00:32:08 — Solution 3: Mega Projects 00:34:06 — GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM (GCAP) 00:34:38 — The Tempest (UK and Italy) 00:37:25 — The F-X (of Japan) 00:40:42 — GCAP Merger 00:42:21 — Program Goals 00:44:29 — What to Expect? 00:45:28 — F/A-XX (of the US Navy) 00:45:36 — A New Generation Carrier Group 00:46:40 — Tipping The Balance 00:48:06 — What to Expect? 00:49:12 — FCAS (of Germany, France, Spain) 00:49:21 — A new European Fighter 00:49:57 — The Requirements 00:50:37 — The Concerns 00:53:28 — Carrier Capability 00:55:32 — NGAD (of the US Air Force) 00:55:53 — A Different Beast 00:57:26 — Growing Challenges 00:59:11 — Refusing Parity 00:59:55 — Rumoured Requirements 01:01:02 — A Tall Order 01:02:53 — Next Gen. Dominance 01:05:46 — Questions 01:07:47 — Conclusions 01:08:45 — Channel Update
