What Would A Far Cheaper Next Generation Air Dominance Fighter Actually Look Like? via WARZONE

What Would A Far Cheaper Next Generation Air Dominance Fighter Actually Look Like?

The Air Force now says it may want a 6th generation fighter that costs around $100M instead of $300M, but is that even possible?

Feature story: https://t.co/KnhjYLu3bk

— The War Zone (@thewarzonewire) September 24, 2024

Read the article, then come back here.

You back?

Did you see what the Air Force Chief is saying what he wants?  That's alot of capabilities to stuff into a manned fighter ain't it.  More to the point he doesn't want a manned fighter (well he does but it doesn't add up when you mix in what he's saying) what he actually wants is a control platform.

He's talking about numbers.  He's talking about having the right numbers of fighters, both manned and unmanned.

But he's caught on the horns of a dilemma.  

Getting and keeping the number of pilots that he wants is seemingly impossible in this day and age.  Additionally he's fighting against the technological revolution.

What he needs is a long range, long duration control bird.  He can build tons of loyal wingmen but the manned portion of the plan is where he gets in trouble.

But that's also his solution.

He needs the G650 to act as the control platform for the loyal wingmen.  The plane can fly at Mach .925.  It has a range of just over 8K miles.  It has room for a number of operators so the control aspect won't be saddled on one person trying to control a squadron of drones.

The fighter mafia is messing with the future because they want asses in seats instead of going where the tech is leading.