US Navy splits from air force in future fighter jet program
The future aircraft intended to be common to all branches of the United States Armed Forces will not materialize. The U.S. Navy has decided to develop its futuristic F/A-XX aircraft independently of the NGAD program. This design could bear the burden of aerial combat against Chinese aviation in the event of a conflict.
12:19 PM EST, December 3, 2024
The NGAD program was supposed to identify a sixth-generation future aircraft for the U.S. Air Force—a machine intended to replace the F-22 Raptor fighter jets and, eventually, work alongside the F-35 aircraft currently being inducted into service. A component of the joint NGAD program for the entire armed forces was the F/A-XX program, which aimed to build a future aircraft that meets naval requirements.
Due to budget issues and forecasts suggesting that a single NGAD aircraft could cost several hundred million dollars, the program's future came into question. As a result, the U.S. Navy decided to develop the new carrier-based aircraft independently, advancing the F/A-XX program.
The U.S. Navy's decision was announced in an interview with Rear Admiral Michael Donnelly by "Aviation Week." The independent development of the new carrier-based aircraft aims to protect this crucial machine from potential problems, budget cuts, and delays.
American naval aviation
American naval aviation—alongside transport aircraft like the C-2A Greyhound or the early warning E-2D Advanced Hawkeye—currently consists of two types of combat aircraft. The first and most numerous is the Super Hornet. Its predecessor is the F/A-18 Hornet, an aircraft developed alongside the F-16, which lost the competition for the U.S. Air Force but was chosen by the U.S. Navy.
Over the years, many international users, including Finland, Spain, and Switzerland, have appreciated the F/A-18's advantages.
The modernized, updated, and enlarged version of the Hornet, the currently dominant F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, operates on the decks of American aircraft carriers. The original, older machines are still in service but remain only with the U.S. Marine Corps.
The second gradually implemented type of carrier-based aircraft is the F-35C, the "naval" variant of the F-35. Compared to the F-35A, the F-35C has enlarged, foldable wings and control surfaces, reinforced landing gear, and a typical carrier aircraft hook for landing with arresting gear.
This dual system of maintaining two main types of combat aircraft has ensured naval aviation's continuous modernity and readiness. The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet complemented the original F/A-18 when they were withdrawn, and the F-35C is becoming the complement to the F/A-18E/F.
Once the Super Hornets (and electronic warfare aircraft EA-18G Growlers) are retired, the F-35C will be supplemented by future aircraft developed under the F/A-XX program.
A new carrier-based aircraft for American aircraft carriers
The origins of this machine date back to 2008, but the Navy only presented the general requirements for the future naval combat aircraft in 2012. It aims to provide new capabilities in air combat, striking ground targets—including close air support—and electronic warfare.
It is worth emphasizing the new design's planned versatility. Specialized fighter aircraft like the F-14 Tomcat were withdrawn from service in 2006, and the new-generation specialized strike aircraft A-12 Avenger II never emerged.
The Navy has not publicly disclosed a detailed concept for the new aircraft. However, a popular vision is of a relatively simple machine that realizes its full capabilities not as a single airplane but as part of the Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air (NIFC-CA) system.
F/A-XX – a cog in the NIFC-CA machine
According to this concept, future combat aircraft will not only rely on their radars but primarily draw information from other sources due to advanced communication, such as satellite reconnaissance, early warning aircraft, or any other sensors that can enhance battlefield awareness.
Their survivability is ensured not by very high speed and maneuverability but by stealth capabilities, electronic warfare systems, and long-range weapons carried on board.
Such machines are expected to be the backbone of American naval aviation in the event of a conflict with Beijing, confronting new-generation Chinese aircraft like the Chengdu J-20 or new combat drones. However, the U.S. Navy has little time to develop, produce, and deploy the new aircraft type.
The timeline that assumes aircraft resulting from the F/A-XX program will begin entering service in the early 2030s is crucial for the Navy. Although the last Super Hornets will leave the production line in 2027, the lifespan—estimated at 9,000 flight hours—for older aircraft of this type will begin to expire. Introducing their successors into service will become not an option but a necessity.
