There was a secret billion dollar US Air Force, DARPA and Navy X-plane program to explore future fighters that paved the way for the Next-Generation Air Dominance program, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall revealed at the POLITICO Defense Summit on Nov. 14.
Kendall and other Air Force officials have previously said there were flying prototypes before the current stage of the NGAD program. Kendall also said uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft program won’t get started until the fiscal 2024 defense bill is passed.
In 2014, when Kendall was undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics there was a DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) study called The Dominance Initiative. The study lasted a year or so and recommended a family of systems to accompany the crewed fighter that will succeed the F-22.
In 2015, DARPA, the Air Force and Navy funded a billion dollar Next Generation Air Dominance X-plane program. They each paid a third. Multiple prototypes were made and flown. Logically, it makes sense that three prototypes were made. Each branch, could have pushed for a design that matched their preference. However, we do not know how many were made. There were also three major suppliers Lockheed, Boeing and Grumman.
The uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones will be controlled by NGAD. The CCA will get $5.8 billion over the next five years.
Kendall is most excited about the family of systems in the NGAD program. There will be autonomous escort platforms, new weapons—including the secret AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile—and offboard sensors.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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[ seems my comments are not accepted,
sorry for being a disturbance to different POVs ]
Would have loved to see some non-traditional defense contractors included in the Next Generation Air Dominance X-plane program.