No Time to Delay NGAD if the Air Force is to Meet the China Challenge (From Breaking Defense)
Forget the Chinese. There are days when the Air Force seems like its own worst enemy.
After a decade of priority investment and confident endorsements from leaders, the Air Force is getting antsy about NGAD, the sixth-generation fighter plane planned to replace the F-22 as the centerpiece of air dominance. Just this week, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall expressed more concerns about the cost, the concept and the engine, capped off by hinting the Air Force is knee-deep in “trade-offs.”
That’s a big risk. The service’s entire next-generation plan — Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the B-21 bomber, upgraded tankers and F-35s — has been built on the assumption a sixth-generation fighter would be fielded in the 2030s. Yanking the NGAD plane out of the mix while the program gets some sort of redesign puts air dominance for the joint force in jeopardy.
There seem to be only two explanations behind Kendall’s statements. One, it’s the budget. Or two, the Air Force has been swept up in a wave of enthusiasm for CCA and all its promise, which is starting to dilute the role for the NGAD plane.
Either way, moving away from NGAD could be perilous. Read more here.
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