Rome, 1 April 2024 – The United States Navy risks remaining running out of hunting for a tax issue. The crux of the problem lies in the US Navy’s desire to replace the glorious, but dated, F/A-18 Super Hornet in service since 1999, fourth generation, with the future ones stealth attack fighter (Invisible) the sixth generation F/A-XXbut still to be produced (The program is top secret and we don’t know what stage it is at, ed.).
Development of new fighters slowed by budget limits
For the development of the new super modern fighters the US Navy had planned to receive a $1.5 billion budget by the fiscal year 2025, but the constraints of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which emerged from an agreement between Democrats and Republicans to avoid the classic technical default of the US government, led to the increase in the limits of the federal debt and those of some federal spending for about two years, including military ones. So Defense found itself with a defense spending cap of $895 billion for 2025, with the Navy and Marine Corps having to split $257.6 billion, with repercussions on future programs. And even large American aerospace contractors like Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman they were disappointed given that the race to win the contract to develop these new fighters had already started.
F/A-XX with GAD and PCA for air dominance
The F/A-XX program aims to develop a sixth generation fighter (but there is already talk of the seventh with the pilot driving remotely like a drone, ed.) which imposes air superiority with systems Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD). The crucial issue is the “Penetrating Counter Air”, a highly classified, therefore very secret, program of the US Air Force (USAF) to increase the lethality and guarantee the air superiority of its combat aircraft.
The capabilities required of fighters are changing
And that’s right the fighter engagement system that is changingIndeed, the capabilities of fifth generation jets for air-to-air combat, battlefield support and ground attack will have to be improved and adapted to future challenges. In fact, despite hearing news of scrambles to intercept US and Chinese, or Russian, fighters and jets that touch each other in the sky as a challenge, close combat between fighters is less sought after: now they are needed greater support for ground forces, information and space technologies, and will count more and more the ability to engage enemies beyond visual range and air missile capability. In the not too distant future, fighters will be required to have the ability to take off with or without a crew, the ability to integrate into drone missions, to exploit satellite and ground sensors to ensure the Air Superiority sought by the Pentagonbudget and tax permitting.
