A secret plane was flown by the Air Force in line with its 6th generation fighter program. This is a surprise when other military forces thought the U.S. is still in the developmental state. But most data on the flight is quiet as other countries like China will want to steal the data.
The implications of this test mean the U.S. will be on the verge of the real 6th gen fighter as the world's leader in military technology as announced on Tuesday by official sources, reported Military.
According to Dr. Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics the technology think-tank of the U.S. Air Force, a virtual conference as part of the Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program that will aggregate the best technologies will be available in a new plane. The objective is to create an advanced fight that will be equipped to survive a wild and variable threat environment.
He added that NGAD has done everything in the virtual world, which includes designing, assembly, testing the design in virtual which would have cost time and money in the real world. All the variables of success or failure have been gone over as if the virtual model is already existing in the real world.
Roper did answer queries about the X-Plane project but was not specific about it. He stressed that digital engineering was utilized to pass traditional means of designing a prototype. One of the objectives is to give flexible design options for the designer as they go about designing the new jet which is revolutionary in its approach. These concepts will have an e-prefix to set them apart.
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Based on the results of the virtual testing according to Roper, the model has broken real-world records. The design is solid with no flukes. He stopped and offered no comment if the defense industry was part of the experiment.
Despite the public achievements of the think-tank and utilization of digital technology to speed up the design process, he stressed that America's adversaries will want to purloin the data and technology which they used for such an achievement.
After setting the parameters of the project which the Air Force began four years ago, the final look of future fighter jets will sport in the next iteration of the F-35 and F-22, which will be better fighters.
In the 2019 Paris Air Show, Roper mentioned the Air Force was in conceptualization how the next-gen fighter will be like especially with the F-35 and F-22 as the first true 5th generation planes that will need to have an extra edge, in stealth, and new linking tech. So far the U.S. is unchallenged, but the Air Force opened the Program Executive Office for Advanced Aircraft at a ceremony in Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
Overall, the Air Force is aiming to develop its advanced arms projects fast. A year ago, the Digital Century Series acquisition model that will link all relevant technologies to produce the fighters ready to fly in five years. Several firms were chosen to get the program on its toes from a secret plane and next fighter.
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