According to General Kenneth Wilsbach, leader of the Air Combat Commander, the fate of Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) or human-controlled hunting is expected to be decided in 2024, as stated in a recent Q&A session of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Aerospace Nation. Although General Wilsbach did not specify, construction of the sixth-generation fighter jet will be led by Lockheed Martin or Boeing, both participants in the F-22 Raptor project.
According to General Wilsbach, NGAD represents “a family of systems” for Next Generation Air Domain. The NGAD includes the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), a remotely controlled drone, and a new human-controlled fighter jet.
With that, as General Wilsbach explained to the Mitchell Institute audience, he received legal advice not to talk too much about NGAD during source selection to avoid a contract claim, but he shared:
“The one thing I will say about this, however, is that everyone wants to talk about NGAD as a jet. It's not a jet. It is a family of systems. … I just want everyone to be clear that it is a family of systems.”
General Wilsbach further explained that the work is being carried out away from the public eye, and that one of the NGAD systems is the CCA. This year, artificial intelligence (AI) tests have already taken place on combat aircraft, and the XQ-67, a prototype of the CCA project, has already made its first flight.
Therefore, the CCA component is progressing well. However, the human-controlled fighter has yet to be formally shown to the public, although both Boeing and Lockheed Martin have released computer-generated images in their promotional videos.
Furthermore, the General highlighted that the NGAD does not intend to replace the F-22 Raptor, mainly because of the cost. This issue was also addressed by US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, as mentioned in the July 11 Defense News.
“It costs approximately three times as much as an F-35, and we can only buy it in small quantities.”
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