[Text/Observer Network Wang Shipin] The bidding results for the US Navy's next-generation carrier-based fighter F/A-XX are about to be announced, and a senior US military official has revealed some parameters of this mysterious next-generation aircraft.
According to a report by "The War Zone" (TWZ) website on April 8th, the head of the Air Combat Department in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Rear Admiral Michael "Buzz" Donnelly (Michael "Buzz" Donnelly), talked earlier today with "The War Zone" and other media about the expected range and other features of F/A-XX during the break at the "Ocean Aviation Space 2025" exhibition organized by the Naval League. He said that the US Navy expects its future F/A-XX sixth-generation stealth carrier-based fighter to increase its range by 25% compared to the current F-35C fighters in the carrier air wing.
"The War Zone" commented that this disclosure was unexpected because the US Navy had clearly stated that as the threat range from China continues to expand, increasing the operational range of the carrier strike group is a crucial priority for the next-generation carrier-based aviation project. However, the range of F/A-XX did not significantly increase.
In addition to range, the head of the Air Combat Department also revealed that the Navy is currently focusing on the MQ-25 "Stingray" unmanned refueling aircraft, paying little attention to the unmanned wingmate aircraft, which is vital to the sixth-generation aircraft project. "The War Zone" speculated that if CCA (Collaborative Combat Aircraft) is not yet ready when F/A-XX enters service, the US Navy may use the Air Force's CCA as an alternative solution.
Boeing FA/XX concept image on social media
He said, "F/A-XX will likely achieve more than 125% of the range of our current aircraft, providing us with better flexibility in operational range, so its combat radius will certainly be longer." Donnelly was then specifically asked whether this means that the range will increase by 25% before aerial refueling begins, and he replied, "Yes, definitely."
Donnelly provided no specific data, but "The War Zone" website stated that the naval variant of the F-35C fighter jet has the longest combat radius in the Navy's current carrier air wing, with sources stating it is approximately 670 nautical miles (nearly 1,241 kilometers). This would make the expected maximum combat radius of F/A-XX reach around 837.5 nautical miles (just over 1,551 kilometers).
Donnelly added, "As long as there is refueling, you could say it's infinite, as long as refueling is available. Range is critical, as it allows F/A-XX to penetrate contested airspace. This will reduce the future threats we see beyond 2040. So we believe it is crucial because our threats build their intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities and increase strike capabilities."
He said that for US Navy carrier battle groups, striking distance remains the key to maintaining survivability. Not only is the US military looking ahead, but they also hope to continue increasing the range of F/A-18E/F "Super Hornet" and EA-18G "Growler" electronic warfare aircraft.
This head of the Navy's carrier-based aircraft division said, "Carriers can move more than 700 miles a day, creating uncertainty across a 1.5 million square mile area, which is a factor in survivability and will become increasingly important... Today, we have the capability, combined with F-18 and EA-18G, and F-35, to provide us with an operational range of more than 8 million square miles. As we look towards the 2040s, with the integration of MQ-25 providing refueling capabilities and platforms like F/A-XX having greater range, we expect the range of our deployed aviation weapons to increase to more than 11 million square miles."
In addition to range, Donnelly also mentioned that the next-generation carrier-based fighter "will integrate artificial intelligence and other technological advantages to enhance our combat space management capabilities." He said that this will be our next-generation platform, which will no longer be "man-in-the-loop" (direct human control), but truly "man-on-the-loop" (humans as supervisors, systems can operate autonomously, but humans retain ultimate decision-making power and the ability to intervene when necessary), and allow us to fully integrate our architecture with our future unmanned systems."
Currently, the US Navy continues to integrate drones, and hopes that FA/XX will fight alongside drones, aiming for unmanned squadrons to account for 60% of the carrier's force by the 2030s.
F-35 and MQ-25 "Stingray" on social media
However, regarding the carrier-based unmanned combat aircraft project similar to the sixth-generation unmanned wingmate aircraft "CCA" (Collaborative Combat Aircraft), Donnelly confirmed that the Navy is paying little attention to such carrier-based unmanned aircraft. The Navy is placing more emphasis on the MQ-25 "Stingray" unmanned refueling aircraft and its supporting infrastructure, while hoping that other branches of the military, especially the US Air Force, will demonstrate the concept of CCA. In other words, he believes that in the short term, don't expect to deploy CCA on large aircraft carriers.
He said that for future drones, the US Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force signed a memorandum of understanding to work together on the next generation of drones. Currently, each branch is responsible for its own tasks—the Air Force leads in drone prototypes and complex drone applications, the Marine Corps studies unmanned capabilities using the F-35 platform, and the Navy is studying the deployment of the MQ-25 unmanned refueling aircraft on carriers.
He said that the Navy is observing how the Air Force develops and deploys drones, but frankly speaking, the Air Force's drones operate in a simpler environment than shipboard systems. The Navy is currently focused on learning how to integrate shipboard drones through the MQ-25 experience, and we can anticipate seeing initial designs and capabilities deployed to the fleet in the 2030s.
Regarding this, "The War Zone" commented that integrating CCA into carriers is harder than doing so on large static airports, and integrating MQ-25 into carriers is a significant obstacle to overcome. Some of these experiences and technologies may also be fed back in reverse to the CCA projects of the US Air Force and Marine Corps.
However, "The War Zone" also complained that China is developing advanced shipborne unmanned capabilities, taking a step-by-step approach to develop stealth drones capable of independent and collaborative operations. These advanced drones will not only be deployed on large aircraft carriers but also on China's largest Type 076 amphibious assault ships. "The War Zone" complained that the US does not have similar capabilities. One of the strangest moves in modern military history was the complete cancellation of carrier-borne unmanned aircraft purchases more than ten years ago. The multi-role stealth drone niche for the US Navy has been replaced by the current MQ-25 tanker.
But this raises questions about the FA/XX carrier-based aircraft. Both Boeing and Northrop Grumman claim that FA/XX has core capabilities to fight alongside CCA. "The War Zone" noted that since Navy and Air Force fighters will be able to use each other's CCAs, if the Navy's own CCA drones are not deployed on carrier decks by then, utilizing Air Force types might be one of the early options for FA/XX.
Regarding FA/XX, "The War Zone" commented that the US Navy already faces a threat ecosystem filled with potential adversaries, particularly peer-level opponents like China. The Chinese can engage US forces and allies in the air, at sea, and on land, with increasing strike ranges. Just this January, the US Air Force released a report warning that by 2050, the US will deploy air defense missiles with ranges up to 1,600 kilometers.
Currently, after Lockheed Martin reportedly dropped out of the FA/XX project, Boeing and Northrop Grumman are now facing off in the competition for F/A-XX, with the US military expected to announce the winner soon.
This article is an exclusive contribution by Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7490773173332410930/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and welcome your opinions to be expressed through the buttons below.