Read my full article in RealClearDefense at the link here and below.
September 16, 2024 – Take a look at the forces deterring Iran in CENTCOM, and one conclusion jumps out: fighter planes rule. Yet the Air Force has stopped dead on its program for a new fighter plane known as Next Generation Air Dominance or NGAD.
The Air Force’s hesitation runs contrary to real-world demand. Admiral S. J. Paparo, Commander, INDOPACOM, wants NGAD. “Fully adopting fifth-generation aircraft by getting the Ford class certified for F-35C operations and expediting development of Next Generation Air Dominance are imperatives,” Paparo wrote recently.
Meanwhile, literally every fighter plane type in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy inventory has been deployed to the Middle East.
Since the rush of August deployments by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, a formidable force of Air Force and Navy strike fighters is on patrol to deter Iran and damp down drone and missile attacks. U.S. Central Command has F-22s flying day and night, F-16s loaded with extra gas tanks and weapons, A-10s, F-15E Strike Eagles, and, of course, Navy F/A-18E/Fs and F-35Cs on the carriers. Air Force HC-130s refuel Navy E-2D radar planes, which help to sort out all the friendly and hostile aircraft. Plus, all that firepower provides multiple strike options should action become necessary.
No fleet of drones can do all that. The real-world lesson is that manned fighter aircraft are still in high demand for global military operations.
After funding new designs and advanced engines from Pratt & Whitney and GE Aerospace for ten years, the Air Force fears stepping through the “one-way door” of a commitment to buy the plane. All last year, the Air Force spoke of a contract award to buy the plane in 2024. However, Air Force Chief of Staff General David Allvin said recently that there would be no decision on the NGAD award this year.
Instead, the Air Force might redesign the plane or give up on an advanced, manned fighter due to threats from China. No one doubts the China threat is steep. However, Air Force leadership has made this out to be a terrifying decision and taken analytic refuge in the prospects of unmanned Collaborative Combat Aircraft that can take over many aspects of the air dominance mission.
The problem is that technology has advanced faster than expected since NGAD began, Air Force Vice Chief of Staff General James Slife explained last week. Hence, the sixth-generation manned fighter portion of NGAD is on pause. At the same time, the Air Force is conducting more analysis and considering a redesign, all with the fresh new capabilities of unmanned Collaborative Combat Aircraft and other systems in mind. The CCAs are a great idea, as they bring affordable mass as a force multiplier for fighters.
But top commanders still want fighter planes.
The Air Force will bed down only 25 new F-35s this year. While allies are buying in droves, the Air Force’s F-35 inventory will be no more than 664 by 2029, and that assumes all goes well with future budgets and production.
The U.S. Air Force should plan for the future and start buying NGAD now.
This article was originally published on the Lexington Institute: https://lexingtoninstitute.org/fighter-planes-rule-so-why-is-the-usaf-delaying-its-advanced-ngad-plane-from-realcleardefense/