Developed as part of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, the sixth generation fighter will become a weapon of brutal war, writes Popular Mechanics, referring to the statement of the head of the Air Force Command of the US Air Force (Air Force), General Mark Kelly.
According to the magazine, the military called the promising aircraft a means capable of providing the enemy with “a very difficult day, a difficult week and a tough war.” The general noted that the Pentagon needs finance and courage to implement the NGAD project before potential enemies, primarily China, develop similar capabilities.
In February, the magazine The National Interest wrote that in the future, the fifth generation F-35 Lightning II fighter could be supplemented not only with platforms created on the basis of existing aircraft, for example, the fourth generation F-15 Eagle fighters, but also with products developed in projects like NGAD.
In September 2020, Will Roper, then Procurement Assistant to the US Air Force Secretary, stated that the Pentagon, under secrecy as part of the NGAD program, designed, built and at least once flew an X-plane demonstrator, by which it is meant, in particular, a new generation unmanned or manned aircraft, including a sixth generation fighter.