Aerospace

The U.S. Navy Is Making Plans to Replace the F-35 Stealth Fighter

The U.S. Navy is currently analyzing airframes, targeting systems, artificial-intelligence-enabled sensors, new weapons and engine technologies to engineer a new sixth-generation carrier-launched fighter jet to fly alongside the F-35 fighter jet and ultimately replace the F/A-18 aircraft.

The Navy program, known as the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD), has moved beyond a purely conceptual phase and begun exploration of prototype systems and airframes as it pursues a new fighter to emerge in 2030 and beyond.

Navy officials say that several current areas of consideration include “developmental air-vehicle designs, advanced engines, propulsion, weapons, mission systems and electronic warfare.” 

Ongoing work has been weighing the advantages of leveraging nearer-term existing technologies such as new variants or upgrades to cutting edge weapons, sensors and stealth configurations—or allowing more time for leap-ahead developmental systems to emerge.