Pentagon reshapes airpower with new stealth bombers and fighter jets

The race to develop a sixth generation plane is no longer a future vision-it is now a distinct force behind the US defense strategy.

With advanced platforms such as B-21 Raider, F-47 and F/A-XX marine on the horizon, the Pentagon reshapes how Airpower projects for the next fifty years.

These aircraft are an unprecedented progress in speed, ghost and independence – but they also collide with pressure in the budget, industrial capabilities and an increasingly unconfirmed global threat environment.

B-21 Raider: Simple heritage continues

B-21 Raider is preparing from Northrop Grumman to become the backbone to give the long-term character. By designing the ghost of the next generation, anxiety of maintenance and the ability to withstand costs compared to its predecessor B-2, B-21 is seen as it is very important to deter strategic threats such as China and Iran.

The urgency became clear last week when seven B-2 bombers flew for 18 hours to Iran, where they dropped miraculous bombs on nuclear targets. Despite its effectiveness, high-cost B-2 systems and aging emphasizes the need to replace them. At 692 million dollars per plane-compared to billions of dollars for B-2-B-21 provides strategic arrival at a more sustainable price.

A hidden striker with high -tech can carry nuclear and traditional weapons and is designed to be optional, which means that he can fly without a crew on board.

The Pentagon reveals 961 billion dollars in the budget request: a box for the golden dome, missiles and drones, and a lower number of F-35 aircraft

Aviation tests are already conducted at the EdWARDS AIR Force base, with three B-21 in the air and the first units that are expected to achieve operational capacity by 2027. The Air Force has committed at least 100 raids, with internal discussions that float at a possible level to 200.

“What we need to think about is to double the productive capacity as soon as possible,” said General David Deeptola.

F-47 and NGAD Revival

Once it stops, the NGAD air hegemony program in the atmosphere returned to life this spring under a new name and a new contract. The F-47 program, which was granted to Boeing-to be the most advanced inhabited fighter in the history of the United States. Its ghost capabilities, extended range, speeds that go beyond Mach 2 and integration with a new category of drones that support artificial intelligence are called Collaboraage Combat Aircraft (CCA).

The F-47 will serve as “Qurtubbere” for a team of 1000 CCA, and control it in the battle, coordinate the sensor and target data in the actual time.

“It is very important that president Trump followed the manned platform of the Air Force,” said former Mike Garcia, R-Calif. “This academic debate about uninhabited platforms is only an ambition-but networks are not yet.”

The plane has an ambitious time schedule of the initial operational capacity-in the 2025-2029 range, according to a drawing by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force David Alvin on X.

The Pentagon will receive everything in the F-47 in the 2026 budget: he requests $ 3.5 billion while reducing his request for F-35S from 74 to 47. Garcia, a former sea pilot, stressed that human pilots are still necessary to manage the complexity of war in the twenty-first century.

However, others inside the Pentagon argue that inhabited fighters may become outdated before F-47 is fully deposited.

“Artificial intelligence techniques are developing much more quickly than anyone expected,” said a former defense official. “If you continue to develop within five years … you are on the exact wrong way.”

Evidence

The section criticized the “arbitrary” budgets that congress set instead of identifying defense officials about what they need to prepare and argued that F-47 is more expensive to be able to do more work than the least elite aircraft.

“Individually, the F-47 may be more expensive than a previous fighter plane, but if it can achieve 15, 20, 30 and 40 times what is required to complete the specified result using non-other aircraft or other aircraft, which it provides the most valuable? So the place where the calculation and integration calculation needs.”

President Donald Trump revealed the introduction of a F-47 plane during the White House party in March. (Reuters/Carlos Baria)

F/a-XX: The strength of the air air, deliberately late

Unlike the Air Force, the navy moves slowly with its sixth generation project-F/A-XX. Garcia believes that this is intended, noting that marine aircraft should stand up to much greater environmental challenges than its air force counterparts.

Officials are still not sure whether the fighter plane is in the next generation of the next generation, F/A-XX, will move forward at all, according to the proposal of the fiscal year 2026 budget.

“Waiting for a decision of the Minister of Navy, the Minister of Defense and the President,” the defense official told reporters. “This is an active conversation, whether to continue the program or not.”

The official said the program will continue with the “minimum financing” for the budget design.

“Design the marine alternative to the Air Force plane on the same schedule? It is impossible to do this correctly.”

Instead, the naval technology-such as engines and sensors-from NGAD is expected to borrow while building a unique fighter capable of a carrier appropriate for salt water, stimulants and mutations on the deck.

However, Garcia warned that the navy has a deeper and probably report: a lack of a carrier -based strike.

The Pentagon will receive F-47 in the 2026 budget: a request for $ 3.5 billion while reducing its request for F-35s from 74 to 47. (Reuters/Kim Kyung Hoon/File Photo)

“The sixth gold -plated planes are not the answer. The ability is slightly lower in the higher numbers is what the navy needs.”

However, DePtula said that there is an issue whether the aircraft carriers will remain viable in the future.

“The question that many people in the Ministry of Defense now is is what the aircraft carrier is valid in a future world that has spread with very non -sound and accurate missiles with the ranges of 1500 miles plus.”

“Most people realize that you will not put aircraft companies close enough to use the plane,” Deptula said about the “Project Power” transport companies in low threat environments.

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“The navy wants to tend to get rid of other trillions of the sixth generation. People who want to see our trillion dollars deficits must take into account here,” said the former defense official.