5th generation fighter aircraft to 6th generation fighter aircraft?

[Falcon29]

What's the next significant step? I was thinking about this today. So we notice stealth is the main reason for these projects.

I was wondering will be the next signifcant breakthrough that will make a drastic distinction between 5th and 6th generation aircraft.

Any thoughts?

I can only think that it will be just an improvement on 5th generation fighter capabilities.

 

[kseeker]

What's the next significant step? I was thinking about this today. So we notice stealth is the main reason for these projects.

I was wondering will be the next signifcant breakthrough that will make a drastic distinction between 5th and 6th generation aircraft.

Any thoughts?

I can only think that it will be just an improvement on 5th generation fighter capabilities.

We may add up following IMO

pure LASER Weapons (not to be confused with LASER GUIDED bombs)

exterior Colour change depending on the terrain where the machine is flying

Protective shield like ALIEN spacecrafts (remember star wars, Independence Day ?)

Also, few related links

Sixth-generation jet fighter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Russia develops sixth-generation unmanned fighter aircraft - English pravda.ru

The Sixth Generation Fighter

 

[Falcon29]

We may add up following IMO

pure LASER Weapons (not to be confused with LASER GUIDED bombs)

exterior Colour change depending on the terrain where the machine is flying

Protective shield like ALIEN spacecrafts (remember star wars, Independence Day ?)

Also, few related links

Sixth-generation jet fighter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Russia develops sixth-generation unmanned fighter aircraft - English pravda.ru

The Sixth Generation Fighter

Don't like the concept designs so much. I'm not sure if laser weapons are capable or effective. It's a neat idea but don't think it would work in a real situation.

 

[Indischer]

What's the next significant step? I was thinking about this today. So we notice stealth is the main reason for these projects.

I was wondering will be the next signifcant breakthrough that will make a drastic distinction between 5th and 6th generation aircraft.

Any thoughts?

I can only think that it will be just an improvement on 5th generation fighter capabilities.

Perhaps they can do away with a 6th gen fighter. How about improving the UAVs instead to get them on par with existing fighters. Perhaps unmanned stealth is the way forward.

 

[Falcon29]

Perhaps they can do away with a 6th gen fighter. How about improving the UAVs instead to get them on par with existing fighters. Perhaps unmanned stealth is the way forward.

If there is massive funding they will do both. Stealth drones may be the next thing. Maybe unmanned fighter jets before 6th generation. Either way these all seem to be things 20-25 years from now.

 

[kseeker]

Don't like the concept designs so much. I'm not sure if laser weapons are capable or effective. It's a neat idea but don't think it would work in a real situation.

LASER weapons are really effective provided there's a technology to harness it's use.

Directed-energy weapon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Laser Weapon System - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[PurpleButcher]

Hypersonic speeds
laser weapons
global reach
and just for a change pink colors

 

[SajeevJino]

The Qaher 313 is the Sixth Gen Concept Fighter ..!!

 

[gambit]

While there is no committee sitting around setting standards for what qualifies as 'nth gen' and so forth, there are reasonable expectations on certain features that are either evolutionary or revolutionary via innovations based upon established technologies on previous fighters.

Low radar observability is one such expectation and I speculate that the '6th gen' fighter will have active cancellation at the surface level, nothing SPECTRA-like or 'plasma stealth', but far superior based on semiconductor devices manufacturing technology. What this mean is that all current fighters in USAF and USN inventory will be '6th gen' in this respect once this technology is installed.

Physical ammunition will be replaced...

The US Air Force Will Employ Lasers - Business Insider

According to the recently published RFI (Request for Information), the ARFL (Air Force Research Laboratory) is looking forward to the development of laser weapons for next generation fighter jets.

The AESA radar will be sophisticated enough to produce real time imaging of targets that will rival B/W photos, enabling the pilot, remote or in-cockpit, to immediately ID his targets based upon their unique physical attributes, ie Su-whatever or MIG-whatever or J-20 or J-31, before going 'silent' again.

There will be no need for engines powerful enough to supercruise above Mach 2.5 but there will be a need for an engine powerful enough for a supersonic dash above Mach 2.5. We will have that. The engine will be more fuel efficient as well with the possibility of a new fuel formation. Thrust vectoring will standard with no need for 3D.

Avionics will be voice commanded.

Air dominance - The ability of an air force to compel other air forces to rearray themselves, usually into inferior postures.

Air superiority - The ability of an air force to achieve complete control, or reacquire complete control, of any airspace with statistically and tactically insignificant losses, if any.

Air supremacy - He flies, he dies.

We will either go from dominance to supremacy or if the enemy is foolish enough, we may have to stay in superiority for a short amount of time. But the US will continue to own any airspace at our convenience -- should we get pissed off enough to do so.

 

[Falcon29]

The Qaher 313 is the Sixth Gen Concept Fighter ..!!

....you would.

While there is no committee sitting around setting standards for what qualifies as 'nth gen' and so forth, there are reasonable expectations on certain features that are either evolutionary or revolutionary via innovations based upon established technologies on previous fighters.

Low radar observability is one such expectation and I speculate that the '6th gen' fighter will have active cancellation at the surface level, nothing SPECTRA-like or 'plasma stealth', but far superior based on semiconductor devices manufacturing technology. What this mean is that all current fighters in USAF and USN inventory will be '6th gen' in this respect once this technology is installed.

Physical ammunition will be replaced...

The US Air Force Will Employ Lasers - Business Insider


The AESA radar will be sophisticated enough to produce real time imaging of targets that will rival B/W photos, enabling the pilot, remote or in-cockpit, to immediately ID his targets based upon their unique physical attributes, ie Su-whatever or MIG-whatever or J-20 or J-31, before going 'silent' again.

There will be no need for engines powerful enough to supercruise above Mach 2.5 but there will be a need for an engine powerful enough for a supersonic dash above Mach 2.5. We will have that. The engine will be more fuel efficient as well with the possibility of a new fuel formation. Thrust vectoring will standard with no need for 3D.

Avionics will be voice commanded.

Air dominance - The ability of an air force to compel other air forces to rearray themselves, usually into inferior postures.

Air superiority - The ability of an air force to achieve complete control, or reacquire complete control, of any airspace with statistically and tactically insignificant losses, if any.

Air supremacy - He flies, he dies.

We will either go from dominance to supremacy or if the enemy is foolish enough, we may have to stay in superiority for a short amount of time. But the US will continue to own any airspace at our convenience -- should we get pissed off enough to do so.

Good input. I just have one question, can you explain what active cancellation means? What does it do?

 

[UKBengali]

We will either go from dominance to supremacy or if the enemy is foolish enough, we may have to stay in superiority for a short amount of time. But the US will continue to own any airspace at our convenience -- should we get pissed off enough to do so.

When 6th generation comes out(~2030), China's economy will be far larger than the US.

So, keep dreaming about your continued dominance.

 

[gambit]

Good input. I just have one question, can you explain what active cancellation means? What does it do?

Active cancellation is nullifying the incoming signal -- in some ways.

The SPECTRA method is to analyze signal characteristics, create the opposites of those characteristics, and transmit them into free space at the source direction. This is not true active cancellation but more like ECM.

The plasma method, and it is not about creating a plasma cloud or shield at several hundreds km/h airspeed, is to use plasma antennas at specific locations on the aircraft to absorb incoming radar signals. This is closer to active cancellation but not quite there yet.

True active cancellation is about nullifying the incoming signal the moment, or millisec after, the signal impact the surface.

Standard absorber is passive by allowing some pass through and the signal travels through a medium that weakens the energy level. The longer the operating wavelength, the higher the energy level and therefore, the thicker the absorber. But in aviation, weight is a penalty, so in general, absorber formulation for 'stealth' purposes is usually limited to the centimetric and millimetric freqs, which are the usual operating freqs of most of the world's radars anyway. Still, some reflections are inevitable because of the need for aerodynamic necessities and environmental protection.

Active cancellation, be it narrow or broad band, require complete pass through and the medium actively electrically negate the signal. The medium can contain electrical devices like capacitors or resistors, commonly found in semiconductor manufacturing at the microscopic levels. This idea have been around for at least a couple decades but because the semicon industry back then was not sufficiently scaling the devices, the idea was shelved.

When 6th generation comes out(~2030), China's economy will be far larger than the US.

So, keep dreaming about your continued dominance.

It is your dream that just because the Chinese economy MAY BE larger, it automatically equates to military superiority.

 

[Falcon29]

When 6th generation comes out(~2030), China's economy will be far larger than the US.

So, keep dreaming about your continued dominance.

We've had it worse in our history, America will reach a very low point then shoot back up. This is not new, but, we've hadn't had this much debt as in previous cases.

Either way I favor a just and non world policing America whether the economy is in good or bad shape.

 

[UKBengali]

It is your dream that just because the Chinese economy MAY BE larger, it automatically equates to military superiority.

I take the word of many economic experts who almost unanimously predict the Chinese economy to be much larger than the US by 2030. Most think between 50-100% larger and still growing quicker than the US.

Over time a larger economy translates to military superiority. I thought even you would understand that basic principle.

We've had it worse in our history, America will reach a very low point then shoot back up. This is not new, but, we've hadn't had this much debt as in previous cases.

Either way I favor a just and non world policing America whether the economy is in good or bad shape.

As a Palestinian you should know that continued US dominance means no justice to your Palestinian brethen.

US is the reason that allows Jews to occupy Palestinian land.

 

[500]

We may add up following IMO

pure LASER Weapons (not to be confused with LASER GUIDED bombs)

Lasers were tasted many times, they are useless.

exterior Colour change depending on the terrain where the machine is flying

Too complicated and quite useless, most of the job is done by radars not by visual detection.

Protective shield like ALIEN spacecrafts (remember star wars, Independence Day ?)

Impossibru.

6th gen will be unmanned.