American corporations begin the first work on the creation of the next, sixth, generation fighter. It is supposed to replace all other existing American fighters (except for the F-35) and will be able to guarantee the destruction of super-maneuverable Russian combat aircraft. The stake is on laser weapons.
The world media has repeatedly reported on the numerous problems of the new American F-35 multirole fighter. The main ones are the lack of maneuverability in two of the three variants of the aircraft, as well as insufficiently effective weapons, which, in theory, should have ensured the F-35 victory over a potential enemy before the start of a maneuverable battle with him. The inability of the F-35 to confront the latest Russian Su and MiGs, as well as the Chinese fighters copied from them, in the "dog dump" caused the Pentagon to consider resuming production of modernized versions of the F-15 and F-16 fighters. This is cheaper than restarting the assembly line, from which the much more modern and expensive F-22 aircraft, intended mainly for aerial combat, rolled off. They were discontinued in 2011.
And in early February it became known that Northrop Grumman, which went down in history by creating the world's first stealth bomber, the B-2, intends to present the concept of a sixth generation fighter. The show was timed to coincide with one of the most important events in the sports life of the United States - the American Football Super Bowl. An advertising video appeared on the Internet, in which something resembling equipment from "Star Wars" is being built in the workshops of the plant, and an airplane sweeps across the sky, its shape almost identical to the tip of a spear.
Northrop Grumman isn't the only company making a sixth-generation fighter, codenamed F-X by the Pentagon. Boeing and Lockheed Martin are also working on the project, according to Nextbigfuture.com. The first one, back in 2011, announced that it was designing a sixth-generation fighter for the Navy and Air Force at its own expense. It is only known that it must be able to fly in supersonic mode for a long time. Lockheed Martin, which unveiled its version in 2012, is working in the longer term. Her brainchild will not be born until 2030. The company focuses on increased speed and range, enhanced stealth and survivability.
Speed and range will be increased with a new type of propulsion system, collectively known as Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology (AVET). They will be installed on new fighters that will enter service with the Navy in 2028 and the Air Force in 2032. In terms of stealth quality, Northrop Grumman is designing its aircraft tailless, making it even less visible to radar.
Kill in the blink of an eye
One of the main components of the protection of Su-class fighters from the striking fire of enemy aircraft is their super-maneuverability. It is she who allows them to carry out effective anti-missile maneuvers - the enemy either cannot aim, or the missile launched by him loses its target. The missile launch warning system allows the pilot to track the missile flying behind him and to take timely maneuvers to confuse it. But the super-maneuverability advantage will come to naught if the plane is destroyed the second it is in the crosshair. There is only one weapon that can do this in the blink of an eye. Speech, as you might guess, is about a laser.
Attempts have already been made to arm aircraft with lasers. The United States created a kind of loitering YAL-1 hunter armed with a laser cannon on the basis of the Boeing-747. It was installed in a turret in the nose of the aircraft. The YAL-1's mission was to shoot down ballistic missiles from Iran or North Korea immediately after launch. However, it turned out that the power of the laser would allow him to do this only if the plane would fly within the borders of these countries. In addition, the chemical pumping of the laser required tons of special fuel. As a result, the project was canceled. Only one plane was built, which was scrapped a couple of years ago.
Of course, there was no question of any installation of this type of lasers on fighters. But advances in laser technology made it possible to return to this idea. Lockheed Martin, in collaboration with the University of Notre Dame, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the Air Force Research Laboratory, has already begun flight tests of a new type of solid-fuel laser installed on the Dassault Falcon 10 business jet. aero-optical, with a controlled beam (Aero-Adaptive, Aero-Optic Beam Control), or ABC.
These properties, according to a Lockheed Martin press release, help it focus on the target regardless of its maneuvers or air turbulence. The laser itself will be located in a rotating turret mounted on the fighter, which allows firing in a range of 360 degrees. In other words, the pilot does not need to perform "super maneuvers" to get into the enemy plane. It will be enough for him to get close to him at a distance of laser fire. Aiming accuracy will be ensured with the help of a computer, you just have to press a button. The same turret will provide all-round defense of the fighter from enemy fire. And to expand the combat capabilities of the sixth generation fighter, it will also carry missile weapons.
There is one problem with laser weapons - their use seriously reduces stealth, because when firing from a laser gun, a large amount of heat is released, which is easily captured by infrared detectors. This means that special heat absorbers will have to be installed on fighters. But then the battle time will be limited by the capabilities of this absorber. According to the American Internet resource Foxtrotalpha.com, Northrop Grumman is currently developing technology that will avoid the release of heat into the surrounding air and do without absorbers.
Do not repeat mistakes F-35
Having relied on the "universal" F-35, the United States unwittingly found itself in the same position in which during the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) one of its participants would have found himself, if he had fully relied on the newly appeared firearm, having consigned armor to oblivion, crossbows, sabers, swords and cavalry. It is difficult to imagine how troops, having nothing but arquebus, could resist the ranks of crossbowmen and an avalanche of armored riders bristling with all kinds of cold weapons. However, this does not mean that primitive arquebuses were a dead-end path for the development of weapons. Gradually developing, they led to the emergence of such types of weapons that forever sent knightly armor and swords to museums.
Since the F-35 has some properties, thanks to which the Pentagon remains interested in its use (vertical takeoff and landing, the ability of large-scale "work" on ground targets, the possibility of improving its fighter properties as a result of modernization, and even the possibility of installing an ABC-type laser), the speech is still the FX is not going to replace the F-35 either. For the sixth generation fighter, no one sets the task of being a universal combat means at the same time for the Air Force, Navy and ground forces. Each branch of the armed forces will receive its own, individual type of multi-role fighter, which is created mainly to combat air targets.
With all this, it is clear that the United States does not intend to return to "classic" air combat, in which maneuverability was a key factor in victory. They continue to develop a direction in fighter technology that will guarantee the destruction of enemy aircraft from a long distance. And against such fighters, even the most super-maneuverable aircraft will have no more chances to withstand than a tiger against a hunter armed with a rifle with a laser-optical sight.
