While Trump’s feelings on the programs are still unknown, it seems unlikely that the new administration would short circuit programs that have been so explicitly described as necessary for great power competition with China.

The Air Force and the Navy have made their respective sixth-generation fighter pitches to President Trump, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The White House requested the briefings, which Chief of Staff General David W. Allvin made on behalf of the Air Force and their Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, and Vice Chief of Naval Operations Admiral James Kilby made on behalf of the Navy and their F/A-XX program. The outcome of the briefings, and whether concrete decisions were made with respect to program funding, remains unknown.

The Military’s Big Spending on Sixth-Gen Tech

The Air Force has requested $19.6 billion over the next five years for the NGAD program—making the sixth-generation fighter program the most expensive in the branch’s research and development budget. The program, which aims to field the world’s first sixth-generation fighter, a replacement for the fifth-generation F-22 Raptor, is currently on “pause.”

The reason for the pause? Cost. The original blueprints called for an aircraft that would cost “hundreds of millions” per NGAD fighter. Last summer, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall ordered a pause and review of the program, questioning whether it was possible to make the aircraft cheaper—or if it was necessary at all. Allvin’s brief to Trump suggested that the Air Force still believes the NGAD is needed and is indeed worth investing $20 billion into over the next half-decade.

“An internal Air Force review, as well as one from a blue-ribbon commission of stealth experts, has concluded the capabilities of NGAD are still required, despite its high cost, especially in the event of war with China,” Air & Space Forces Magazine reported.

To be clear, the NGAD platform, and its requested budget, includes not just the sixth-generation fighter (known formally as the Penetrating Combat Aircraft (PCA), but a set of complementary platforms,  including autonomous wingmen, known as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), and other “off-board systems.”

The Navy’s F/A-XX program, meanwhile, appears to still be on track, with a contract award expected within the next few months. The contract is expected to go to either Boeing or Northrop Grumman as Lockheed Martin recently withdrew their bid. The F/A-XX, as the name implies, will serve as a multi-role, sixth-generation replacement to the F/A-18 Hornet, which has been the primary fighter of the Navy for a generation.

Notably, the Air Force and the Navy chose not to work on a joint sixth-generation program, as the branches did for their fifth-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Instead, the NGAD and F/A-XX will be “optimized to the respective services’ needs,” although, “each branch is observing the other’s effort and the two services have agreed to share, as much as possible, enabling capabilities such as propulsion, avionics, sensors, and weapons,” Air & Space Forces Magazine reported.

While Trump’s feelings on the programs are still unknown, it seems unlikely that the new administration would short circuit programs that have been so explicitly described as necessary for great power competition with China. The Trump administration has appointed people with hawkish views towards China, who will likely want the NGAD and F/A-XX programs to proceed.

About the Author: Harrison Kass

Harrison Kass is a senior defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.

Image: Shutterstock / VanderWolf Images.

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