Air Force next-gen fighter jet and tanker still to come

The US Air Force still plans for both a sixth generation fighter and new tanker aircraft to replace Lockheed’s F-22 Raptor and Boeing’s KC-46A Pegasus, respectively, as flagged by Defense Scoop. At AFA’s recent Air, Space and Cyber conference, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall confirmed a temporary pause in the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) selection process to reassess the program's design by incorporating evolving technologies, addressing emerging threats, and integrating collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), drones designed for air superiority (dominating an airspace) and strike missions (attacking ground- or sea-based targets from above).

Kendall emphasized the need for cost-effective air superiority, potentially moving toward a more disaggregated approach, with both manned and unmanned systems. The Air Force is also focused on affordability, aiming to lower NGAD’s projected costs of $300 million per aircraft to be competitive with the F-35, which currently average $100 million each.

In parallel, the Air Force is advancing its Next Generation Air-refueling System (NGAS) and exploring a new acquisition model that separates mission systems from platform development to speed innovation and vendor engagement. Decisions on NGAD and NGAS are expected within the coming months as the service adapts to future combat requirements.

Some may remember the F-22’s high development costs cut its production run to under 200; its stealth design limits munition stores to covered weapons bays and required regular maintenance compromising availability. Meanwhile Boeing has struggled with the KC-46’s remote vision system and refueling boom; the 767 production line on which the platform is based is currently idled by the strike.