The Navy Reveals Plans for Its New Fighter Jet (2024)

  • The U.S. Navy has shared new information about its next generation fighter project.
  • The project, Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD), will replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in the 2030s.
  • NGAD will include the F/A-XX strike fighter, which the Navy believes will still have a human pilot.

The U.S. Navy elaborated on its plans to replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, saying the service’s next strike fighter will “most likely be manned.” The jet will probably fly alongside robotic allies, and remotely crewed aircraft could eventually account for six out of 10 planes on a carrier flight deck.

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“As we look at it right now, the Next-Gen Air Dominance [NGAD] is a family of systems, which has as its centerpiece the F/A-XX—which may or may not be manned—platform. It’s the fixed-wing portion of the Next-Gen Air Dominance family of systems,” said Rear Adm. Gregory Harris, the head of the Chief of Naval Operations’ air warfare directorate, during a Navy League event.

The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet dominates Navy’s strike fighter fleet, made up of fighters that can execute both fighter and attack missions. Although the Navy is buying the F-35C Joint Strike Fighter, it’s only purchasing enough of the planes to replace one or two of the four strike fighter squadrons per deployed aircraft carrier. The Navy believes it needs to replace the Super Hornet and its electronic warfare variant, the EA-18G Growler, in the 2030s.

NGAD is the Navy’s effort to replace the Super Hornet. Note: It’s a completely separate program from the Air Force’s own NGAD—which recently designed, tested, and flew a secret new fighter jet—and will produce a completely separate plane. The two aircraft will almost certainly be quite different, with the Air Force’s jet more optimized for air superiority. It’s likely the two fighters, developed roughly within the same time period, will share much of the same technology.

The Navy’s NGAD crewed fighter would be part of a “family of systems,” a phrase popular in the Pentagon that typically means both crewed and uncrewed vehicles. Harris used the term “little buddy” to refer to uncrewed aircraft, which he sees as augmenting crewed fighters. A “little buddy” could act as a flying missile carrier, teaming up with the NGAD fighter to boost a carrier’s airborne firepower.

The Navy is working toward a goal of having 40 percent uncrewed and 60 percent crewed aircraft, and eventually flipping those numbers so drones will make up 60 percent of the carrier air wing. In addition to the fighter mission, Harris said drones could take over the electronic warfare (Growler) and airborne early warning (E-2D Hawkeye) roles.

The Navy Reveals Plans for Its New Fighter Jet (2)

The aircraft carrier USS America pulling into Sydney harbor, 1970. During the Cold War, aircraft carriers embarked as many as 90 planes—two dozen more than the air wings of today. Small, inexpensive drones could mean a return to larger air wings.

One possible offshoot of a shift to drones could well be a larger carrier air wing.

Today’s carriers typically go to sea with about 76 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. During the Cold War, carriers with approximately the same deck space and volume routinely went to sea with nearly 90 aircraft. A carrier could easily embark another squadron’s worth of drones, or even more than that, depending on the drone’s size and cost. The result would be larger carrier air wings with more capability and a greater ability to accept losses and still remain functional.

The Navy needs to invest heavily in drones if it wants to keep its supercarriers. The cost of carrier aviation is extremely high: A Gerald R. Ford-class carrier costs somewhere in the area of $12 billion, and the 44 strike fighters that justify the ship’s existence cost another $100 million each.

Then there’s easily another $1.5 billion in support aircraft, such as the E-2D Hawkeye aerial command and control plane, the upcoming MQ-25A Stingray tanker, MH-60 Seahawk helicopter, and the CMV-22 Osprey transport. The carrier’s escorts—typically a guided missile cruiser, two or three guided missile destroyers, and a nuclear-powered attack submarine—cost another $10 billion.

Remotely crewed aircraft represent the Navy’s best chance of reversing skyrocketing costs. A carrier might embark another 20 NGAD combat drones, boosting the number of aircraft that can shoot missiles or drop bombs by nearly 50 percent. At the same time, the Navy could replace some of the crewed jets with cheaper uncrewed jets. In a world of flat defense spending, the future of the aircraft carrier as we know it just might depend on NGAD.

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The Navy Reveals Plans for Its New Fighter Jet (3)

The Navy Reveals Plans for Its New Fighter Jet (4)

Kyle Mizokami

Kyle Mizokami is a writer on defense and security issues and has been at Popular Mechanics since 2015. If it involves explosions or projectiles, he's generally in favor of it. Kyle’s articles have appeared at The Daily Beast, U.S. Naval Institute News, The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, Combat Aircraft Monthly, VICE News, and others. He lives in San Francisco.

The Navy Reveals Plans for Its New Fighter Jet (2024)

FAQs

What is the most feared fighter jet in the world? ›

Most Feared: Lockheed F-22 Raptor

The F-22 Raptor, a fifth-generation fighter, is widely considered one of the most advanced and feared fighter jets in the world. Its stealth capabilities, supersonic cruise speed, and advanced sensor systems provide it with a significant edge in air combat.

What is the F-18 being replaced by? ›

The US Navy and USMC are already replacing F/A-18E/F squadrons on CATOBAR supercarriers with F-35Cs. There are 3 Supercarriers equipped to host F-35Cs at the end of 2023 with the other CATOBAR supercarriers being equipped to host F-35Cs over the next 5 years or so.

How many F-18s does the Navy have? ›

Current inventory
AircraftOriginIn service
Combat Aircraft
F/A-18 Super HornetUnited States421
F-35 Lightning IIUnited States30
AWACS
41 more rows

How fast can the F-22 go? ›

Its top speed is 1,500 miles per hour, which is 2.2 times the speed of sound. It features thrust vectoring, where the plane's thrust nozzles turn to help turn it faster. Thrust vectoring is very useful in dogfights. The F-22 Raptor is a 5th generation fighter and is a very expensive plane to produce.

What fighter jet has never lost a fight? ›

F-15: the go-big-or-go-home US fighter jet that's never lost a dogfight. Aerospace nerds like us geek out over all kinds of stuff: Innovative, high-performance microtube heat exchangers.

What country has the best fighter jet? ›

The United States of America has the most advanced air force worldwide, with the best fighter and attack aircraft.

What is the deadliest plane on Earth? ›

From Rafale to F-22 and more, these are the top 6 deadliest fighter jets in the world
  • Evolution of Fighter Jets. In a world marked by potential conflicts, fighter jets serve as guardians in the sky. ...
  • F-22 Raptor - USA. ...
  • Su-57 - Russia. ...
  • Rafale - France. ...
  • F-35 Lightning II - USA. ...
  • Eurofighter Typhoon - Europe. ...
  • J-20 - China.
Jan 18, 2024

Is F-35 better than F18? ›

The F-35 has good roll rates — better than the F-18 & probably less than the F-16. It has better yaw rates & yaw angles than the F-18 & much better than the F-16. It has higher instantaneous turn rates than the F-18 & matches the F-16.

Has an F-18 ever been shot down? ›

1991 (Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm) January 17 – An F/A-18C Hornet (Bureau Number 163484) was shot down by an Iraqi Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 in an air-to-air engagement. The pilot, Lieutenant Commander Michael Scott Speicher, of VFA-81 was killed but his body was not found until July 2009.

What is the fastest plane in the world? ›

NASA X-43A

How much does a Navy F-18 pilot make? ›

The estimated total pay range for a F A 18 Pilot at US Navy is $76K–$127K per year, which includes base salary and additional pay. The average F A 18 Pilot base salary at US Navy is $98K per year. The average additional pay is $0 per year, which could include cash bonus, stock, commission, profit sharing or tips.

Why didn't the Navy use the F-16? ›

The F-16 was not designed for aircraft carrier operations. Also it was designed unstable to extract the maximum maneuverability and used fly-by-wire digital technology to make it fly more stable. The F-16 was designed for the USAF.

Who has more aircraft, Navy or Airforce? ›

Does the United States Navy really have more aircraft than the United States Air Force? No, the US Navy does not have more aircraft than the US Air Force. The US Air Force has around 5,300 aircraft, making it the largest military aircraft fleet in the world.

Is there a 6th generation fighter jet? ›

The US Air Force's NGAD sixth-generation fighter jet is expected to enter service in 2030. Credit: Mike Mareen via Shutterstock. The F-22 Raptor will be replaced by the NGAD fighter.

What is the difference between the F-22 Raptor and the F-35? ›

While the F-35 is a single-seat, single-engine, stealth multirole fighter jet capable of performing ground attacks and air defense missions, the F-22 Raptor is a single-seat, twin-engine, fifth-generation, tactical fighter aircraft specializing in air dominance. The Joint Striker Program was initiated in the mid-1990s.

What is the difference between the F-35 and the J 35? ›

J-35: China's Answer to the F-35

Unlike the American F-35, China's J-35 lacks the vertical, takeoff, and landing (VTOL) capability that the F-35s possess. The VTOL feature comes in handy for F-35 warplanes operating aboard aircraft carriers.

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