Air supremacy has never been a war-decider. From the propeller-powered air combat of World War II to the stealth technology of the F-22 Raptor, whoever controlled the skies generally controlled the battlefield. Now, as technology evolves and rival nations close the gap, air supremacy is beginning a new chapter—one defined by sixth-generation fighters and the digital realms they control.
The F-22, the old king of the skies, is retiring. Its maneuverability and stealth capabilities were unsurpassable in its day, but high cost, low-volume production runs, and outdated systems made it increasingly difficult to evolve. Billions were invested in overhauls, yet its rigid design left little room for long-term evolution. The spotlight at last settled on the F-35, the adaptable multirole fighter with advanced sensors and networking. Even so, the pace of competition around the globe today demands something better than the fifth generation.
So just what makes sixth-generation aircraft exceptional? They’re not so much upgrades—They’re a reimagining of how air wars are going to be waged. Created with deep autonomy, they can handle complex missions with minimal or no human involvement.
Think of them as flying command centers. Instead of flying in pairs, they will lead swarms of unmanned drones to conduct strikes, collect intelligence, jam enemy radar, and switch tactics in the blink of an eye. This vision builds on network-centric warfare, where aircraft, satellites, land troops, and cyber assets form one seamless web of war capability.
Artificial intelligence will be at the center. Future warriors will use AI to sift through sensor information, warn of danger, and even guide weapons during flight. This leaves the pilots free to focus on tactics rather than every switch and button. The next generation of smart bombs will be able to communicate with one another, modify in flight, and counter enemy defense in real time. In a very large part, air combat history will turn away from the solo pilot’s craft and toward the team effort of human–machine collaboration.
Leading the charge for the U.S. effort is the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) project. At its center is a manned fighter—sometimes called the F-47—that can fly farther, remain stealthier, and offer more flexibility than ever.
But NGAD is not a one-aircraft program. It’s an entire “system of systems” of cooperative combat aircraft (CCAs), advanced communications, and advanced command-and-control networks. The design would have 200 NGAD fighters matched with 1,000 CCAs in order to provide unmatched reach, speed, and firepower.
Others are not standing still. Europe is going ahead with its own projects, such as France, Germany, and Spain’s Future Combat Air System (FCAP), and the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) linking the UK, Japan, and Italy. Ambition is clearly set, but timescales stretch far into the future.
Of course, the increase in capability comes at a cost. The price is astronomical—NGAD alone could cost more than $20 billion, with each plane costing hundreds of millions. Digital engineering and open-architecture design are supposed to make cost and schedule realities rational, but mating such advanced systems is a frightful task.
And training will be changed as well. Pilots of today already enjoy more information and autonomy than ever before to manage. Sixth-generation air warfare will demand even tighter reflexes, quicker choice-making, and the mental fortitude to adapt in a battlespace that changes by the second.
The future signature of air war will be connectivity. These aircrews will be the nervous system of enormous, multi-theater operations, meshing air, space, ground, and cyber forces into a single cohesive network. They’ll operate drones, plan sorties, and pass on real-time intel to satellites and soldiers. The secret to success will not be flying the fastest, but thinking, reacting, and connecting the fastest. When sixth-generation fighters start to take shape, the balance of global airpower—and perhaps even the outcome of the next conflict—will rest on this revolution.