Prospective aircraft of the 6th generation F-X from Lockheed Martin Corporation
Recently, more and more people are talking about the creation of a sixth generation fighter. The other day, the industrial director of the aviation complex of the Rostec state corporation Anatoly Serdyukov told, that such an aircraft can be created jointly by MiG and Sukhoi.
The main characteristics of the sixth generation fighter
meanwhile, yet 4 years ago Head of the Directorate of Military Aviation Programs of the United Aircraft Corporation (OAK) Vladimir Mikhailov even called the approximate timing of the creation of the sixth generation fighter - he can make his first flight before 2025 of the year. The two most common characteristics of a promising aircraft are hypersonic speed and unmanned control capability..
Following the development and widespread use of unmanned aerial vehicles, the question arose of the possibility of creating such a fighter control system., which would allow you to control not only with the help of a pilot in the cockpit, but also remotely. It is unmanned control that is now considered as one of the most important characteristics of the sixth generation fighter..
However, to achieve such a result, in which the aircraft will not only become unmanned, but will also receive invulnerability from enemy electronic warfare systems, not so easy. After all, electronic warfare also does not stand still: laser protection systems will be able to fight aircraft, remotely controlled.
As the experience of experiments shows, in which the most successful in the United States, manned aircraft can not cope with the aircraft, controlled by artificial intelligence. clear, that so far this is just a simulation of a battle on an aviation simulator, but given, how fast technology is developing, there is no doubt, that this issue will be resolved in the foreseeable future.
At one time Sergey Khokhlov, Head of the State Research Institute of Aviation Systems, talked about, that it is unmanned control that will become the fundamental criterion for the sixth generation fighter, while all other characteristics will only be the development of existing technologies.
Other characteristics usually include hypersonic speed, stealth technology of the highest level, efficiency in all existing flight modes, extremely high maneuverability, smart coverage and even the presence of directed energy weapons.
Fifth and sixth generation fighters: what are the differences
A model for creating such a fighter in Russia, according to some experts, can become a shock unmanned aerial vehicle "Hunter", including a number of elements, which will be present in the sixth generation fighter. Besides, of course, the creation of a new fighter will be a continuation of the experience of developing a promising su-57 fighter.
Fighter aircraft of the 5th generation Su-57
Not only in Russia, but in other countries they are thinking about a similar aircraft. The United States is at the forefront, where leading aircraft corporations offer their own ideas and developments of sixth generation aircraft, primarily Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman.
In the UK, on behalf of the Ministry of Defense, work on the project of the sixth generation fighter is carried out by BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Leonardo and MBDA. Promising aircraft BAE Systems Tempest, supposed, by the 2030s could replace the Eurofighter Typhoon, a fourth-generation fighter, in service with a number of European and not only European states. certainly, China will try to keep up.
The main distinguishing feature of the sixth generation fighter from the fifth generation fighter will be the possibility of remote control, without the obligatory presence of the pilot in the cockpit of the aircraft. If a fifth-generation fighter has super-maneuverability and the use of stealth technologies among its most important characteristics, the sixth generation fighter aircraft, developing these qualities, at the same time, it also acquires the ability for unmanned control using artificial intelligence.
probably, sixth-generation fighters may also acquire short takeoff capability due to new engines, which will also be an important difference from previous fighters and will significantly expand the possibilities for combat use.
It is not excluded, that another distinguishing feature of the new aircraft will be its versatility. He will be able to perform the functions of not only a fighter, but also a stormtrooper, and bomber, which will allow him to quickly solve a variety of tasks, set by the command without prejudice to each of these functions of a combat aircraft.
The material was published in the section “news” for technical reasons.
Author:Ilya Polonsky
used photos:Lockheed Martin; corporation “Dry”
