After India acquired the Rafale fighter jets, news has come that the next-generation fighter jet which was secretly built and tested by the US Air Force has reportedly been flown for the first time.
According to media reports, the sixth generation fighters are far superior as compared to anything the world has witnessed so far. As the demonstration of a successful test flight was not in the pipeline for the next few years, this piece of news has come as a surprise even for some military watchers.?
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Defence News quoted the US Air Force's head of acquisition Will Roper as saying, "The US Air Force has ¡°built and flown a full-scale flight demonstrator in the real world¡±.
However, there is still not much information available around the details of the project. In spite of that, analysts and military experts are sharing their perspectives on the fighter jet.
Also known as the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter, the 6th?generation fighters would follow the F-22 stealth jet, a fifth-generation fighter.
Boeing and Lockheed (makers of the F-22) ?are both believed to be in the running to develop sixth-generation fighters, which are being described as ¡°the most complicated systems that have ever been built¡± -- and some reports suggest that they may come armed with laser weapons.?Service budget documents indicate that the 6th?generation fighters will feature enhancements in ¡°survivability, lethality and persistence¡± across multiple military operations.
The final cost of the programme is expected to cross $8 billion through 2025.
Meanwhile, the US Navy is also looking to acquire its own 6th?generation fighters.
While there is not much clarity about the project, experts also believe that the "most complicated technology the world has ever seen" will also have drones and laser weapons.?