USAF Speeds Next-Gen Fighter Family, With Eye Toward China

ORLANDO, Florida—U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, armed with the biggest infusion of cash for research and development the service has seen in years, is looking to pivot from the counterterrorism fight in the Middle East to preparing for a potential clash with China.

Key to that effort will be investing in maintaining air and space superiority as new threats emerge, Wilson said Feb. 21 during an interview ahead of the Air Force Association’s annual air warfare symposium here.
In particular, the Air Force is spending $2.7 billion more than planned over the next five years (almost $10 billion in total) to accelerate “Next Generation Air Dominance” (NGAD), a family of systems designed to ensure air superiority well into the century. The effort likely will include a next-generation fighter to replace the F-22, F-35, or both.
NGAD will include a “renewed emphasis” on electronic warfare, Wilson said, declining to elaborate.China is without a doubt the “pacing threat” for the Air Force because it is rapidly innovating, Wilson stressed. While Russia also is a threat to its neighbors, it is not changing as quickly as China is, she said.
“When we look at what the Air Force has to do, the Air Force has to be prepared for either of those threats, but because China is innovating faster we consider that to be our pacing threat,” Wilson said.In addition to accelerating NGAD, the Air Force is using the additional cash Congress recently approved for defense to pursue a hypersonic weapon capability through two separate prototyping efforts—the Hypersonic Conventional Strike Capability and the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon.
Meanwhile, even as the Air Force has slowed the ramp-up of F-35 production, the service is investing in modernizing its legacy fighters—the F-15C-E, F-16 and F-22.
The Air Force also is investing in space superiority, as Russia and China develop capabilities that potentially can threaten U.S. access to and assets in space. The Air Force has decided to forgo the purchase of Space Based Infrared satellites 7 and 8, which warn against incoming missiles, because they are not survivable against emerging threats, Wilson said. Instead, the service will shift to a smaller, more agile constellation of satellites.
In the Middle East, the Air Force is committed to buying a new light-attack aircraft that not only will accomplish the mission of protecting troops on the ground in a more cost-effective way—freeing up fourth- and fifth-generation fighters to train for the high-end threat—but also strengthen ties with U.S. allies, Wilson said.
“The National Defense Strategy guides us to counter violent extremism at lower expenditure. It really doesn’t make any sense to me to have an F-22 destroying a narcotics factory in Afghanistan,” Wilson said. “But more than that, it is also an opportunity to engage with our allies on a platform that is designed to be coalition at the core.”