"CEO Jim Taiclet said on Thursday that there is "a very active engagement at an extremely high level with the Department of Defense" about the upgraded F-35, and that "I expect it will be taken to the White House sometime soon, hopefully, to consider this kind of concept." Speaking at Morgan Stanley's Laguna Conference, he said there is no contract yet, but that if the jet is kept under the Pentagon's current approved plan, the souped-up F-35 would, over time, get near sixth-generation capability."
"He said the new jet's technology could include stealth coating, better weapons, and a more advanced engine, which are sixth-generation systems - shorthand for the West's current cutting-edge materials and supercomputer-assisted designs. Fifth-generation systems, by contrast, refer to aircraft technologies developed during the 1990s and early 2000s. The new jet would be considerably lower-cost than a sixth-generation jet, something Taiclet outlined at the event - an offering that could undercut the rationale for buying Boeing's sixth-generation F-47 fighter."
The US government is interested in a 'fifth-generation-plus' upgrade for the F-35 that would incorporate technologies developed for a failed sixth-generation fighter bid. There is a very active engagement at an extremely high level within the Department of Defense and planned consideration by the White House. No contract exists yet, and the upgrade would follow the Pentagon's current approved plan to incrementally approach near sixth-generation capability. Proposed technologies include stealth coating, improved weapons, and a more advanced engine. The upgrade would be significantly lower-cost than a new sixth-generation jet and could undercut purchases of Boeing's F-47. Government offices have not publicly acknowledged interest.
Read at Business Insider
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]