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The major air forces of the world are now developing or looking to acquire next-generation fighter aircraft that will give them superiority in the air combat domain for years to come. Countries are searching for next-generation fighter jet capabilities as digital and inventive technologies emerge and become more widely used.

Airforce Technology lists some of the world’s major sixth-generation fighter aircraft under development.

F/X or Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter jet

The US Air Force (USAF) is seemingly ahead of its counterparts in the race for the development of a six-generation fighter aircraft.

In March 2018, the US Air Force Research Laboratory unveiled a concept of the F/X, a next-generation aircraft that would have a sleek, stealthy design with a high-energy laser that could slice through adversary aircraft in half.
The upcoming aircraft is anticipated to have a longer range, larger payloads, and the capacity to transport hypersonic weapons. It is also known as Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) or Penetrating Counter Air.

The USAF has not yet chosen the manufacturer for the six-generation fighter aircraft and information about the capabilities of the F/X in the public domain is currently not available. The USAF intends to create advanced capabilities under the NGAD program, such as connected air combat systems, including fighter aircraft, drones, and networked platforms.
The program, which aims to increase air superiority, could see the F/X fighters deliver greatly improved stealth capabilities and cooperate with unmanned vehicles.

A prototype of the new fighter plane is said to have just been designed, built, and tested by the USAF. In one year, the demonstrator was built and flown. The prototype’s creator is still unknown, although it is known that advanced manufacturing techniques were employed to create it.
The fighter jet could join the USAF earlier than 2030 if the development advances quickly thanks to reduced procedures and the application of technology.

Future Combat Air System (FCAS)

The Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a collaborative project of Germany, France, and Spain, will produce a next-generation fighter (NGF), which will function in a manned-unmanned teaming formation with attack and observation drones, referred to as “remote carriers.”

A combat cloud that is powered by artificial intelligence will connect all of the manned and unmanned components (AI). The air forces will be able to deploy the remote carriers in dangerous areas to deal with threats while operating the FCAS sixth-generation aircraft at a safe stand-off distance.
The aircraft’s active and passive stealth technologies will improve its survivability, while its superior avionics and sensor package will improve situational awareness.
The fighter jet’s strong engine and sophisticated flight control system will also provide it more maneuverability, speed, and range.

To assure improved firepower, the aircraft will be equipped with innovative effectors, such as stand-off kinetic loads, directed energy weapons, and electronic warfare capabilities.
The French and German governments awarded a joint concept study (JCS) contract to Dassault Aviation and Airbus in February 2019 for the FCAS program.

In February 2020, Dassault, Airbus, and other partners were awarded the program’s Demonstrator Phase 1A framework contract. The NGF’s principal partner and primary contractor is Dassault. For the remote carriers and the combat Cloud system, Airbus will work with MBDA, Thales, and Safran, and MTU Aero Engines will work on the engines. The current schedule calls for prototype testing to start in 2026 and service entrance to happen in 2040.

MiG-41 interceptor aircraft

The upcoming interceptor MiG-41 from Russia, also known as PAK-DP, will be able to fly at exceptionally high altitudes and speeds greater than Mach 4. The long-range interceptor MiG-41 is promoted as the MiG-31 interceptor’s replacement.
The fighter, which is being created by Mikoyan (MiG), will be equipped with an interceptor missile system that will allow it to intercept hypersonic missiles.

The aircraft could be modified to create an unmanned variant in the future. The new interceptor is expected to be equipped with long-range air-to-air missiles, advanced target search and detection equipment, and stealth technology.
The Russian Air Force is anticipated to induct the MiG-41 in the 2030s.

Tempest

A future combat aircraft is at the heart of the next-generation combat air system known as Tempest. The Tempest fighter jet project was started by Britain in 2018 and involves Sweden, Italy, and the UK working together.
In 2035, the combat aircraft will replace the Typhoon fighter in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF).
It will have an adaptable architecture appropriate for a variety of operations, with the ability to switch out hardware and software as needed to meet mission requirements.

A sophisticated flight control system, improved survivability, and scaleable autonomy are further important qualities.
The aircraft will serve the RAF for the next 60 years and will be equipped with cutting-edge technologies including future wearable cockpits that utilize gaming technology, eye-tracking technology, and augmented reality.
The aircraft will also feature stealth, optional manning, directed-energy weapons, and hypersonic missiles. Armed forces will have a complete view of the upcoming battlespace because to the aircraft’s capacity to exchange data with other platforms.

Drones will be controlled via swarming technologies, and the Cooperative Engagement Capability will allow the platforms to work together during offensive or defensive missions. A multi-function radiofrequency system, a cutting-edge radar system being created for Tempest, will be able to offer over 10,000 times more data than current systems.
It will deliver a significant advantage in combat situations through the ability to locate and target enemy platforms beforehand.

BAE Systems, Rolls Royce, MBDA, and Leonardo are among the companies working on the future fighter jet’s development in the sector. In July 2020, the Tempest aircraft’s 3D model was unveiled.

China’s future fighter aircraft

China is developing a new fighter plane that will include sixth-generation features like the ability to control drones, stealth, and AI. Future planes may also be equipped with laser, swarm warfare, and hypersonic weapons.

In comparison to the nation’s J-20 and J-31 aircraft, the new aircraft will have better capabilities. By 2035, it is anticipated to be operationally ready. By conducting a flow field test for an unnamed new aircraft, a 6,620t wind tunnel that was constructed to support the program for new fighter aircraft went into service in May 2020.

Since the late 2010s, the American F-35A and the French Rafale fighter jets have risen to prominence as the two most competitive Western combat aircraft for export contracts throughout much of the world. The two compete head-to-head in many of the same markets, from Belgium and Switzerland to the United Arab Emirates.

The two aircraft are radically different in their performances and design philosophies, despite being close in price and prized for a number of the same qualities. This reflects the significant differences in the nature of the defense sectors that developed them.

The production of the F-35 was part of a $1.7 trillion weapons program, the greatest in human history, which involved $55.5 billion in research and development before the plane even saw service.
By the time the program started and the Soviet Union fell, the United States had by far the largest defense industry in the world and was conducting research and development on a scale that was unrivaled. It was anticipated that this would allow it to further close the gap with rival European producers, who had started to lag rivals’ in the 1960s in terms of the combat aircraft’s performance.

With over 3000 aircraft projected to be manufactured, the F-35 program’s sheer size required significant investments that may have led to both a more technologically advanced product and lower unit costs as a result of economies of scale.
The Rafale was created as a fourth-generation fighter by a relatively tiny economy with a small portion of America’s defense industrial base, in contrast to the F-35.

Due to the constraints of the French industry, it is compelled to significantly rely on foreign technology that incorporates several American and other European components as well as to deploy weapons that were co-developed with other nations.
Given the significantly smaller scale of the Rafale program and France’s lesser purchasing power of the dollar in comparison to the US, it was virtually inevitable that the end product would be a less cost-effective aircraft that would find it difficult to compete with the F-35.

However, the Rafale program’s lack of ambition, which involved pursuing a non-stealthy fourth generation design at a time when the Soviet Union and the United States had already started their fifth generation programs, also led to an aircraft that had fewer performance problems and was more dependable than the F-35, whose design flaws were counted at 871 in 2021 while more were still being found.

The F-35, in comparison, has only a limited initial operating capability making it ill-suited for even medium-intensity combat. The Rafale, on the other hand, was regarded as fully operational immediately after entering service.
Due to persistent performance problems, the American fighter has yet to receive full-scale production certification from the Pentagon despite multiple years of delays. It is uncertain how many of these problems will be fixed during the next five years.
The operational readiness of the Rafale and the absence of F-35-related problems make it a superior choice for nations looking to launch a sophisticated combat capability quickly.

Given that France has supplied the Rafales second-hand and in some cases even as help, along with the advantage of its better degree of operational readiness, the fighter’s relatively low order volume makes delivery relatively swift.

Contrarily, the F-35 has a far wider potential for incorporating upgrades over multiple decades and is projected to see significantly more investment in upgrading its performance in the future because it is a generation ahead of the French fighter.
The U.S. has a long history of funding upgrade programs for its older fighters, with the F-16 being a notable example for which the F-16V package is currently being widely offered. In contrast, the French Mirage 2000, which competes with the F-16, has not seen any comparable packages offered, much to the dismay of a number of customers like Taiwan.

Both the F-35 and the Rafale have operated against targets that, even in the Cold War era, would be considered inadequately defended. This has given competitor designs like the F-15 and F-16 an advantage for customers that place a larger premium on the significance of combat testing.
Regarding their engines, the F-35 and the Rafale are particularly diametrically opposed, with the F-35’s F135 being the most potent fighter engine in the world and the Rafale’s M88 being the absolute least powerful.
The Rafale has two M88 engines, which enhances survivability and increases engine redundancy but also makes maintenance more challenging than with a single engine.

Both fighters are regarded as lightweights for their respective generations, which means that in comparison to heavyweights like the American F-22 and F-15, the Russian Su-57 and Su-35, or the Chinese J-20 and J-16, they are still constrained in terms of the size of sensors they can carry and their endurance.
The Mirage 4000 was France’s own program for a high-performance heavyweight fighter, but due to its high cost, it was canceled. Instead, France preferred developing the Rafale in its place. The F-35 was designed as a lighter, less expensive complement to the F-22 and F-15 with lower operational costs.

Since both are limited to flying at below-average speeds and altitudes and have mediocre climb rates or mobility, primarily when armed, neither the F-35 nor the Rafale are exceptionally elite aircraft.
However, the F-35 has the distinction of being one of just two fighters of its generation that are being produced alongside the Chinese J-20 and fielded at squadron-level strength.

The Rafale’s lack of stealth capabilities classifies it as a “4+ generation” fighter and significantly lowers its survivability against both aircraft and enemy air defines, allowing it to be detected at a wide distance. This is thought to be its main performance shortcoming in comparison to the F-35.

The Rafale’s avionics, in particular its sensors, data links, and electronic warfare systems are superior to those of the earlier F-22 and comparable to those of the F-35, which significantly lessens its disadvantage and boosts its popularity on export markets despite its lower stealth capabilities.
The Rafale was notable for having no export contracts prior to the incorporation of an active electronically scanned array radar in 2013, which is a feature of all fifth-generation fighters. With the help of these cutting-edge avionics, it is able to engage in combat on contemporary network-centric battlefields and employ cutting-edge standoff weapons, such as the Scalp radar-evading cruise missile and the Meteor air-to-air missile.

One of the few performance advantages the Rafale has over the F-35 comes from access to the Meteor, which easily surpasses the AIM-120D thanks to better maneuverability, more potent seniors, and a projected 200–220km range as opposed to 160–180km for the American missile.

However, the more expensive missile has only been used in a very small number by the French Air Force, and it is anticipated that by the middle of the decade, the American AIM-260, which is being developed to catch up to the current market leaders—which, in addition to the Meteor include the 400km range Russian R-37M and the 200-300km range Chinese PL-15—will replace it.

The Rafale is a generation behind the F-35, therefore its main advantages over that aircraft are its simplicity and, on export markets, the conditions under which France is willing to sell the aircraft.
The lighter fighter has far reduced operational costs and upkeep requirements than the F-35, allowing for the maintenance of a fleet that is about 40% bigger than an equivalent F-35 fleet.
Theoretically, this enables the Rafale to have significantly higher operational readiness rates than the F-35s in the U.S. Air Force, albeit this is not the reality for the French Air Force, as readiness rates have remained extremely low and far below that level.

The F-35’s main drawback is that the United States limits not only which clients are allowed to buy the aircraft, but also how the aircraft can be used, particularly in the third world. These limitations can include restrictions on which bases the aircraft can be deployed to, where they can fly, and which nations they can engage in joint exercises with.
In the past, it was discovered that the F-35 was spying on its foreign operators and relaying this information back to the US, which has the power to render its fighters abroad useless by tightly controlling access to their operational codes.

A noteworthy recent example of this is the alleged demand that the United Arab Emirates halt its cooperation with the Chinese telecoms company Huawei and restrict connections to Beijing should it seek to purchase the F-35. The U.S. also attaches political and economic restrictions to its aircraft sales.

Due to France’s permissive restrictions on who may use its fighters or acquire them, Abu Dhabi decided to go with the Rafale instead. In the end, neither the Rafale nor the F-35 are particularly exceptional aircraft for their respective generations, but the F-35 is a more remarkable design because it is one of the few fifth-generation fighters produced, despite the fact that France’s small defense industry is unlikely to ever be able to produce a post-fourth generation fighter domestically.

The Rafale has sold for over $245 million per airframe, but because the Rafale contracts frequently include more armaments and services, the difference in the flyaway cost alone will be smaller. The F-35, on the other hand, has sold for over $140 million per airframe, making it less expensive to acquire despite being more sophisticated and slightly heavier.

The Rafale has an advantage in sales to the third world in particular because of American restrictions on the F-35’s sales and use, which if removed would likely further squeeze the Rafale out of its market share. The F-35 has been the target of every single contract in developed economies where the Rafale has competed against either the F-35 (Belgium, Switzerland, Finland) or the F-15 (South Korea, Singapore).

Over the following decades, as the American fighter becomes completely operational, is authorized for full-scale production, and has substantially more money put in refining it for a new age of combat, it is anticipated that the performance gap favoring the F-35 will widen quite significantly.

Although it is limited by the absence of cutting-edge AESA radar, the Su-35 is considered the best dogfighter and continues to be a very capable and versatile missile platform against both air and ground targets. To compare the classic American F-15 Eagle fighter with the Su-35S “Flanker E,” Russia’s newest competitor for the title of greatest Fourth Generation fighter, we should examine the two aircraft’s strengths and weakness and how those will affect their capacity to carry out different missions.

The Su-35S is equipped with a potent Irbis-E passive electronically scanned array radar that can detect objects on the ground and has a range of up to 400 kilometers. The APG-63 V3 Active Electronically Scanned Array radar of the F-15, however, is better—harder to jam, higher resolution, and more difficult to track.

The Su-35 is also equipped with an infrared search and track system (IRST), which enables it to establish an aircraft’s general location within a fifty-kilometer range. This feature could be very helpful for spotting stealth aircraft at closer ranges. But on the F-15 there is no IRST.

Talon HATE, a new add-on pod that has recently entered service, will allow the F-15 to network with the stealth fighter F-22 Raptor, which uses an unconventional datalink, as well as provide an IRST and give data fusion with other air and surface sensors. The Raptors could fly ahead, spot hostile targets, and communicate the targeting information to F-15s firing missiles at a safer distance to the rear using this method.

With an average radar cross-section of five meters squared, the F-15 was not intended to be stealthy, and it isn’t either. According to reports, the Su-35 can reach a radar cross-section between one and three meters squared thanks to its stealth architecture. As a result, the Su-35 will appear on radars less quickly. However, a one meter squared radar cross-section may still be detected at pretty great distances by sophisticated current radars, therefore this does not shield it from being targeted by long-range missiles.

The most recent air-to-air missiles have a range of well over 100 kilometers. The Russian aviation establishment is less certain than the United States Air Force that beyond visual range (BVR) conflict, with missiles fired over great distances, will rule air warfare in the twenty-first century.

It asserts that electronic deterrents and evasive actions will significantly lower the hit probability against agile fighter aircraft below the anticipated hit rate of fifty to seventy percent. Russian aircraft are still built to engage in BVR warfare, but they do so with the understanding that short-range combat will probably follow after BVR volleys.

In comparison to the F-15C, which only has eight hardpoints for missiles, the Su-35 has twelve or more. This is a definite advantage for the Su-35, which will probably fire several missiles at once to increase the hit chance, although this advantage might only last a short while.

By installing quad-rail racks, which would quadruple the F-15’s loadout to sixteen, Boeing is offering to modernize F-15s. This would let F-15s that were deployed in the rear to act as “missile boats,” firing at targets that an F-22 vanguard has painted with stealth fighters.

However, the F-15 currently has an advantage in terms of missiles. The AIM-120D (160-kilometer range) and K-77M long-range, radar-guided air-to-air missiles are both carried by the F-15 and Su-35 aircraft (200 kilometers range). Although the relative efficiency of their seekers has not yet been determined, these missiles are essentially in the same class and would most likely be launched below their maximum range when deployed against fighter-type aircraft to enhance the likelihood of a kill.

The R-37M missile, which has a super-long range of 300–400 kilometers and is designed to destroy an awkward tanker and AWACS support aircraft, may also be fired by the Su-35.

The Su-35’s L175M Khibiny radar jamming device is another perk. In contrast to the American AESA radars, which are thought to be impervious to jamming, the AIM-120 air-to-air missiles are thought to have a high failure rate against Khibiny-protected aircraft. While a new system is being suggested as part of the Eagle 2040 upgrade package, the Eagle’s Tactical Electronic Warfare Set countermeasure system, which goes back to the 1970s, is still in use.

Because of its low wing loading and high thrust-to-weight ratio, the Eagle isn’t a pushover when it comes to maneuverability; in fact, it was one of the first models to demonstrate that a heavy fighter could nevertheless execute precise, energy-efficient maneuvers and accelerate while ascending.

The Su-35, though, is simply in a different league. It employs vector-thrust turbofans, which means that each of its engine nozzles can move independently. This enables it to make tight spins and yaws and maintain high angles of attack, which are maneuvers that are impossible for regular aircraft to match.

In a slow-speed dogfight, the Su-35 will reliably maneuver around an F-15. With their heat-seeking AIM-9X and R-73 missiles, the F-15 and Su-35 are more evenly matched when it comes to armaments. Both missile types may be fired “off-boresight”—at targets that are outside the frontal cone of the aircraft—via helmet-mounted sights.

Kill probabilities for such missiles are estimated to be between 70 and 80 percent. The advantages of better maneuverability in upcoming close-range battles may actually be diminished due to the lethal effectiveness of these short-range air-to-air missiles and the fact that aircraft no longer need to be directed at their enemies in order to launch missiles at them.

Up to 14 of the Su-35S’s hardpoints’ approximately 17,000 pounds of ammunition can be used for air-to-ground operations. The F-15C can’t transport any. due to the fact that it is only an air superiority fighter. To be fair, modifying an Eagle for ground combat would not be an impossible feat; Israel did it in the 1970s and used them to attack the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq.

23,000 pounds of ammunition may be transported by the F-15E Strike Eagle. While it can fly just as quickly as the F-15C and carry the same air-to-air weapons, its larger weight makes it slightly less nimble and maneuverable in combat at close range. In addition, the Russian military employs a narrower variety of types of precision-guided munitions than the American military.

However, the Su-35 is well-equipped to use them with to its Irbis-E radar’s ground-attack mode.

The United States has a history of producing expensive aircraft with lengthy service lives. The Soviet Union and later Russia had a history of producing reasonably priced aircraft with short service lives and more intensive maintenance needs. Some Russian fighters, like the Su-30 Flanker from before, have also experienced serious reliability problems.

The Su-35, which is expected to last 6,000 flying hours, seems to close the gap in this regard. The F-15C and E are designed to survive 8,000 and 6,000 hours, respectively, and the former is probably going to go through a life-extension program.

Contrarily, the Su-35s leaving manufacturing facilities will be towards the end of their operational careers, whereas the majority of F-15 airframes are from the 1970s and 1980s.

For years, Boeing has promoted the Silent Eagle, an advanced, stealthy variant of the F-15, and it may have finally found a buyer in Israel. The Eagle 2040C upgrade package for the F-15C, which Boeing has just started to promote, is intended to keep the air-superiority version operational through the year 2040.

First off, the Su-35 would continue to have an advantage in mobility. Ten times smaller than the Su-35, the Silent Eagle may have a radar cross section as low as one-tenth of a meter squared from the front. The sides and back would still have a substantial stealth advantage on a head-on pass, but they would continue to be unnoticed.

A new electronic countermeasure system, a potential increase in missile capacity, IRST and F-22 datalink capability, and Talon HATE pod capability are all included in the Eagle 2040C package.

In the end, the efficiency of missiles and electronic countermeasures rather than the aircraft carrying them may increasingly define future air-combat capabilities, particularly for non-stealth airframes.

Although it is limited by the absence of cutting-edge AESA radar, the Su-35 nonetheless wins as the best dogfighter and continues to be a very capable and adaptable missile platform against both air and ground targets.

While the F-15E can still carry more weaponry for ground attack, current models of the F-15 are still capable air superiority fighters with cutting-edge radar. Extraordinary air-to-air payload and unmatched data fusion with assisting ships, satellites, and aircraft would be features of upgraded F-15s.

A fascinating, albeit limited, frontal stealth capability may also be offered by the Silent Eagle. Less than 100 Su-35S aircraft are expected to be deployed to Russia, China, Malaysia, and Algeria, while additional orders could come in the future. In addition to the well over 400 F-15s of various variants already serving in the Air Forces of Saudi Arabia, Israel, South Korea, Singapore, and Japan, the United States is anticipated to maintain a force of over 200 F-15Es and a lesser number of F-15Cs and Ds for decades into the future.