In service in 14 years? And with an AIM-120 replacement? They're having a laugh...... Obviously aimed at he Pacific theatre - longing for the long legs the F-35 is so obviously lacking.
U.S. Air Force Begins Search For Next-Gen Leap-Ahead Fighter | Defense content from Aviation Week
The U.S. Air Combat Command (ACC) will embark on an 18-month analysis of leap-ahead air superiority fighter options next January, as eight nations move forward with development of a dozen different fifth-generation combat jets aimed at narrowing the U.S.’s lead with the Lockheed Martin F-22 and F-35.
After publishing its Air Superiority 2030 Flight Plan in May, the air service is now reaching for what is known as Penetrating Counter-Air (PCA), a family of weapons designed to clear the skies of enemy threats 14 years from now. PCA will not be a “sixth-gen” fighter in the traditional sense, but it will be a successor or supplement to the Boeing F-15 Eagle and F-22 Raptor. PCA does include a new low-observable aircraft powered by an adaptive-cycle engine, armed with an internally carried successor to the Raytheon AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile and AGM-88-series High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile.........
Meanwhile, the Navy has begun its own 18-month analysis of alternatives titled Next-Generation Air Dominance for an F/A-XX, a carrier-based combat jet to succeed the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. PCA and the F/A-XX will remain separate, but are “jointly informed” on the latest aircraft and weapons technology and will likely share many common subsystems and components. However, the airframes themselves will be optimized to meet different threats from different locations in different optional environments..........
Speaking at the Pentagon on Oct. 21, Defense Department acquisition chief Frank Kendall said he does “not envision a common aircraft,” but instead many common subsystems. Among the threats driving these programs are the introduction of long-range anti-ship and ballistic missiles that put U.S. aircraft carriers and forward fighter bases at risk. This is driving “an appetite” for greater range and heavier payload to reduce dependence on these forward operating locations........