European 6th Generation Fighter Jet Project May Have a New Participant

 

Future Combat Air System (FCAS) is a European project to develop the next generation air assets, such as swarming drones and a sixth-generation fighter jet, currently marked as the New Generation Fighter (NGF). It is a long-term project, under development by Dassault Aviation, Airbus and Indra Sistemas. Now this jet fighter project has a new observing participant – Belgium requested to join.

Mockup of the New Generation Fighter jet from the Future Combat Air System. Image credit: Tiraden via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Jet fighters will still be extremely important in ensuring air space security over countries and regions. As weapons improve, jet fighters need to improve as well. It’s all well and good that the US is selling F-35s to its allies, but Europe needs its own jet manufacturing capabilities, technologies and flexibility.

Relying on American weapons long-term may not be the safest bet for Europe. Furthermore, the US decided not to export its F-22 fighter jet, which is easily the most advanced aircraft of that type in the world.

Also, the F-22 is a fifth-generation air superiority fighter. It is needed to look into the next generation of fighter jets. And that’s what the FCAS project is going to do – the NGF is going to be the sixth generation fighter jet.

FCAS 6th-gen fighter jet: The future of European military aviation?

The FCAS was first announced in 2017 by French President Emmanuel Macron and then German Chancellor Angela Merkel. It is now a Franco-German-Spanish new fighter jet project, which will replace France’s Rafales, Germany’s Typhoons and Spain’s EF-18 Hornets.

Three major European NATO members will share a single air superiority type, which will cut costs and help logistics. Other NATO members are likely to get involved as well.

For example, Belgium has just joined the FCAS project as an observer. Reuters reports that Belgium will retain its observer seat in the programme for 6-12 months and will exchange information with other participants to look for opportunities to add value to the project.

The ultimate goal is for Europe to have its own strong jet fighter capabilities, not falling behind the technology curve.

The result of the FCAS programme should be a stealth sixth generation fighter. Maiden flight is predicted for 2027. Image credit: Rama via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

NGF should take off for its maiden flight in 2027. Then rigorous testing and development will follow for an extended period of time. The introduction of the new fighter is only planned for 2035-2040.

We know very little about what the NGF will be. Mockups suggest that it will be similar in concept to the F-22. It will have 2 engines, STEALTH design and no vertical surfaces. Interestingly, it still has a distinct tail, but its stabilizers are just slightly angled up. There was a belief that the sixth generation fighter jet will be more like a flying wing design.