BIG DREAM Hobby and Craft: Su-57 Vs. J-20: What the Competition Tells Us About America's New Fighter

Minggu, 06 Desember 2020

Su-57 Vs. J-20: What the Competition Tells Us About America's New Fighter

Su-57 Vs. J-20: What the Competition Tells Us About America's New Fighter

In September, the Air Force revealed the existence of new fighter jet. Details about the jet remain sparse, but a quick look at its most advanced adversaries reveals a clear picture of the F-22's future replacement.

BY: ALEX HOLLINGS

In 1909, the United States introduced the concept of military aviation to the world with the purchase of its first Wright Military Flyer. A decade later American and Allied pilots found themselves squaring off against aviators from the German Empire over the Western Front in the first battles for air dominance.

But like maintaining any technological edge over your opponents, air superiority is never guaranteed. The only way to keep the advantage is to continue to outpace, outbuild, and outfox the competition. Now, the next step in that race is beginning to take shape.

In September, the U.S. Air Force announced that it had secretly designed, built, and tested a prototype fighter under its Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. Details regarding the new fighter remain sparse, but the program's nature does offer a few important bits of context.

The NGAD program aims to develop the next generation of air superiority fighter, which places its technological lineage in the realm of the legendary F-15 Eagle and America's premier intercept fighter, the F-22 Raptor. While experts continue to mull over what capabilities might be required of the first 6th generation fighter, some answers could be gleaned by checking out its competition: Russia's Sukhoi Su-57 Felon and China's Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon.

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