US Air Force is reinventing air warfare!
With the proposed Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Fighter, USAF is reinventing how it deals with procurement, shelf-life and technologies itself. India should pay attention.
With the proposed Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter, the US Air Force is reinventing how it deals with procurement shelf life and the technologies that go into the aircraft and weapon systems all at once. India should pay attention as it will change how the Indian Air Force deals with upcoming and future threats.
The concept of air warfare has changed.
The advent of drones has also redefined the old air-to-air, air-to-ground, and air support methods. Further, the deployment of long-range hypersonic ground-to-air missiles and Advanced Air Defense systems makes it impossible for current slow-moving stealth aircraft to penetrate enemy defenses. Establishing air superiority in such a scenario is costly and dangerous. Finally, the focus of the US Air Force and the US Defense Forces, in general, has shifted from ill-equipped adversaries in the Middle East to the more advanced and technologically capable Chinese threat across the Pacific. The US is unlikely to make the same mistakes as with the rise of the Japanese threat in the Pacific that culminated in Pearl Harbor. Indeed the Air Force battle strategies will also undergo a total overhaul.
So the US Air Force aims to reinvent itself.Â
First, it aims to shorten the shelf life of the aircraft so that the new aircraft development is quicker and less expensive. This approach seems to be more like the iPhone approach. Apple keeps Improving the iPhone year over year, allowing new technologies time to develop while augmenting the platform yearly with more technologies as they become viable. Similarly, the US Air Force will look at a shelf life of 10 to 20 years for its new fighter aircraft, and after that, it will replace it with a new model with the latest technologies and weaponry.
Second, it splits the contract allotments for design, manufacturing, servicing, and upgrading all aircraft. In the process, different companies will be allowed to bid for design, manufacturing, service and upgrade of the aircraft inventory available with the Air Force. We have seen similar core competencies emerge in the automobile sector, where different entities have developed expertise in the design, manufacturing, servicing and modification of cars.Â
Third, it appears that the focus of the new generation of aircraft will be to operate in conjunction with drones, and they may be piloted by a person or even remotely. It has changed the concept of air warfare to a platform concept.
Fourth, the weapon systems themselves are likely to be modified. The US is working towards an active energy weapon, basically a laser, that can destroy enemy missiles and aircraft.
Finally, they are also talking about separating the sensor, weapons and the pilot in different air vehicles. It is expected that these vehicles will be collaborating via an encrypted information network system.
This means…
We may be looking at a SET of aircraft, not just one.
A command unit: Essentially a manned aircraft
Unmanned drones: These may be quite large stealthy, and may be super fast. A Command unit may be accompanied by multiple unmanned drones, each with a specific role and relevant weapons for it.
Smaller drones: These drones are very small drones with specific functions - some with sensors, others with explosive charges, precision kill capability etc.
There will also be some sort of Drone delivery system (for the smaller drones). The aircraft that will carry this small drone inventory may be the command aircraft itself. In that case, it may be quite large and carry directed energy weapons.
All the units will be working together using an encrypted information network system.
In the old way, these roles were carried out by package of different manned aircraft. Each of that aircraft would be very costly (money and pilot life).
The new concept is modular, and we can improve each aspect of this system separately while ensuring everything still works well together.
What does it mean for India?
 India, too must consider using a similar approach. This approach allows for a more tactically superior fleet in reasonable numbers while allowing for new technologies to evolve without delaying the fighter integration and risking fleet depletion, as we have seen with the Indian Air Force.
The differentiated contracting system may also ensure that different industry participants create unique core competencies in different aspects of aircraft management. It can, therefore, push industrial development while improving the quality of the aircraft with the Indian Air Force.
Notes:
Some more details for NGAD can be found here:
Millennium 7 is quite an interesting channel too.