The U.S. Air Force is about to begin development of its next generation fighter jet but faces the thorny question of building just a single very sophisticated aircraft or an integrated, networked family of aircraft systems that included aerial drones such as that advocated by its rival, the Russian Air Force.

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The U.S. Air Force is identifying the follow-on fighter to the F-35 Lightning II with the awkward phrase, "Penetrating Counter Air" (PCA). Others in the service, however, refer to this concept as "Next Generation Air Dominance" (NGAD) but hesitate identifying it as a sixth generation fighter. The Air Force intends to have hashed out its final concept and have a flying prototype by the 2020s.

"I think a realistic timeline is somewhere around 2028 with key investments in some key technology areas, you'd be able to have some initial operational capability of a penetrating counter air capability," said Brig. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, Deputy Director for Operations, Operations Team Three, National Joint Operations and Intelligence Center.

Gen. Grynkewich said that instead of having an argument over what does a sixth gen fighter means, it's more productive to talk about the key attributes of the fighter the Air Force needs to gain and maintain air superiority in 2030.

"Does it have laser beams? Is it hypersonic? What is it? What does it look like? That's not a useful conversation," he said.

He revealed the Air Force is looking at integrating sophisticated, cutting edge technologies like directed energy in the initial version of PCA or a future block upgrade. He emphasized the Air Force doesn't want to delay the program so a particular sensor or weapon can mature.

But he warned the resulting aircraft or aircraft system might not resemble a traditional fighter jet.

"I've gotten into a little hot water with my fighter pilot brethren over this, because I say things like, 'Hey, it may not necessarily be a fighter,'" he said.

"A typical fighter pilot for air superiority would say you need 9Gs, two tails, a gun, short range. That's what fighters are. This is something that's a little bit different and has some different attributes in my mind."

On the other hand, the Air Superiority 2030 study said the Air Force's future dominance won't rest on a single platform such as a PCA fighter jet, but on an integrated, networked family of systems.

That combination of penetrating and stand-off capabilities includes a fighter jet but also a number of space, cyber and electronic warfare assets.

What that means is the fighter jet of the future might look more like a sensor node than the dogfighters of the past, said Gen. Grynkewich. 

TagsU.S. Air Force, Penetrating Counter Air, Next Generation Air Dominance, Brig. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich