Last week, the current Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics of United States Air Force (USAF) Dr Will Roper announced that on September 14, 2020 the maiden flight of a prototype 6th generation technology demonstration fighter took place with absolute success.
This prototype was designed and constructed within the framework of the NGAD (Next Generation Air Dominance).
Photo by the website www.businessinsider.com
The report of Dr. Will Roper titled «Take the Red Pill: The New Digital Acquisition Reality» mentions specific conclusions and achievements presented by this maiden flight of this prototype fighter demonstration technology. More specifically:
1. This new fighter was the first in the form of a prototype demonstration of technology built in the US after twenty years. In the past such fighter jets were the X-32(Boeing)and the X-35 (Lockheed Martin).
2. The design of this fighter was done entirely through computers (CAC–Computer Aided Engineering). This methodology reduces design time, development costs and minimizes the occurrence of any technical risks.
3. The construction of this prototype fighter demonstration technology was done without the slightest modification of its designs, which were made exclusively on computers.
4. During this applied design and construction process, life cycle cost is reduced by 10% over a 30-year horizon.
5. At the end of the first fifteen years of service, a type of this fighter, the cost of supporting it increases by 3% to 7% each year and until it completes its operational life at thirty years.
6. From this report it is therefore proposed and always with the implementation of this new process of design, manufacture and production, that the supply of new upgraded fighter jets be made every eight years while the replacement of the older fighters takes place every sixteen years on average.
This proposal concludes that both Service Life Extension Programs (SLEPs) and Mid Life Update (MLU) modernization programs will be abolished, achieving savings of up to 79% from total modernization and structural upgrade costs and 50% from current support costs.
7. The new and proposed design and construction process, which will include continuous software upgrades, integration of open architecture systems that will be easily replaced and upgraded in a very short time, indicates that both the development costs and construction costs will be approximately 25% and 18% respectively. Of course, these are sizes much lower than the current costs of modernization, structural upgrades, and support costs of today’s fighters.
We hope that this new design and construction process will find its application very quickly in the design and manufacture of civil aviation aircraft.
