America Scrapped Plans for Its Secret Stealth Fighter—But Has Something Even More Fearsome in the Works

The U.S. Air Force is calling a mulligan on one of its most important future weapons, which was intended to replace the legendary F-22A Raptor. Originally conceived of in the late 1980s, the F-22A is still highly capable, but the service believes a new plane with new tech is necessary to dominate current and future Russian and Chinese fighters. As a result, the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, meant to create the world’s first sixth-generation fighter, is heading back to the drawing board. That’s because the service needs to figure out exactly what it wants from an air superiority combat aircraft in the 2030s and beyond—and how it can make such a weapon reality. The NGAD program reboot is an example of how the slow, complicated development of modern warplanes is at odds with the breakneck pace of technological progress, which in turn threatens to lock out even the newest aircraft from state-of-the-art features. [View in Browser]( [Popular Mechanics]( [SHOP]( [EXCLUSIVE]( [SUBSCRIBE]( [America Scrapped Plans for Its Secret Stealth Fighter—But Has Something Even More Fearsome in the Works]( [America Scrapped Plans for Its Secret Stealth Fighter—But Has Something Even More Fearsome in the Works]( [America Scrapped Plans for Its Secret Stealth Fighter—But Has Something Even More Fearsome in the Works]( The U.S. Air Force is calling a mulligan on one of its most important future weapons, which was intended to replace the legendary F-22A Raptor. Originally conceived of in the late 1980s, the F-22A is still highly capable, but the service believes a new plane with new tech is necessary to dominate current and future Russian and Chinese fighters. As a result, the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, meant to create the world’s first sixth-generation fighter, is heading back to the drawing board. That’s because the service needs to figure out exactly what it wants from an air superiority combat aircraft in the 2030s and beyond—and how it can make such a weapon reality. The NGAD program reboot is an example of how the slow, complicated development of modern warplanes is at odds with the breakneck pace of technological progress, which in turn threatens to lock out even the newest aircraft from state-of-the-art features. The U.S. Air Force is calling a mulligan on one of its most important future weapons, which was intended to replace the legendary F-22A Raptor. Originally conceived of in the late 1980s, the F-22A is still highly capable, but the service believes a new plane with new tech is necessary to dominate current and future Russian and Chinese fighters. As a result, the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, meant to create the world’s first sixth-generation fighter, is heading back to the drawing board. That’s because the service needs to figure out exactly what it wants from an air superiority combat aircraft in the 2030s and beyond—and how it can make such a weapon reality. The NGAD program reboot is an example of how the slow, complicated development of modern warplanes is at odds with the breakneck pace of technological progress, which in turn threatens to lock out even the newest aircraft from state-of-the-art features. [Read More]( [Read More]( [Alternate text] [Alternate text] [These Small Electric Burners Turn Your Cramped Living Space Into a Full-Powered Kitchen]( [These Small Electric Burners Turn Your Cramped Living Space Into a Full-Powered Kitchen]( You can still make your favorite meals with these compact electric stovetops. [Read More]( [Win or Lose We Still Booze—Get Ready for Game Day with These Tailgating Essentials]( [Win or Lose We Still Booze—Get Ready for Game Day with These Tailgating Essentials]( Our shortlist of must-haves we’ve tried and can vouch for. 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