Who Will Be the First to Build a Sixth-Generation Fighter Jet, the US or China?
It’s a race where the stakes couldn’t be higher – who will be the first country to build a sixth-generation fighter jet, US vs China ?
Two reports in the last couple of weeks provide insight into China’s progress. In The Diplomat, longtime Chinese military observer Rick Joe writes that demonstrator test beds have likely been flown, and some form of the plane is expected this decade. Joe mentions a possible configuration as a tail-less flying wing/flying arrowhead airframe. Additionally, a Chinese test pilot suggested the sixth generation warplane will debut soon.
Li Gang, who piloted the maiden flight of the J-20 stealth fighter, recently told China Central TV that as China’s aviation technology develops, the next generation will emerge soon. Western observers have formed a basic idea of China’s next-gen plane, partially based on images from the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. These show a horizontal blended wing-body aircraft design without tails, fins, or protruding vertical structures – similar to images of potential US next-gen fighters released by industry in recent years.
6th-gen Fighter Jet Race:- US vs China
Rick Joe believes the plane will incorporate new technologies in engines, sensors, computing, and networking. He also suggests the fighter will work alongside future unmanned combat aerial vehicles or collaborative combat aircraft, similar to US Air Force plans for its sixth-generation jet.
Also Read:- “With 1000 J-20s by 2035, Can India’s 5th-Gen AMCA Counter China’s PLAAF?”
Both the US and Chinese planes are expected to be supersonic, more stealthy, and semi-autonomous. They will use AI-driven computing to analyze and transmit targeting data across vast areas in milliseconds. Besides having an armada of drones, the planes will be armed with hypersonic missiles and precision laser weapons. A Chinese newspaper described how the aircraft should form a network, create real-time integrated situational images, generate multiple attack routes, and transmit target information across mission areas in real-time.
This description echoes the F-35’s “sensor fusion,” which integrates data from cameras, electro-optical targeting, navigational details, warning systems, and variables like speed, altitude, and angle of approach on a single screen.
The US is widely believed to be the first to operate a sixth-generation fighter. In 2022, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall anticipated this by decade’s end. Demonstrator aircraft have already flown, and a contract might be awarded within a year to begin development officially. However, it remains a race with Beijing. General Mark Kelly, the former commander of Air Combat Command, said two years ago that China “is not having a debate over the relevance of sixth-gen air dominance. And I can also tell you they’re on track.”
What Is a Sixth-Generation Fighter?
Only three nations—the United States, Russia, and China—have built and fielded a fifth-generation fighter. The rest of the world relies predominantly on fourth-generation technology. Yet the race to develop sixth-generation technology is on—even though what exactly constitutes a sixth-generation fighter has never been clearly defined.
What we can say is that a sixth-generation fighter will be more advanced than a fifth-generation fighter. Improvements will include better stealth, internal weapons bays, advanced avionics, super cruise, thrust vectoring, data fusion, and interconnectivity. Sixth-generation platforms will likely include advanced digital capabilities, human-systems integration, variable cycle engines, and increased-range stand-off and beyond-visual-range weapons.