The Air Force's fighter fleet of the 2030s will strongly resemble that of the 1980s. Familiar jets like the F-15, F-16, and even the 1970s-vintage A-10 will remain. The 2000's-era F-22 will be phased out. The F-35, still in production, will become the backbone of the fleet, supplemented by one or more new designs still to be developed. This is how the Air Force is balancing today's requirements with those of the future.The new fighters will include at least one Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) design, digitally engineered, and potentially optionally manned."We are in a position of transition," Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. told the House Armed Services Committee in June. The Air Force must retire some of its existing force to find savings it can use to develop new aircraft that can deter and defeat great power competitors like China; failure to act now, he warned, raises the "distinct possibility" that China could defeat the U.S. in a future air war.
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