It is to be remembered that the future of military aviation is not a revolution but evolutionary steps forward. Then, one thing is crystal clear: what the future holds for the 7th generation fighter will be based on the successes of previous generations like the B-21 Raider modeled from the victorious B-2 Spirit.
The idea of generations as it applies to aircraft first became a marketing device, rather specifically in the way that Lockheed Martin referred to the F-35 as a fifth-generation fighter. Somehow, about aircraft at least, the seventh generation has not been defined. Unless defined, it might embrace autonomous logic, advanced materials, and collaboration across national borders: in other words, it might describe the needs of a cutting-edge fighter/incursion aircraft in the 2070s or beyond.
Gareth Jennings, the aviation editor at Janes, said that a 7th-generation fighter is still very understated. Most nations are, at present, busy creating the fifth and sixth-generation jets. Still, taking a look at the evolution pattern that previous generations have depicted, we can take some educated guesses about the probable features in the future.
The generations initially fell into retrospective categories, and the capabilities that determined each appropriate generation were divided by the U.S. Air Force as follows:
First-Generation: Jet propulsion
2G: Swept wings, range-finding radar, and infrared-guided missiles
3G: Supersonic flight, pulse radar, and missiles that can engage opponents from beyond visual range
4G: High levels of agility, some degree of sensor fusion, pulse-doppler radar, reduced radar signature, fly-by-wire, look-down/shoot-down missiles, and more.
Key performance attributes were focused on each new generation yet maintained the attributes of previous generations. The third-generation F-4 Phantom was supersonic, carrying state-of-the-art convoyed mission computing and ly guided missiles. While the fourth generation was marked by fly-by-wire and advanced avionics, the fifth-generation fighter added the quality of being low-observable, or stealth the addition of sensor fusion, and the capability for supercruise.
Envisaged for the sixth generation are flexible payloads, adaptive airframes, long-range sensing, directed energy (laser) weaponry, innovative materials, intelligent support, dynamically reconfigurable architecture, cyber protection, MUM-T, trusted AI reasoning, airspace integration, hypersonic propulsion technologies, space technologies, and future “wearable” cockpit. These upgrades must be cost-effective and use cutting-edge manufacturing processes.
Whereas other military hardware—like, for instance, the M1 Abrams tank—has been continuously improved, aircraft have seen the same steady changes and improvements over the past 80 years. That means a Cold War-era B-52 Stratofortress still flies as a capable bomber today, and it will continue to serve alongside the B-21 Raider. This longevity has been enabled by continuous improvements.
Jet fighters—increasingly multirole aircraft—will continue to develop. The effort to create a 7th generation fighter may not be as time-consuming and could be formative to provide a head-to-head challenge to the new one emerging in the sixth generation. Technology analyst Rob Enderle commented that Metaverse, 3D metal printing, and realistic simulation could drive the creation of next-generation weapons, including fighters, at an unprecedented pace. Put autonomous technology and a human’s digital twin together, and you could have fighters that don’t need to account for human weaknesses.
Jennings considered that the 7th generation may remove the pilot completely, having the platform independent. However, issues will be ethical, moral, and legal and not technical. Multinational cooperation should be because of its expense, and most needs are common.
Though technology would keep on moving at a very fast pace, the development, manufacturing, procurement, operating, and sustainment costs would continue to be very high. Upgrading older aircraft will be an option.
The so-called technological capabilities, and consequently, what most likely will set the 7th generation fighter apart from previous generations, remain yet to be defined as we look out into the future. That journey to the next great leap in military aviation will be shaped by technological developments and the changing landscape of global defense collaboration.