WASHINGTON - The U.S. Air Force has secretly designed, built and flown at least one prototype of its enigmatic next-generation fighter jet, the service’s top acquisition official confirmed to Defense News on Sept. 14, reports Valerie Insinna for Defense News. Continue reading original article.
The Intelligent Aerospace take:
September 17, 2020 -While the USAF has acknowledged building and flying a prototype of its next-gen fighter, the branch has declined to comment on its attributes, or even what companies manufactured it.
Dr. Will Roper, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, says the attributes of the jet aren't as important as the cutting-edge advanced manufacturing techniques that made it.
Defense News' Insinna also notes that the disclosure of the prototype may be a way to garner budgetary support from lawmakers.
“I had some tough audiences on this. I’ve had people that I’ve been told want to cut the program or they don’t understand why we need it,” Roper told Defense News. “But I have not left a single one of those briefings with anything other than [lawmakers saying]: ‘This is the future, we ought to do it now. And why aren’t we going faster?’ And the answer [to] why we aren’t going faster is simply money. We can push the accelerator down more today because the digital technology allows it.”
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Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace
