Navy Developing F/A-XX Independently of NGAD

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Surprise! One design doesn't work for all. The Navy's future fighter will be designed for the Navy. What do you think? Fighters are too expensive not to make them one size fits all. Great idea, make the right jet for the mission. TOMCATs are coming back!!!!!!????? Leave your comments below!!!

Every Monday at 8PM ET, Mover (F-16, F/A-18, T-38, 737, helicopter pilot, author, cop, and wanna be race car driver) and Gonky (F/A-18, T-38, A320, dirt bike racer, author, and awesome dad) discuss everything from aviation to racing to life and anything in between.



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*The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.*
*Views presented are my own and do not represent the views of DoD or its Components.*

[beaw]

Gonky nailed it. We went through the same BS in the 60/70's. One size fits all really means everyone has to compromise performance.

[RyTrapp]

I think it's appropriate to give an honorable mention here to Northrop Grumman and the B-21 - on schedule and under budget. Absolutely unreal.

[marcppparis]

The F35 was “ let’s build an off-road amphibious sports car that’s gonna be the best and affordable “

[dogsbd]

The only way one design can work for both Navy and Air Force is if it starts out as a Navy design first (ie Phantom). You can take a carrier aircraft and remove some of the carrier "stuff" and make it a USAF aircraft, it is much harder to take a USAF aircraft and add carrier "stuff" to it.

Plenty of US Navy aircraft have operated with land based only air forces (Hornet, Phantom, Corsair, Bearcat, Skyraider) not many USAF aircraft have been converted to carrier none that I can think of.

[mcguire]

That's the greatness of the F4 Phantom. So far, it has been the only aircraft that was used by every service, and it did so quite well.

[khandimahn]

I'll give the Navy this much - at least they know what they want and are working to get it. The Air Force keeps changing their minds.

[roryvilla]

Love the artwork. Looks like a Tomcat humped an F22.

[itzpollixx]

The A-7 was an aircraft designed for the Navy and later on when the Air Force wanted to use it, they provided some input that Vought made upgrades for that the Navy eventually bought. This was a good example of cooperation between both services.

You also need to consider the fact that the Navy and the Air Force always come back with additional requirements after the plane was selected and starting to be built. The factory then has to compensate and possibly re-tool to meet the new requirements. This is why it sometimes takes a while. Also something to consider is the latest contracts that have been awarded have been fix priced contracts. So in order to save money to avoid additional costs, companies are taking a slower approach to maximize quality.

[jameskelly]

One of the axioms of Kelly Johnson is, "Engineers should be live on the same floor next to the workers." That way, engineering changes can be made quickly.

[matthewnewnham-runner-writer]

So well said, Gonky (about the huge differences between the Navy and the Air Force). And I say that as a former F-111 aviator (from the early 80s).

It seems like combining multiple roles within a single service is more effective and cost efficient, than trying to make a single platform for multiple services. For example if the F/A-XX can combine both the Super Hornet and Growler, and the NGAD can combine multiple Air Force platforms into one. That seems like the best possible balance between capability, cost, and support/logistics.

[manuelgreil]

Step 1: Trick a certain country into selling remaining Tomcats . Step 2: Use them to reverse-engineer it. Step 3: Contract Northrop Grumman to make brand new F-14EX Super Tomcats (fully digital, easy maintenance access and composites where applicable should reduce operational costs significantly). Step 4: "Highway to the Danger Zone" 😉 😃 🤙 Awesomeness > Stealth 😂

[charlesdavis]

I always called it, “One size fits none.” 😂

[Grutz]

As the U.S Navy had developed the F-14D Model with advanced avionics & power. It also had advanced plans of building a more super advanced version of the Tomcat. This illustration appears very similar to the advanced tomcat version complete with the variable sweep wing configuration.

[ferallion]

Be nice for the Navy to have a fleet defender again.

Been missing that capability since the 06.

[cliffwoodbury]

Soon As I Saw the Thumbnail I Knew It Looked Very Much Like The F-21 Super-Tomcat

[BrandonRauser]

If American procurement needs a complete overhaul I'm not even sure what words could be used to describe what's needed to fix Canadian procurement.

[charlesdriggers]

Thank You two are saying what needed to be said.

[planeflyer]

"Design a plane for a given mission and go with it."

Remember folks, you heard it here first...the A-10 is going nowhere! lol

[jager]

Wow, you mean we can learn lessons from history - Mind Blown. I've been saying for a while that we need a Navy F22 type dogfighter with a 2 seat variant for EW /Strike variant. The Airforce can use Navy planes, but the reverse is not true. Loyal wingman aircraft need to be small and super maneuverable, doing things a manned aircraft can never do and it needs a gun. Space on an aircraft carrier is very limited. The flying triangles are not what we are going to need.