When President Trump announced on Friday that the United States would move ahead with a long-debated project to build a stealthy next-generation fighter jet, the message to China was clear: The United States plans to spend tens of billions of dollars over the next decade, probably far longer, to contain Beijing’s ability to dominate the skies over the Pacific.
But here on earth, the reality has been very different.
As the Department of Government Efficiency roars through agencies across government, its targets have included some of the organizations that Beijing worried about most, or actively sought to subvert. And, as with much that Elon Musk’s DOGE has dismembered, there has been no published study of the costs and benefits of losing those capabilities — and no discussion of how the roles, arguably as important as a manned fighter, might be replaced.
Of course the US and China both have some kinds of stealthy fighter jets. That does’t mean that China has what the US has (or will have).
Or does “next-generation” have a specific meaning, other than “better”?
It means integrating AI and drones. 6th generation aircraft will act as motherships for drones.
J-36 is larger and is probably more capable of acting as a mothership.
Su-57M is just integrating AI and drones to the Su-57 alongside stealth improvements.
F-47 is smaller than both. This just seems like corruption to keep Boeing afloat. Boeing was not even expected to be the winning contender for the contract. That would be Lockheed Martin.