LANGLEY AFB, Va. (AFNS) -- Two fighter aircraft development programs are critical to the modernization of the Air Force and its sister services, according to Gen. John Michael Loh, Air Combat Command commander.
"The F-22 and Joint Advanced Strike Technology programs will spawn the future fighters of our Air Force and of the other military services as well," said Loh.
"The F-22 will replace the F-15 and provide that very highly capable air superiority performance, while JAST will replace all of the 2,000 or so F-16s in the early part of the 21st Century."
While the F-15 is widely regarded as the world's finest fighter, sophisticated fighter aircraft and air defense systems being developed around the world could possibly out-perform the F-15 by the turn of the century, according to Air Force officials. With enhanced characteristics such as stealth, supersonic cruise, high maneuverability and advanced avionics, the F-22 will ensure U.S. air superiority well into the next century.
Loh believes derivatives of the F-22, such as an air-to-ground variant, a multi-role variant and air interdiction capability, will also make it appealing to the other services.
"With regard to the F-22," said Loh, "I'm hoping we can not only develop an air superiority fighter, but because of the tremendous technology available in that aircraft, we can develop derivatives of the F-22 like we've done with the F-15 and F-4. I see a few applications out there that can benefit from the $18 billion research and development investment we've made in the F-22 program.
"If the Navy is interested in a longer-range attack aircraft, then perhaps they can see a variant of the F-22 as satisfying that need. We also have a need for electronic combat aircraft, both aircraft for the destruction of enemy air defenses and for jamming of enemy air defenses. A specialized variant of the F-22 might fit that need. We have needs for reconnaissance from fighter-type platforms and a variant of the F-22 might serve that need as well," said Loh.
"Therefore, I'm trying to find ways to exploit the capability that we have developed with this technology in the F-22 beyond the current air superiority version which, of course, has our highest priority."
In the next 15 years, the military services have a requirement to replace the F-16, F-18, F-117, A-6 and F-15E as these aircraft reach the end of their useful service life. Joint Advanced Strike Technology is the Department of Defense program to bring together teams of war fighters and technologists to develop affordable strike weapon systems for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. The idea is to bring all the services together to focus on optimizing combat capabilities, maximizing commonality and reducing costs of next generation strike weapon systems.
"In the case of the JAST program, we need to nurture it along so it produces a set of fighters that address several issues: affordability, force structure and the low-end capability of our force structure," said Loh. "The F-16 is already being used by the Air Force in this capacity.
"We're looking for a multi-role aircraft, an aircraft that has both an air-to-air and an air-to-ground capability. An air-to-air capability not as extensive as the F-22, or an air-to-ground capability not as extensive perhaps as an F-22 air-to-ground variant, but one that we can buy in large numbers, because we need quantity as well as extremely high quality."
Loh said this aircraft could replace the F-16 and, after deleting some of the more sensitive technologies, could be made available to allies. "They would operate the same equipment we operate. That would serve them well because then we could combine our logistics systems and achieve a great deal of commonality," said Loh. "We can interoperate and have common tactics amongst our allies, which is very important for the future."
(Courtesy ACC News Service)
