The race is officially ON to field America's new stealth fighter

[@HasardLee]

Amazing, thanks for the shout Alex! You're the go-to source for all military aviation. It's crisp, clean reporting in a murky field. There's no one who's close right now.

[@baronvonlimbourgh1716]

Do you have a youtube chanel?

[@titanlord9267]

Wow, it’s actually him

[@eurybaric]

@@baronvonlimbourgh1716 Yes, click on his username lmao

[@Custodes_Veritatus]

@@baronvonlimbourgh1716 Noooooooooo, he doesn’t.

[@Fairly_Epic]

Amen

[@BMF6889]

Hey Alex. My uncle was a double ACE in the Korean War and he was and still is famous in the Fighter mafia. He wrote a book called "No Guts, No Glory" which is still used in some fighter squadrons, especially his original squadron still active today. He retired as a Major General and one of the very few rare funerals at Arlington Cemetary which the government allowed a missing man flyover during his funeral. There were several things about him (Frederick "Boots" Blesse) that stood out for me. First, he never cursed. Second, he was the most happy and positive person I've ever known, and Third, he never drank--or he might have a sip of wine on a special occasion. He told me that he he didn't want anything to impair his ability to think and react in combat. He could have been a world class golfer, but flying was his passion. He died at the age of 91 on his country club golf club playing with his friends while on the 4th hole. Hundreds of friends and former pilots attended his memorial. And his wife invited them all to a free dinner and open bar at his Country Club afterwards. A number of Air Force and Navy pilots who had flown with him gave their stories about Boots during the dinner. His story from graduating from West Point in 1945 to flying WW II aircraft practicing dog fighting, to flying his fires year of missions in the Korean War in P-51 Mustangs and F-80's to his second year in the Korean War to flying the F-86 and shooting down 10 enemy aircraft. At the time, he was the top ACE in Korea although others that followed him shot down many more than 10. Boots won the air gunnery trophy's at Nellis AFB multiple times in the 1950's after the Korean War. He flew F-4 missions into North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. And he told me that he flew with the Israelis Air Force as an observer in combat missions that were never officially recorded. He was an amazing athlete, fighter pilot, leader, charismatic personality. He could sell you dog shit wrapped in a pink ribbon. He was just awesome in every way. My dad was a B-52 pilot and bomber staff officer, I had another uncle who flew F-106 interceptors during the cold war, I had another uncle who was a Green Bret who was gravely wounded in Vietnam, my brother was a Marine infantry officer who was on his 3rd tour in Vietnam when he was gravely wounded and spent a year in the hospital. I was only 5 miles from where my brother was wounded but I didn't learn about it until two weeks later from my parents by letter. I somehow managed to return to the States without a scratch (wounded by my own artillery but I didn't think that deserved a Purple Heart since it seemed they were trying to kill me instead of the enemy). I don't have much family left. Really just my brother and wife and my Green Beret uncle who is now in his late 80's. I have a half sister who is in her 80's and I'm 77. Looks like we are all on borrowed time now. I'm OK with that because I don't want to end up in diapers and being spoon fed. One of my most important payers to God is that He allow me to live long enough to take care of my wife and dogs. After that, I would like enough time to rewrite my will, downsize, and then I'm ready to come home to heaven. I've had one of the most satisfying and adventuresome life. I wish I could do it all over again even if I didn't know the outcome.

[@jedgarren2901]

Thank you for your services to The United States of America, Sir. Fair winds and Following Seas. 🇺🇲

[@cosmosstp]

Thanks from Korea 😊

[@TheBear710]

Thank your dad for his service but the fighter mafia is actually some of the most brain dead people ever.... The fighter mafia fought for some of the right things like guns being integrally mounted in the f4 but they also thought that missiles were garbage technology then a couple years later the F4E variant came out with aim7e2 missiles and shit all over them..... Also their "leader" Pierre Spray went on to say he created the a-10 the f16 the f22 and the f35 lmao.... And almost a year ago HE WENT ON RUSSIAN TELEVISION TO SHIT ON AMERICAN PLANES LMAO... Fighter mafia is garbage and should have never existed.

[@michaelwilliams3104]

Wonder if any of that was true, no way to know. No real name attached and the entire story had no point other than to stroke his family ego.

[@phillipbailey8163]

Every time you put a video of a new jet on here China watches copies the images in Digital 3D format and starts creating jets off of KZbin. It’s true they don’t need spy ballon’s they have KZbin. They have a guy to copy all of the Data on KZbin and create Digital 3D imaging, then models for wind tunnels etc etc until they come up with a Jet Courtesy of American Technology from KZbin. Since their Communist they have the manpower & resources to copy our ideas and go into production almost as soon as we do.

[@Adroit1911]

Having those book plates is awesome!!! I remember my dad, a mechanical engineer, going gaga for the yf-23! Its still my favorite looking airframe ever!

[@John-ed8ye]

The YF-23 was the right choice despite Alex’s conviction. Mostly because while it’s unknown if it would have been a better air superiority fighter, it was a vastly superior attack design. And like it or not the only air to air victory achieved by the F-22 was the shoot down of a Chinese balloon. At the end of the Cold War the F-15 which is still in production was more than enough for the air superiority role, but their was a definite shortage and need for more air to ground capability. If the YF-23 was chosen hundreds of additional planes with air to ground capability would likely have been built in contrast to the 177 not terribly needed F-22s.

[@justsain3236]

The Chinese will be using a nuclear powered engine to power their next gen fighter. Will the US?

[@Michaele1991]

I cannot get enough of this AirPower series! Keep up the good work Alex.

[@williamgill5286]

oh the good ole hushpuppy still going on and on about the nuances of the great debacle

[@CircaSriYak]

Should just rename the channel to that honestly

[@Onigatana]

YF-23 is still the coolest looking stealth aircraft

[@dianapennepacker6854]

Bird of Prey! That thing is so unique. Cheap too. I wonder how good the stealth was.

[@madsheine2038]

@@dianapennepacker6854 It had promised even better stealth than the F-22 Raptor, as far as I'm aware. Dunno how accurate it is.

[@dianapennepacker6854]

@@madsheine2038 Yeah it should be as it was bare bones and tiny haha. That thing is perfect for a drone short of the speed. The most impressive part was the cost! Lockheed actually freaken made a plane at a shockingly low price. They would charge ya 10$ for a freaken paper airplane.

[@peceed]

No one copied it, which suggests that the F-22-style shape is better after all. The F-22 got a lot of solutions from the YF-23 - the loser had to share technology with a competitor.

[@SavNout01]

Why didn't it make the cut?

[@agaupt1]

Thanks!

[@StaticImage]

You see, Alex? Stuff like this is why you've been nominated for (and will hopefully win) that award nomination. Your content is SO good.

[@haywoodbroussard1884]

I am excited to see that the DOD is getting much closer to bringing the Gen 6th fighter to reality. Thank you Sandbox and Alex for your the informative video's on Air Power. I always look forward to viewing them.

[@williamgill5286]

why are you excited with excitement where the sun dont shine

[@stevewhite3424]

​@@williamgill5286 Time to quit drinking and go to bed.

[@TheOriginalFaxon]

One thing to remember about Boeing, they also have multiple UCAV Loyal Wingman type designs (both officially known and assumed to exist if these programs exist and based on renders they've released), and it's entirely possible they might end up building and maintaining that fleet if they don't get one of the two 6th gen fighter contracts currently on the table. That's a lot of contracts go go around and it's almost assumed that Boeing will get at least one of them since their designs have thus far been pretty solid, even if they were just X planes mostly, like the X-32 prototype that competed with the X-35 that became the F-35, and the X-41 stealth drone concept that could take off and land from a carrier. Boeing will be fine lol

[@Gunni1972]

Trouble is, Their X-Drone has been hacked, and landed on Iranian soil in 2011. X-41 it was i think. Yes, they'll do the MQ-26 MQ-25, etc. But how will they keep up with a heavy fighter, whose mission is to get in fast, release a truckload of Air to Air or Air to Ground missiles, and get out again? Let the Drones Dogfight? can't wait to see that tested.

[@Matt-yg8ub]

Keep in mind, the way government contracts work a lot of the tech from the x32 wound up in the F-35.

[@Statueshop297]

Boeing has a horrible recent history with program delays, costs etc. A new plane could sink the company if they bid it wrong.

[@andrewmoore7022]

@@Gunni1972 that was the Lockheed Martin RQ-170.

[@scotthall1381]

Northrop has already built and carrier landed muiptile UCAVs

[@danpatterson8009]

Love it- the two most advanced fighters in the world in service, and already working on the next thing. My money's on LockMart.

[@Gunni1972]

They'll take it Gladly. And ask for more. About every other week. With another General they hired.

[@pogo1140]

As far as the financial oversight folks are seeing the DoD is being overcharged by LM & it's subcontractors by at least 30% over cost plus and have been since production began. Components that cost $400 in the commercial market are being sold to the services at $1,200.

[@stevewhite3424]

​​@@pogo1140 Please provide a current example of a civillian component costing four hundred dollars costing the military twelve hundred dollars . Please include it now what were the specfications levied against the product. Don't bother repeating the 50 year old hammer trope.

[@pogo1140]

@Steve White Senators Sanders and Grassley a 2 day old story and ators are asking the Pentagon about LM, Raytheon and TransDigm, among others about making 40-4,000% profits on parts sold to the military vs the same parts sold to NASA. Their source is Shay Assad and others.

[@Kwijiboi]

It won't be Lockheed. Definitely Northrop and/or boeing.

[@Peter_Morris]

This is so exciting. I’ve been following fighter development since I was a kid in the 80s, mesmerized by the teen series. After the ATF competition, things felt so stale because development seemed to slow to a snail’s pace through the 90s and early 2000s. I was REALLY surprised when the govt let slip they designed, built, and flew a next-gen prototype a few years ago. I really hope that’s true and I hope we get to see it some day. And I really hope this isn’t an SDI-style bluff where some of the tech sees the light of day but the overall program doesn’t.

[@Gunni1972]

Look, it WILL be the absolute "Signal to noise ratio" fighter plane. Emit no signal, but there will be so much noise about it, It will NEVER live up to the Hype. And even if it does Mach 3, there is no drone that could keep up with that yet. Not unless the "A.I.-wingman" drone costs about as much (or more) than an F-35 today. We can't even upload all the battlefield Map data in an "emergency case". Much less to train an AI to do maneuvers according to the changing conditions.Or entire Missions. If the NGAD will be a "Boom and Zoom" fighter, (bad at rolling and turning) You got a Hypersonic Missile nightmare ahead, once the enemy masters Electro-optical zooms, or UV/IR or Magnetoscopic detection (Satellite based detection still is a thing). Once weather satellites get a 10 m resolution, no matter what airplane you fly at whatever altitude. it will be detected. Just by changing temperature and humidity of the Air.

[@gregderise9969]

Excellent update. I’ve been wondering what’s happening. I’m so glad to see it’s moving forward rapidly, with the China problem we need to get in front of. I’m a big big fan of the YF-23 so I favor NG for that reason. LM has great experience now so I favor them for that reason. Boeing has flubbed multiple programs, civilian, military, and NASA, so I’m hesitant toward them. However MD engineers who now work for Boeing have done great fighter work. The fact both companies worked on low observable before it was a thing indicates some favorability toward them. But lots of time has gone by since the last time any of them designed a proposal for our an actual production Low Observable fighter, so more than one of them could probably produce a very effective NGAD. With the F/A-XX yet to come, we could see some stellar designs in the next span of time that with a couple of Adaptive cycle engines could have 85-90,000 lbs of thrust and fuel mileage like we’ve never seen to go with it, and massive electrical generators that will make these airplanes a giant leap over 5th Gen, with amazing sensors and super computers with wings that would make even the upgraded F-35 tilt its hat toward the NGAD manned platform.

[@Yuki_Ika7]

Agreed, I am also rooting for NG, they just do stealth the best

[@evoman44]

This update left out one of the main reasons why the Air Force is looking for a new stealth fighter. That is because of the whole F-35 debacle in particular with LM having a monopoly on upgrades because they are the sole proprietors of the data. I recommend looking up an article titled "Avoiding F-35 Acquisition malpractice Aim of next gen air dominance fighter on The warzone site.

[@AK-ky3ou]

Ng dropped out of the ngad manned aircraft.

[@chrisoverbey5937]

Just WOW the amount of research, and the insight is off the charts

[@Alachua03]

Went to the 2023 Fun & Sun Airshow at Lakeland, Fl. this year! Saw and felt the USAF F35A and USMC F35B in a performance to remember for the rest of my life! Impressive is an understatement!

[@adamfree9903]

another excellent, informative and visually stunning piece, Alex. thanks to Rodrigo for amazing 3D renderings!

[@bobgreene2892]

Very much appreciate your effort to trace competition among the three (counting MD as one competitor) American aerospace titans. Putting all factors-- technical and political-- into the analysis makes this video all the more important.

[@gorethegreat]

Great knowledge and unparalleled passion. Well done AH!

[@GaryBickford]

Here's my prediction for Gen 7: able to operate in near-space domain. I'm anxiously waiting for USSF to start talking about a trans-atmospheric vehicle that operates in orbital space but can dip into the highest level of atmosphere, and never lands except for rebuilding, so will require launch from a booster.

[@zachcarter7535]

I think the X-37B is the test bed for this exact mission. An unmanned platform that can loiter in space and eliminate or capture satellites and then glide back down to earth at hypersonic speeds to return the stolen satellites and/or conduct an attack on a critical facility.

[@mr.nemesis6442]

Science fiction is becoming reality boys

[@CircaSriYak]

Quietly waiting for the Space Force's first space cruiser. At this point it's not even a joke.

[@GaryBickford]

@@octonoozle Dang, I missed that one. That would be a neat trick in a helicopter!! 😜 A long way from 42,500 feet!

[@jonathanpfeffer3716]

Really cool, but I’m not sure how being able to operate near or in space would aid a fighter’s ability to create air dominance. Sounds more like you would want a satellite with missiles on it.

[@ClericChris]

It hurts knowing we didn't get the F-23 (Black Widow). The two would have looked good in formation together. I've heard aerospace Bro's say that Japan worked with Northrop for their 5th gen and they used many of the design ideas.

[@bmozumder]

Great video. Loved the YF-23 as well, as it was the main aircraft in Jetfighter II that I used to play for years

[@TK199999]

It may also be that two of competitors have agreed to pool their resources and work together. Like Northup and Boeing.

[@bertg.6056]

An excellent presentation, Alex. You're the best !

[@neild3074]

I think it has been pretty well established that the mistery aircraft at Area 51 was the full size model of the fictional hypersonic prototype aircraft from Top Gun: Maverick, which was made by the Lockheed Skunk Works.

[@jfh4270]

Excellent video, very informative and well researched/summarised. Thanks for outling the state of play!

[@TheJudoJoker]

I kind of want Northrop Grumman to win to get some redemption for the YF23.

[@karlkobler218]

Northrop wins but shares production across all 3 defense giants.

[@fakecubed]

It won't be Northrop Grumman because they've apparently gone woke and hire based on DEI metrics now.

[@rickjames18]

Really enjoyed this one from Sandboxx so thanks. Did anyone catch the 60 minutes report on US contractors like Lockheed price gouging? No wonder the navy/military or defense are hurting for ships, munitions, and everything else. How can we buy the platforms, weapons, and equipment needed when the contracts are bad from the start and one part that cost $350 to elsewhere is being sold to the government at $10,000 per part. Do we need to reform the aquisition process or hire more negotiators?

[@Istandby666]

We were project YF-23 at Edwards Air Force Base. I still believe to this day, the government messed up when choosing the YF-22. What people don't realize, is when a company loses the contract, a whole lot of people lose their job. If you're lucky enough, you'll just move to another project.

[@josephszczerbiak]

I am with you about why they scrapped

[@joeybabybaby5843]

4:53 - 5:04 Are f-35s being accompanied by Russian fighters?

[@linsen8890]

My guess is that Lockheed Martin or Northrop Grumman will get the NGAD contract, with Boeing getting substantial Loyal Wingman work (Boeing Australia has been working on the MQ-28 Ghost Bat for quite awhile), while Boeing will get the Navy FA-XX contract with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman getting portions of that work, like avionics based on evolution of the F-35's avionic, etc.

[@donpierce4829]

I would have guessed the same thing but Northup just took themselves out of the running. So that leaves Boeing and Lockheed. I'm guessing Lockheed will get the NGAD and Boeing F

[@Artie308]

I think that at 17:17 the mystery airplane you are referring to in the front left is seen flying by in the back above the B2.

[@jul1anuhd]

I don't know how any of these aircraft will look like, but here are my predictions: Stealthiest: Northrop Grumman Fastest: Lockheed Martin Ugliest (sorry): Boeing Longest Range: Northrop Grumman or Boeing Best looks: Lockheed Martin Best Copy 10-20 years after commissioning: Chengdu from China

[@simonwoess5679]

The PLAAF actually said they want their first prototype of an 6th gen fighter flying by 2026 and want it to be combat ready by the mid 2030s So more about 5 to 10 years

[@jul1anuhd]

@@simonwoess5679 I'm talking about a real 6th gen fighter jet, not a 6th generation fighter jet with "chinese characteristics"

[@simonwoess5679]

@@jul1anuhd Me to

[@jul1anuhd]

@@simonwoess5679 China still has no real fifth generation Aircraft. e.g. the J-20 in terms of stealth could be considered 5th generation because it has a stealthy design (but still by far not as stealthy as an F-35 or F-22), but it's avionics and other electrical systems are still far behind an F-35. If China brings out a "6th generation fighter", I expect its avionics to be on par with a Block-II or maybe even Block-III F-35.

[@simonwoess5679]

@@jul1anuhd The J-20s Sensor fusion and combat avarnes are better than anything else flying today exept for the F-35 with HDM and EOTS simmular to the F-35 Its upcomming 2 seater Version should also have the capability to comand loyal wingman drones Also the F-22 has some massive problems with it's sensor fusion capability and lack of HMD and nobody would ever say that it is not a 5th gen fighter Edit: Please I didn't say that the J-20 was anyway superior to American stealth fighters and I am by no means a chinese Troll or somthing I Just want that people don't underestimate the thread China could pose

[@riconeu873]

Thanks Mr. Hollings for sharing these precious informations! Keep on going!

[@houseoquinnizyodaddy]

I really wish we could have seen the YF23 in action. BTW Alex, I always love the videos. You are so thorough and the videos are great to watch. Keep up the amazing work.

[@ilkoderez601]

It's great that you mentioned the potential to equip a solid state laser. There's another video on youtube that was *just* released and it doesn't mention the laser system at all.

[@deadronin47]

Something I learned over 30 years ago from military development. When they lunch a new fighter the next fighter is already being built. So at this point when you have the f-35 lunched that means the next fighter to replace it is already being built.

[@justinryanvalencia05]

not really... sure R&D never stops, but there is no f35 replacement being built right now... hell they are still in concept phase for the f22 replacement with no contract in place yet

[@flightscapeaviationphoto]

Best Aerospace/Defense channel on KZbin !!! Thanks Alex Hollings 🙌

[@martinoamello3017]

Pretty amazing that in my lifetime they've gone from designers drawing things on a standard drafting table to super computing. Then again I still remember the phone at home being bolted to the kitchen wall with a long curly cord. My grandparents has a crank phone.. I guess that means I'm past prime time..lol

[@tonyromano4341]

Outstanding reporting. Thanks Alex.

[@lhalloran94]

Win or lose, you're our journalist of the year. Great report, Alex!

[@RoadHead62]

I'm from Barstow, less than 10 miles from Helendale. We used to drive our 4x4's over from highway 58 where there's one particular spot as you drive along looking Southward you can see a huge radar dish. The road off of 58 where you see the dish leads to a nice hillside view of the entire facility. No one messes with you, you can look all you want. We used to party up there, but they do have roving patrols inside the fenced perimeter.

[@nonamesplease6288]

Based on my experience with advanced,but yet to be publicized, high performance aircraft from the past, you can pretty much expect any artists renderings at this stage of the game to be purposely misleading. As we get closer to the roll out date, the enemy's intelligence services will have gotten a look at the plane, and the artist renderings will become more accurate.

[@SoloRenegade]

"the enemy's intelligence services will have gotten a look at the plane" who? how?

[@jordanledoux197]

@@SoloRenegade Literally tens of thousands of people MUST be able to know what it looks like in order for it to actually be manufactured. At that point, no matter your security measures, you can only keep things like the basic appearance secret for so long.

[@SoloRenegade]

@@jordanledoux197 "Literally tens of thousands of people MUST be able to know what it looks like in order for it to actually be manufactured. " not even remotely true. most people are making parts and have no clue what it's ultimately being used on. Or they see a part, that tells them nothing about the final form. The core team of engineers and managers knows what it looks like in its entirety, but that team is likely 100 people or less. I've designed things for NASA that went into outer space and only a seven person team was involved in tis development. Vendors made parts, but only pieces of the puzzle. At the end of the day, there were only 3 people on the team who knew what the entire system looked like in its entirety and had actually worked on all parts of it physically (myself being one of them). We assembled all the constituent parts and pieces personally in our offices and labs, did testing, etc. And where I work, we also do work and design things for gov agencies, and the levels of secrecy and information control, lab access, etc. is pretty strict. And we aren't even working on tech like the NGAD fighter. The gov enforces all sorts of restrictions on the people who get to work on stuff, who has access to information. I've worked on projects where as a lead design engineer for the project, I was intentionally kept in the dark on certain aspects of the product, as I didn't need to know and only the very top managers were approved access to that information, and they basically oversaw the design to make sure the critical design goals were met by what we designed. Those who have access are restricted on when and where they are allowed to travel, who they can talk to, etc. And we deal with stuff like this for things far less secret than NGAD, the B-21, etc. Also, even just using my own knowledge and experiences, I can, and Have, easily deceived people about details of what I was working on. I give them rough/early concept models, or incorrect details, etc. to through them off and keep them guessing. or when discussing things, I'll mix up two ideas to explain something while ensuring they can never piece the details together correctly. they know too little, and they don't know which details I changed, and have no way of figuring it out. It's very easy to be intentionally vague. Things change alot over the course of a design, and even a functional prototype can look very different from the final product. and so you can easily share older work that has fatal flaws, is incomplete, is missing all of the finer details that come later in design, etc. It just depends upon what you are sharing, with whom, and for what reason. Very easy to wage a disinformation campaign on something you control the design and details of. You can give people false teasing details and let their imaginations run with it in the completely wrong direction. But yes, eventually people will find out what it looks like, just like the F-117A, B-21, and others. But if they managed the project properly, that will only occurred when they want to reveal the exterior design (B-21, B-2, F-117A, NGAD, AH-66, stealth blackhawk helicopter, etc.)

[@slickfast]

​@Jordan LeDoux LOL, so confidently incorrect. You realize F117s were built and flying (production versions, they already built and flew Have Blue before that) for two years before anyone even knew they existed right? Hell even military fighter pilots like Ward Carroll who were flying sorties nearby didn't even realize they were part of the cover story! And in the modern era the B-21 was a massive production program and we STILL didn't even get a glimpse of it until it was intentionally unveiled.

[@jordanledoux197]

@@slickfast Before the public knew. I'm not saying that the Russian or Chinese intelligence agencies are incredibly good, but pretty sure they know stuff like this before we do fairly often. That is, after all, their job.

[@reggregg8652]

Did you notice the fly-by at 17:17 that's something new and most people didn't even notice

[@reggregg8652]

Plus the middle one on the left looks kinda like a UAP

[@dmathmothtutinean8950]

ITS ABOUT TO go DOWN✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿👍🏿‼️🇺🇸‼️‼️

[@usapanda7303]

Let’s gooooooooo!!!!! 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻 EZ 😎🇺🇸

[@Samuel-su4qc]

That part great brother 🤝🏾👍🏾💯

[@innocentbimenyimana7858]

Propagandist here! You will never ever fool anyone. We’re seeing how A 1980s Patriots Air defense is destroying a newly so called Putin’s undefeated hypersonic weapon. A new history is being built on the ground in Ukraine. Where Zerensky is going down as a 21st century Churchill. A comedian guy how is going to defeat the so-called invisible Russian man🤣🤣 Putin 😊

[@Markt-uk8zt]

​❤😢Touch and hold a clip to pin it. Unpinned clips will be deleted after 1 hour.

[@2goober4u]

RAHHHHHH 🇺🇲🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲

[@chrivedy]

Thanks Alex! My favorite KZbin channel

[@antonleimbach648]

One thing that’s going to be crucial to the NGF program is scalability. How quickly can our manufacturers build the plane and how much does each one cost? If China is our main adversary building not just hundreds but thousands of these fighters quickly would be needed in a conflict.

[@davidb6576]

There's a fundamental problem of keeping manufacturing facilities (and their feeder companies) from being damaged/destroyed if major conflict erupted. I hope there's deep underground "build bunkers" or lots of Patriot-style protective systems in place, otherwise whatever stock you have at the start of the war will be what you've got for the duration.

[@bingo5694]

2:30 there appears to be a pair of mig-21's flying formation with F-16's (presumably belonging to or working with Top Aces based on the previous footage here). Reminded me of an experience I had a few weeks ago, I live in southern appalachia and saw a Mig-21 with blue camo fly over my house, low, through a commonly used MOA. I've been going bonkers trying to figure out why there would be a Mig flying over my house that is nowhere near a typical aggressor home base. I welcome y'alls thoughts.

[@tonyf3431]

the idea of an air dominance platform that can't maneuver like a fighter but carries enough raw firepower to make up for it kinda reminds me of the B-17 Flying Fortress like obviously the B-17 wasn't an air superiority platform but the idea of "I don't need to outmaneuver you, you're gonna run anyway because of the sheer amount of firepower I'm packing" is there.

[@stevedow2740]

Outstanding work. 😊

[@thudthud5423]

I've taken a look at the "mystery plane" that looked like it was under the apparent tarp on the tarmac at the Groom Lake airbase and I noticed something very interesting about it: Its "shadow" was cast toward the south, the opposite direction of any other shadow in the Northern Hemisphere (the Sun is in the southern sky and thus shadows are cast toward the north). I love the concept of a "airborne no-fly zone generator" in a large multi-engine aircraft with a direct energy weapon.

[@totalnerd5674]

I thought that thing (The one from the satellite photo, yes?) looked like an F-16XL

[@thudthud5423]

@@totalnerd5674 You know, I'm looking back at my comment and I forgot to post my conclusion: the "mystery plane" was nothing other than an image painted on the tarp. The people who put the tarp on goofed and had the shadow drawn on the tarp facing toward the Sun instead of away from it.

[@totalnerd5674]

@@thudthud5423 Ah

[@DUKE_of_RAMBLE]

I thought the same thing, about the image being on the tent tarp... But then I concluded that if they wanted to misdirect like that, they could just use a flat tarp without the obvious tent pole bulges. So my thought was the "shadow" is just image ghosting due to the speed the satellite is traveling. It's in the correct direction, after all. Granted, even that seems a bit 'off', given the age of technology we're in and the fact it's a static object (whereas that phenomena does still occur with in flight aircraft that get photographed)... So I'm not entirely convinced that's the purpose, either. 🤷‍♂️ It's curious, though, that much I can agree on!

[@CircaSriYak]

@@thudthud5423 A fascinating theory but I like to think that a counter-intelligence op of such high consequence wouldn't have made such a rookie mistake.

[@robertlesliebryant3414]

Thankyou Alex , the best ( update ) we've seen , so far. We'll Done pilot !

[@redundantstuff100]

8:00 i love how sandbox refuses to acknowledge the efforts of Australia

[@avus-kw2f213]

Their American supremacists

[@dsdy1205]

I mean, what has Australia really done for the world? Besides black boxes, spray-on skin, pacemakers, Google Maps, penicillin treatment methods, plastic money, hearing aids, cordless drills, WiFi, ultrasound, plastic glasses, and airliner emergency slides?

[@michaelshortland8863]

I just really love this channel it is my favorite channel full of the latest news and Alex really knows his stuff, which is why i subscribe.

[@marcm.]

I would actually prefer that there be more than one design being used. In part because I want there to be more of these companies not less. Maybe a sharing building contract or the Air Force reviving the concept of small and large fighters as well as having the hive mind big ass airframe Plus many drones. I like the idea of pairing a wigman with these fighters that is autonomous as well as having a large platform able to carry a couple of operators and the pilots that control multiple autonomous drones. For example the light fighters could be one's design with the idea of use in non-ideal circumstances with regards to runway and maintenance out in the field. The heavy fighter being a true F-22 successor, all of these concepts working together when available. Eliminate the need for a true AWACS and eliminate the lag associated with drones currently, as well as have some more localized control due to fog of war issues. Regardless the fast pace idea of design and iteration is one that at least gives us the opportunity of keeping some form of competition within this industry

[@jonathanpfeffer3716]

The “light fighter” you describe will be the drone CCAs, which are a different contract than the PCA component of the NGAD, and will likely be made by a different contractor.

[@aidanwilliams9452]

F-35 and NGAD are the combination going forward, with drone wingmen as an extended tool for both. Too many different airframes and you create more supply chains needing more parts and trained staff that could otherwise be used in improving logistics on existing airframes

[@eldwdubu6968]

Could you get into the paint or covering or whatever it is that does not heat up applied to the NGAD aircraft that allows the aircraft to safely fly more than Mach 5?

[@Martin-117]

The YF-23 was said to be so fast with greater altitude than the (then) YF-22 that even today, it's still classified. It was a true stealth fighter that exceeded the NG team's expectations that everyone who witnessed the tests were so sure it would've won the contract.

[@marktorch9079]

Boe's X-35 21:45 looks similar to China's Mighty dragon. With the larger wings and the smaller wing placement.

[@dmacpher]

The technology demonstrator discussions always get messy. The Abrams X demonstrator still gets cited chapter and verse as the next SEP 🤷

[@JMurph2015]

One of the big changes I heard that they were doing for the NGAD was that they would do split design, build, and sustainment contracts?

[@ronaldschoolcraft8654]

While working on the Lift Fan system for what would become the F35B, I always thought that Boeing's X32 looked like a pregnant moth. Their ducted thrust lift system (i.e. Harrier type) was also a limiting factor. Plus, their entry never flew with actual retractable gear. It was too heavy.

[@Matt-yg8ub]

Couple of caveats there, one there was a limit on how much money Boeing and Lockheed were allowed to spend on their prototypes for the joint strike fighter. Lockheed, of course, threw that out the window, and spent $200 million developing the engine prior to the beginning of the program, because they got the heads up from their moles, in Congress in advance. So already lucky was cheating :-) to the reason why Boeing‘s prototype was heavy, was because lock it again leaned on their malls in Congress to get the specifications for the program changed which forced Boeing to have to go back to the drawing board. At the same time Lockheed got the DOD to push up the test date which then forced Boeing to field their prototype before it was ready. It basically came down to this, the F 22 already existed so Boeing designed a much cheaper mass produced stealth missile bus that did the job that the joint strike fighter was supposed to perform. Lockheed on the other hand build a slightly different version of the F22 that could go really fast and perform fancy aerial maneuvers and impress the fighter mafia who swooned over it, and immediately threw truckloads of money at them to get it in production….. but then they had to wait 15 years longer than they thought in order to get it into production, because Lockheed‘s model was so riddled full of bugs and problems and issues, and technical glitches and rebuilds and re-designs and software problems that the cost overruns could’ve funded several small nations by the time they finally got it to fly.

[@ronaldschoolcraft8654]

@@Matt-yg8ub let me ask you, we're you there? I was actually working on the Lift Fan system in 1989 and 1990 under a strict veil of secrecy. You can say that the deck was stacked against Boeing, but that simply isn't true. General Electric was wedded to gas coupled designs back then and we, Allison, we're competing and beating them with gear driven designs (Model 578-DX PropFan Demonstrator and the Lift Fan). Boeing wedded themselves to GE. Their concept never stood a chance. If you understood area ruling, you would know why. As for the length of time to complete the F35, you seem to forget, or never knew, that the requirements kept changing. It's tough to score when the goal post keeps moving.

[@Matt-yg8ub]

@@ronaldschoolcraft8654 Exactly, it was very difficult for Boeing to score when Lockheed kept getting the DOD to move the goal posts :-). Bro I worked for Boeing, I’m intimately familiar with how this process went down…Including the fact of the current F-35 has had the engine changed out three separate times since you worked on the design in 89:-). Also, the current F-35 has 20 years of improvements compared to the X35 demonstrator…. The X32 Would have been no different. It’s grossly disingenuous to pretend that it would not have undergone multiple iterations and revisions to arrive at the final production model.

[@ronaldschoolcraft8654]

@@Matt-yg8ub I never said there were no developmental changes between the X35 and the F35B. That's something you came up with and tried to claim that I said. The fact is, the X35 performed a mission including short take-off, full transition to wing-borne flight, aux doors closed, gear up, climb to altitude, rendezvous with a tanker, take on fuel, decouple, accelerate to supersonic speed, return to base, transition to vertical flight, and execute a vertical landing. That was Mission X in 2001. I have a video of it. That mission sealed the deal for Lockheed. The X32 never came close to doing any of that. Now what other excuses can you come up with?

[@Matt-yg8ub]

Tale as old as time, Lockheed knows in advance what the specifications for a project are going to be before the project begins, dumps a couple hundred million dollars into the project before it officially begins so that they can avoid the budget caps on the prototypes, and then would you believe it …has a prototype ready sooner than the other guy so started when they were supposed to, and instead of performing to the spec for the project, flies a bunch of loops and does a bunch of shit that impressive the fighter mafia and gets the contract, regardless of whether any of that shit was actually part of what it was supposed to be doing in the first place. :-)

[@Legion-xq8eo]

5:25 Can someone explain the two panels on the back of the F-35 pls?!? I figure it has something to do with the STOVL takeoff variant because I’ve only noticed it on the B model I’m pretty sure. I figured the hinged door worked kinda like a hood scoop forcing air down inside it to a fan but there’s two of them so what would the second set or sliding doors be? Maybe an auxiliary air intake? Does it supply the same fan or a different one? I figured someone on here will know, tia 👍

[@ericmason349]

I could see Boeing getting the contract for the pilotless drones that will fly with stealth fighters in the future. Aren't they making the refueling drones for the Navy? Boeing will have plenty of work making drones if they get the contract. When they give the glimpse of an aircraft in their adds I cannot help to think they are looking for a bump in their stock to boost the bonuses for their executives. This is something the SEC should look at for a pattern.

[@Meatball1407]

Would this next gen fighter have a carrier variant or at least a VTOL variant? And these companies will have there work cut out for them trying to get some of the maneuverability back😅

[@Ilyak1986]

First? In any case...I really wonder how this ngad thing will function. A jet not tuned for high G maneuvers feels like it will need some exemplary defenses to keep an adversary from achieving a lock.

[@simonwoess5679]

It should have good stealth capabilities for low and high frequency radar on a level where it will only be visible at a few NM Good luck trying get a radar lock in the first place

[@Ilyak1986]

@@simonwoess5679 could be an IRST lock.

[@simonwoess5679]

@@Ilyak1986 I would say that a fighter that should replace the F-22 should at least have the same if not a smaller heat signature So yes it would be very hard to get a missile lock in any way

[@astralwerks4]

I've been waiting for someone to put out a video like this. Ty

[@krzysztofoleksij]

Northrop Gruman air dominance

[@mill2712]

If they win that is.

[@MauricioBarragan]

@10:06 The most advanced plane there is the E-2 baby! Yall dont know what yall dont know. Shhhh🤫

[@Musix4me-Clarinet]

Great video, as always. As an aside, I have gotten frustrated that *Digital Combat Simulator (DCS)* modders have not created _any NGAD designs yet._ As far as the technical model is concerned, they would have to be much easier to model than the 4th-Gen aircraft with their many external variations. I guess I'm a little too excited for the future to arrive! Edit: Just to clarify, the community has created one "NGAD" model. I'm not a fan of their choice of models (from a Game). kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2apZn-Piq-ghac

[@Gunni1972]

That's because DCS is trying to integrate as many known facts as possible. Yes, you could integrate the shape of a plane, but without at least approximate Thrust/weight/wing loading (aerodynamics) estimates. it is a non-starter. Just take the Powerplant for example: If the weight, and power output of the P-W F-135 change as dramatically as "announced", You'll probably have just too many variables to estimate "Right".

[@Musix4me-Clarinet]

@@Gunni1972 Sorry, I meant to refer to the modding community, rather than Eagle Dynamics themselves-I realize ED has a much higher standard that what is often produced in the community since they are selling a product. Certainly whatever is produced will be fictional, but the community has does not seem to have been against fudging numbers to create what they think an approximation. For example, there are F-35 and F-22 mods out there that use "best available data", and are incomplete as far as the ability to replicate radar and data integration as we understand the F-35 is able to do. [As an aside, the community has oddities like space shuttle air balloons, airplanes made of oil containers and wood, and Star Wars vehicles, among others.] I guess I am a little too excited to visualize scenarios with the NGAD designs I've seen imagined and predicted. That's all. I realize they would have to adjust the underlying .lua files (coding that affects model capabilities) later as information is made available.

[@Musix4me-Clarinet]

@@cancermcaids7688 See my reply to Gunni1972 above.

[@johnmiller6688]

Excellent....seriously. I've sent your stuff to everyone I know. And thanks for breaking it down enough for the non-engineer to understand something like a turbofan combined cycle rotating detonation engine. And your missile run downs are as amazing as the kinetic vehicle systems themselves.

[@MrGameMeister]

Alex, what have you heard about Russia jamming jdams in Ukraine?

[@kermittoad]

They can be jammed to an extent, they still guide with INS and become a bit less accurate. GPS jammers have very limited range, by that time INS will do the job, jamming them the whole flight would have a significant impact which is kinda not possible due the low frequency of gps signals blending with background noise. I'm sure Alex has heard of it, not that relevant I guess.

[@MrGameMeister]

@@kermittoad I mentioned this as I had seen it reported elsewhere, but thought Alex would be a better source of information and detail. What i read is basically what you state, but it also goes to targeting. Ukraine may be using them on point targets rather than area targets which contributes to a bigger miss rate.

[@exodus1383]

5:03 what are the jets flying below the F-35s?

[@canadagooses]

MiG-29

[@ajbertelson9871]

God, seeing how much fails boeing has had for the last few years I hope they don't get this.

[@mpesposito6973]

Watched Hasard for a long time and the book is sitting in my cart. Can’t wait to read it!

[@CircaSriYak]

Based on how long the F22 was in development, how many years are we away from seeing the airframe?

[@jeremyholland4527]

I think this one will be much faster than the F-22 and F-35 given the tension with China and the increased productivity with AI but I imagine it will still be quite some time before we see it.

[@jul1anuhd]

With the F-22, the cold war had just ended and there was no competition. Now, in a new almost cold war, the development will be much faster. At the beginning of the 2030s, the thing should already be in service. Fighter jets are usually not kept classified for a long time because of their large quantity, so probably in 5-10 years.

[@michaelmichaelagnew8503]

The F-22 was in development for at least 20 years before it came out. Mainly because the soviet fell and they were wondering if the plane was necessary.

[@karpovlepreux2323]

I’m French and while my favorite is Rafale, I have my American preferred birds and as I’m an older citizen it starts with P51 Mustang, then Phantom 4, F22 Raptor and A10… please give us a nice bird along the next generation. Keep up the good job 👍👍👍

[@ITube4RealFun]

Alex again proves why he IS one of the best defense analysts dead or alive.

[@onebridge7231]

As a Navy Veteran, I’m really hoping the Navy gets a generational leap of badassery for the flat tops. It’d be great if it had super cruise, a 1000 mile plus combat range, and the ability to control fighter drones as wingmen.

[@michaelmichaelagnew8503]

Ya navy would have had a great interceptor as a stopgap until 5th gen and beyond if the super tomcat could have happened.

[@STARFLEETC0MMAND]

😮 Meanwhile CCP Will Translate This Book and Implement It.

[@akkowll]

This channel and Ward Carrol are so informative. It is clear both of you have knowledge that is factual and not just conjecture or opinion. Clearly both of you use your military experience to educate and inform the public on matters that concern (and very well should) every American. I look forward to your drops from all of your choices as I know I will complete the video a more educated and appreciative American. Thank you for continuing to serve the USA!

[@About_That_Life]

Of course it’s going to be better than the F-22 and F-35 anything worse will be a failure. I mean what would the be the point in making it if it’s not better than the last two jet’s

[@anthonymedina5186]

Great video. Excited to see the development of our new fighter

[@RFDelie]

I think the airforce should talk to NASA about Boeing's ability to deliver on time and on budget.

[@michaelmichaelagnew8503]

Boing has had a leadership problem since the late 90's. The defense department is the only reason they exist because they can't lose them so they pitty them with contracts.

[@daledenstedt6369]

Japan new 6th generation fighter looks like yf23 beautiful plane

[@williampulley]

If history teaches us anything, the Airforce will only actually buy 100 units at 50 bajillion dollars each.

[@kermittoad]

Let's see how the B-21 goes, it's actually on time and on budget, I think they got shit figured out finally.

[@cookiecola5852]

Well i will actually dispute that The F-35 required new ways to produce them, to keep the plane within its requirement When next planes comes out they might be more familiar and efficent what they can do to reduce the costs Today Nobody question the cost of virtual computers, but when it was revolutionary it probobly was a insane cost Also more of the part will probobly be 3D printed Also in the future with new scanning tech might help to efficently reveal failure in production or something wrong with an aircraft during maintainence If you fear of falling on ur face keep you from walking, then you probobly wont ever run

[@06colkurtz]

cost overruns are often a result of the customer adding more and more scope to the program without adding dollars or schedule to match. And they put inspection and test requirements in place that drive costs out of sight.

[@markdeckard7651]

Meanwhile the US flagship Star Destroyer rolling into Oslo yesterday like NBD (USS Gerald Ford) kzbin.info/www/bejne/iamxiJyQnsx9kNU

[@KB-gu2sc]

Great overview! Thank you for your work!

[@iamscoutstfu]

This shit is my superbowl.

[@Angl0sax0nknight]

I’m curious if a power plant could be powerful enough to run a directed energy weapon in a fighter. Space is often limited and weigh is a concern.

[@mrthingy9072]

Let's see: Lockheed. Haven't seen the video yet so I thought I'd just take a stab at it because "Lockheed delivers", according to the flag grade AF officers that found themselves nice cushy board exec jobs at Lockheed after selecting and endorsing Lockheed on the F-22 and F-35 contracts. Boeing gets tankers, Lockheed gets fighters, Northrop gets bombers. Over and over again. Any "competition" between them is purely a show.

[@niweshlekhak9646]

F-22 program was long because of end of the cold war.

[@jackwalker9492]

BS. Companies that have the capability do deliver get contracts and the "Horrible" defense constractors are why we are decades beyond our enemies.

[@mrthingy9072]

@@jackwalker9492 We'll see. I'll wager it's Lockheed though, they seem to get the advanced fighter projects.

[@michaelgautreaux3168]

Go Alex 👍👍 Many thanx.

[@jpierce2l33t]

Lockheed usually is the main contractor on fighters, and it'll be packed full of Northrop tech. Plus Northrop got the new bomber.

[@Itisallagame]

Amazing video!

[@markb8468]

Excellent video! Thanks for ur hard work on these. 👍

[@Jeff55369]

13:14 that airplane looks like the profile of an f16XL or potentially a Saab J35 Draken. They were likely using it as a tech demonstrator due to it's delta wing construction.

[@avus-kw2f213]

Or something they painted on the roof to trick

[@myplane150]

Hey, Alex (or anyone else). Can you tell me what that structure is that is on the top of the F35 just forward of the tail at 2:52? Is it just a larger Luneberg Lens reflector or is it something else? thx in advance...☺

[@kermittoad]

Braking chute on an F-35A, specifically for Norway and Netherlands I think.

[@ilenekehoe3099]

Wow. Excellent presentation and analysis.

[@ordspotting]

Insane Work here man. Great Job.

[@easyethanol6611]

The idea of drones flying along with the fighter makes me think of the vertical scroll game that you fly and get upgrades after destroying targets and flying into the floating shield and gun upgrades 😅 whatever one of those games are called

[@CM-th2oe]

Wow,so much info, thank you for what you do....great commentary.,..

[@Nathan-vt1jz]

You guys are doing an amazing job putting these videos together. Everything from the content, presentation, video footage, and editing is excellent. Keep up the good work, you deserve that journalism award!