A truly global sixth-generation fighter jet can be in the offing. As financial constraints throw a spanner in the US Air Force and the US Navy’s plan to develop a sixth-generation fighter jet, the US is exploring the option of joining the European-Japanese consortium.
The US Air Force and the US Navy are working on their sixth-generation fighters. The US Air Force has halted its program due to cost concerns, while the US Navy has delayed its program.
After putting the pause button on its Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD), the US might consider joining the Euro-Japanese Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), a move aimed at lowering costs and repairing transatlantic ties that have hit a rocky patch.
The collaboration can be a shot in the arm for NATO unity, which is fraying at the edges. The potential collaboration can impact regional alliances as Washington deepens ties with Japan and other allies in the Indo-Pacific.
The Trump administration had dispatched its envoy to push the case for the US participation in the Euro-Japanese jet program. In March Paolo Zampolli, a close associate of US President Donald Trump as US special envoy to Italy, proposed US participation in the GCAP.
Zampolli met with high-ranking Italian officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, to boost US-Italy defense ties. While speaking to Italian media, Zampolli argued for a unified transatlantic fighter jet program.
While Zampolli asserted that he has yet to speak to President Donald Trump about it, he said that US participation in the program is a sure-shot way of reducing the cost of two fighter jet development programs.
The Italian-born businessman friend of Trump reportedly said: “If you want to make an airplane, it’s better to work together,” adding, “If you want a new airplane, you need the United States.”
The US Air Force’s NGAD fighter is being developed to replace the 5th-generation fighter F-22 Raptor, initially set for retirement in the 2030s. The USAF is still working toward delaying the F-22’s retirement by modernizing the fighter jets. In 2024, it became clear that the NGAD program underwent a temporary pause to evaluate its strategic necessity, cost, and potential effectiveness.
The GCAP is progressing more rapidly than NGAD. The merging of forces between Leonardo, BAE Systems, and Mitsubishi seeks to build a state-of-the-art combat jet, equipped with revolutionary technologies that can be integrated into a system of systems and capable of being placed into service as early as 2035.
Italy, the United Kingdom, and Japan may be the first nations to introduce a sixth-generation aircraft to the market if the hesitancy and concerns surrounding NGAD persist.
The three collaborating companies will contribute their strengths and expertise. Leonardo and BAE Systems have contributed to the American F-35 program and manufacture certain parts of the jet.
The former has also been assembling the jets at its Final Assembly and Check Out (FACO) facility. Similarly, MHI (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries), under Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co (JAIEC), operates another FACO and has experience developing the X-2 Shinshin stealth fighter demonstrator.
The joint venture between Italy, the UK, and Japan will be accountable for the design, development, and delivery of the 6th-generation combat aircraft, whose life is expected to go beyond 2070. The aim is to get the aircraft delivered by 2035. The program is based on the principle of equal sharing, the three main contractors will each hold a 33.3% share of the company. The entry of the US could change this equation as well.
The Joint Venture is expected to be set up by mid-2025 and its first CEO will be from Italy.
The US’ Path To Next Generation Advanced Fighter
The US’s declining air superiority has been a cause of concern. At the end of 2024, China unveiled two fighter jets, the J-36 and J-50, which put the plans of many advanced air forces in a tizzy. The J-36, created by Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, sported a tailless delta wing design with three engines, prioritizing stealth and high-speed performance.
The J-50, from Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, has a twin-engine configuration and stealth technologies, including tailless designs to reduce radar signatures. These aircraft are touted as China’s sixth-generation fighters and will pose a significant challenge to US air dominance.
From 2022 to 2024, Congress appropriated a total of US$5.1 billion for NGAD fighter technologies. The USAF’s 2025 budget request enumerates key NGAD attributes such as enhanced survivability, lethality, persistence, interoperability across a range of military operations, and crewed/uncrewed teaming. In FY2025, the Biden Administration requested US$2.75 billion for an NGAD platform, an amount estimated to rise to US$5.72 billion by 2029.
The program ran into headwinds during the summer of 2024, as senior US Air Force officials wanted to “pause” it, citing cost concerns. The officials raised doubts about whether the Air Force could afford to develop the NGAD alongside programs such as the B-21 Raider bomber and the Minuteman III ICBM replacement, the LGM-35 Sentinel.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated in 2018 that the NGAD airframe could cost up to US$300 million apiece.
Former USAF Secretary Frank Kendall assembled a high-level panel of experts to help with the decision before the Air Force submits its fiscal 2026 budget request in December.
Kendall defended the pause button, saying the design concepts and requirements for NGAD are already “several years old,” and new threats are evolving so quickly that those design requirements may now be outdated. In the face of the changing threat landscape, financial constraints, and technology development, he called it imprudent to commit to a single design without reconsidering available options.
The Pentagon is reviewing the budget, which has sparked anxiety about potential defense cuts. Speculations are rife if the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would abandon the Next-Generation Air Dominance program citing budget constraints.
Meanwhile, the US Navy’s sixth-generation fighter program, F/A-XX, has been delayed. Aimed to succeed the F/A-18 Super Hornet, the deck-based fighter jet will also incorporate manned-unmanned teaming like the US Air Force’s NGAD fighter. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of the Navy John Phelan had said it would have substantially greater range and payload than its predecessors.
However, budget constraints could halt its development, as the US Department of Defense (DOD) prioritizes submarine production.
The US Air Force and the US Navy are considering jointly developing Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) to enhance operational effectiveness through manned and unmanned platforms.
