Northrop Grumman med utkast til nytt jagerfly - Curt Lewis

The Laser-Toting Tailless Fighter Jet of the Future

The sixth-generation fighter design features stealth, lasers, and the ability travel huge distances-if the U.S. can afford to build it.

Northrop Grumman released a concept drawing of a new sixth-generation fighter design. Although the fifth-generation F-35 is just starting production, designers want to get a jump on the airplane destined to replace the F/A-18EF Super Hornet, F-22 Raptor, and F-15E Strike Eagle. It's unlikely to be like any fighter before it.

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has been in development for nearly 20 years, and a lot has changed in that time. Lasers are possible, we have a better understanding of stealth technology, and advances have been made in counter-stealth. Even the nature of America's adversaries have changed: The Chinese military has made immense strides since the mid-1990s, and conflict with China would involve the vast distances of the Asia-Pacific region.

Northrop Grumman's design is basically a tailless fighter. Tailless planes are the company's specialty going back to the B-2 Spirit. The sixth generation fighter has with wings like the X-47B unmanned aerial vehicle and a nose and cockpit similar to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The fighter will likely be big-very big-in order to carry a lot of fuel. The F-35 is coming under criticism for its relatively short range which, in the event of conflict with China, could put American aircraft carriers within range of DF-21 and DF-26 carrier-killing ballistic missiles. There are also fewer air bases in the Asia-Pacific, meaning aircraft will have to travel greater distances.

Like the F-22, the Northrop fighter will almost certainly be able to cruise above the speed of sound. But don't expect it to be a dogfighter: The plane's size will almost certainly mean it will use long-range missiles and radar to destroy opponents before they can get within dogfighting range. The plane will likely use speed, stealth, and advanced networked sensors to detect enemy aircraft first, gain a positional advantage, then attack.

The Northrop sixth-generation fighter will be the first incorporate a laser weapon from the start. The concept drawing shows the fighter destroying incoming air-to-air missiles. It could also be used in the place of an actual gun such as the M61 Vulcan 20-millimeter gatling gun mounted on the F-15 and F-22.

The presence of a built-in laser creates a dilemma for Northrop designers: a laser will generate a tremendous amount of heat every time it is fired. No matter how stealthy a plane is with regards to radar, a heat signature will make it detectable. The SR-71, for example, was built for stealth but traveling at Mach 3 made it red hot and detectable to infra-red sensors. What to do with all that heat?

As cool as a laser-armed fighter is, don't expect expect to see this plane taking to the skies anytime soon. The US Air Force and US Navy have requirements for new fighters somewhere around the 2030 timeframe, and in the meantime will be preoccupied buying the F-35, a new strategic bomber, and aerial refueling planes. There's a lot of time to think about what kind of fighter America needs next. What there isn't a lot of? Money.