DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT LINE OF AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGY
TIHE US NAVY will need a new ‘sixthgeneration’ fighter eventually to follow the F-35C that’s just beginning to enter service.
No one has any idea what that new aircraft might look like, not even But drones are strong contenders, quite possibly flying and fighting in close cooperation with manned warplanes.
The navy in February 2019 declared its first frontline F-35C squadron ‘ready for fight’ Strike Fighter Squadron 147 (VFA-147), based in California, is slated to embark on the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson for the type’s first deployment in 2021.
The f eet aims to integrate a 10-plane F-35C squadron into each of its nine carrier air wings, which embark on the 11 Ford- and Nimitz-class carriers. The US Marine Corps plans to equip four squadrons with F-35Cs as that service’s contribution to the carrier wings.
It will be at least a decade before the sea services deploy all of the roughly 300 F-35Cs they plan to acquire at a cost of around $100 million per aircraft. The stealth fighters could fly for 25 years or longer.
By the time the F-35Cs arrive, each wing also will include three F/A-18E/F squadrons plus detachments of EA-18G electronic attack ai…
