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USAF seeks answer to ‘money question’ after first NGAD prototype flight

17th September 2020 - 11:30 GMT | by Jason Sherman in New York

RSS

The USAF has secretly flown a full-scale prototype of a Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) aircraft, developed and built using digital design techniques and technologies.

The service is now weighing options to launch in earnest a sixth-generation fighter programme, beginning in FY2022.

Air Force acquisition executive Will Roper revealed the major development on 15 September during the Air Force Association annual convention. He made the disclosure to demonstrate how commercial digital design tools can be used to create complicated weapon systems.

‘The NGAD test flights have been amazing,’ Roper told reporters. ‘Records have been broken.’

He waxed lyrical about the NGAD

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