We Don’t Know Much: China’s “White Emperor” sixth-generation fighter is shaping up to be a formidable competitor to the U.S. Air Force’s Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) jet, which is currently on pause pending political decisions by the incoming Trump administration.
-Unlike the NGAD, the White Emperor reportedly aims for near-space altitude operations, anti-satellite weapons, nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles, and even directed-energy (laser) systems. China’s rapid progress stems from a lack of the political constraints facing the NGAD program.
-While official U.S. defense reports don’t yet mention this mysterious fighter, Beijing’s relentless push for advanced capabilities like drone teaming and AI-driven avionics could soon transform future air combat.
From Lasers to Drones: China’s Grand Vision for the White Emperor Jet
The U.S. Air Force’s Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter – although, right now, just a mock-up – aims to be a stealth masterpiece even though it is on operational pause until Donald Trump and a new Secretary of Defense take over. It stands to reason that the Chinese also want a sixth-generation fighter, and they are setting a rapid pace regarding the development of this beast called the Baidi White Emperor.
A Dictator Doesn’t Have Political Constraints
China doesn’t have to deal with new political leadership constantly re-evaluating the need for new weapons systems. They just have their engineers and designers do an inordinate amount of work until the airplane is ready, so the Chinese are sprinting ahead with their next-generation fighter.
The White Emperor Is More Ambitious Than the NGAD
China’s version of the NGAD will be extremely stealthy, with artificial intelligence in the cockpit for better processing power, sensors, communications, and situational awareness. The White Emperor will likely be nuclear equipped with the ability to fire hypersonic missiles tipped with strategic warheads.
The White Emperor may be able to fly so high it could enter near-space altitude. That could mean the Chinese want it to fire anti-satellite missiles.
China New Stealth Fighter That Recently Flew. Image Credit: X Screenshot.
There could be an unmanned option, or it could serve as a drone “mothership” with what the U.S. Department of Defense calls Collaborative Combat Aircraft. That’s a fancy term for autonomous drones that can collect intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance data or fly out ahead of the White Emperor looking for a dogfight or ground targets to destroy.
Either the drones or the White Emperor itself will have the latest electronic warfare capabilities to jam and spoof enemy sensors and radar, hopefully making it more survivable in a high-threat environment.
Using That New WS-15 Engine
The overall objective of the White Emperor is to outclass the F-22 and F-35 and beat the NGAD in the development race. It could use the new WS-15 engine designed for the stealthy, fifth-generation J-20S.
The White Emperor Could Win the ‘Star Wars’ Fight
One way to build a better NGAD is to equip the White Emperor with lasers. Now, that would give the sixth-generation airplane a different skill set. The directed energy capability could be used against enemy satellites and incoming missiles. It’s not clear how advanced the Chinese-directed energy program is. I haven’t heard the U.S. Air Force mention lasers or anti-satellite warfare on the NGAD. That could be classified information, but it doesn’t seem the United States will be flying to near-space altitudes with its sixth-generation fighter.
One aspect of the White Emperor that the Chinese would love to include is parts made by 3D printing. Additive manufacturing could help cut costs, even though it doesn’t seem that price is the issue for designers and engineers from the Middle Kingdom.
China Sixth-Generation Fighter NGAD. Image Credit: Social Media Screenshot.
With all the high-tech goodies, it would stand to reason that the White Emperor will frequently be in maintenance, especially with hypersonic weapons and lasers. The directed energy systems themselves will require some type of heat shield that will cool down the wings, plus carrying nuclear-tipped hypersonic weapons could stress the engines and create downtime for the fighter.
Detailed American China Military Report Has No Mention of the White Emperor
This week, the U.S. Department of Defense released its 2024 China military power report with the official title, “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China.” I found no mention of the White Emperor in the 182-page report or for sixth-generation airplanes, but I did unearth this quote about the future of aerospace development in China.
“The PRC is signaling its efforts in next generation capabilities. Air and trade shows are displaying growing numbers of autonomous and teaming systems, including for combat applications. In these concepts, PRC developers are demonstrating an interest in additional growth beyond ISR and EW into air-to-air and air-to-ground combat, with substantial development efforts to produce swarming capability for operational applications. PRC researchers have disclosed the development of a future multi-domain kill-web designed to target penetrating counterair by coordinating across aircraft, sensors, and missiles,” the report said.
The White Emperor is more ambitious than the NGAD and may be further along due to the pause on the American sixth-generation fighter. Whether the Chinese can deliver on such a long list of technological wonders like lasers and hypersonic nuclear weapons remains to be seen. You must credit them for pulling out all the stops since the price doesn’t seem to be an issue.
6th Generation Fighter from China mockup via social media.
The NGAD, on the other hand, was estimated to cost $300 million each, and the Americans tapped the brakes on the development to reduce expenses.
We will watch the NGAD and the White Emperor because this arms race will be interesting.
Let’s first see if the Trump administration will give it the green light and not cancel the NGAD. If the NGAD is chopped, the Chinese will consider that a substantial win and continue to develop their sixth-generation fighter while mastering all the whiz-bang capabilities.
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
NOTE: All images in the text are of various Chinese 6th-generation fighter designs.
