NGAD: The Air Force’s 6th Generation Fighter Makes Us Cringe

Does NGAD Really Have a Future? The U.S. Air Force has awarded $7 billion in new contracts to General Electric and Pratt & Whitney to advance Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion (NGAP) engines, offering enhanced thrust and fuel efficiency for future aircraft.

–The Cringe Moment: While initially intended for the NGAD sixth-generation fighter, the program’s future remains uncertain, as the Trump administration reviews defense spending priorities.

–NGAD In the Hot Seat: Elon Musk, a vocal critic of manned aircraft, could influence a shift toward unmanned aerial systems instead. Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy’s F/A-XX program may also benefit from NGAP technology.

NGAD Jet Engines: The Future of U.S. Air Dominance?

The next decade could bring revolutionary changes to jet propulsion and air combat.

The U.S. Air Force recently updated its Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction contracts with General Electric and Pratt & Whitney to further develop the advanced engines under the Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion (NGAP) program.

If successful, these advanced adaptive cycle technology engines will provide both thrust but also fuel efficiency benefits.

Similarly to how some cars have an eco mode for fuel efficiency and a sport mode for performance, adaptive cycle engines would, broadly speaking, allow pilots to fly more efficiently when required, for example, en route or returning from combat, while also upping performance in situations that call for more thrust.

The advantages of fuel savings and increased performance would be significant if successful. It could potentially translate into not just better performance but also substantial savings in fuel costs.

Money, Money, Money

According to the Department of Defense announcement about the contract, both General Electric and Pratt & Whitney are to be awarded $3,500,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity modifications, up from the previous contract awards of $975,000,000 each, a significant increase for both firms.

Last week, a Pratt & Whitney spokesperson told Breaking Defense the company “is working closely with the U.S. Air Force to execute on and meet NGAP program commitments. Our program remains on track for major milestones and we look forward to delivering for our customer.”

A spokesperson for General Electric echoed that sentiment and said that the company is “excited about the progress our team continues to make on our XA102 adaptive cycle engine, a key component of the Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion program. We look forward to advancing this work in support of the U.S. Air Force’s future fleet.”

Despite the News, NGAD Program’s Future is Murky

Although the recent contract extensions are good news for both General Electric as well as Pratt, it remains uncertain what aircraft will ultimately be powered by these advanced engines.

The NGAP engines were initially intended for the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance, or NGAD, program, a U.S. Air Force initiative that seeks to develop a sixth-generation fighter to replace the venerable F-22 Raptor.

Questions about cost and other specifics, however, prompted the U.S. Air Force to defer important decisions about the NGAD program to the new Trump administration.

Given the new administration’s fixation on slashing federal spending in a number of important areas, there could be a reassessment of the NGAD program — and there are several possibilities.

One of which, the NGAD program’s original goal, would be an extremely advanced successor to the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter, arguably the world’s most advanced production fighter.

Another alternative option could be to opt for a significantly more affordable and likely less technologically advanced derivative-type aircraft to the F-35 instead.

The Musk Factor on NGAD? 

Elon Musk, President Trump’s czar of efficiency and head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has been extremely vocal about his disgust for manned fighter aircraft. Musk recently took to X to express his disdain with the F-35 fighter program in favor of unmanned alternatives, calling those engineers involved with the F-35 program “idiots.”

F-35. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Other Platforms?

Though the NGAP engines might see use in the Air Force’s program, there is potentially an application for them with the U.S. Navy and their parallel sixth-generation effort, the F/A-XX aircraft, which would replace the F/A-18 Super Hornet and fly in tandem with the F-35 from U.S. Navy ships.

Into the Future

The recent contract extensions for engine development that the Department of Defense signed off on covers the period until 2032. Barring any unforeseen program hiccups — or program cancellations or other abbreviations coming from the current administration — it seems possible that the U.S. Air Force will ultimately develop adaptive cycle jet engines sometime early next decade.

What aircraft those new engines are ultimately mated to remains an open question. But, the door is open for potentially revolutionary jet engine technology.

NGAD: Photo Essay Of What This Fighter Could Look Like

NGAD Image. Credit: U.S. Air Force.

NGAD fighter from U.S. Air Force.

NGAD Fighter via Lockheed Martin.

NGAD Fighter Mock Up. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

U.S. NGAD Fighter. Artist Rendering.

About the Author: Caleb Larson 

Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.