Aspiring To Fifth Generation Fighters

The latest generation of fighters is not only coming to Asia-Pacific, but is being also developed within the region.

- David Oliver

In April 1991 the Lockheed Martin F-22 was declared the winner of the United States Air Force (USAF) Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) programme for a stealthy multirole combat aircraft. Incorporating low observables technology and supersonic cruise without afterburning, the F-22 Raptor which gained full operational capability (FOC) in December 2007, was the world’s first fifth-generation fighter aircraft.

In October 2001 Lockheed Martin’s X-35 beat Boeing’s X-32 and was selected as the winner of the USAF/US Navy Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) competition and five years later the F-35A Lightning II completed its first flight. Claimed by Lockheed Martin to be the only fifth-generation supersonic multirole fighter in production, it combines advanced stealth capabilities with fully fused sensor information, network-enabled operations and advanced logistics and sustainment. It is also the fighter of choice for many Asia-Pacific air forces.

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is taking delivery of 72 F-35A Lightning IIs to equip three operational squadrons and an operational conversion unit (OCU), and it has a requirement for up to 100 aircraft.

Japan has ordered an initial 45 F-35As for the Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) for its F-X programme to replace the F-4EJ Phantom fleet. In 2018 an additional 105 Lightning IIs were ordered, 42 of which will be the short take-off and landing (STOVL) F-35B variant although the planned licence assembly by Mitsubishi has been dropped.