With the 6th Generation Fighters Nearing Manufacture, Is France's Espadon the First 7th Gen?

Everyone has seen the very few 5th generation fighters out there, if you are an aviation enthusiast. The F-22 Raptor was very first of them, followed by the F-35 and then the J-20, J-31. We might even include the Su-57 and Su-75s here as well, but those two are debatable and the latter not even flown. Stealth, data fusion and a few other tick boxes seem to be the general characteristics of the 5th gen. The 5th gen is getting a little long in the tooth already though and technology has marched on.

What exactly the 6th gen will be is TBD. We've speculated on very long range, the use of loyal wingmen UAVs, directed energy weapons, extreme stealth, and very deep magazines. Whatever the defining characteristics may be, however, the US has been leading the pack, as far as we can tell, with the start of the generation of fighters to follow. The NGAD program has flown at least one demonstrator, if not more (probably more). The contract for the NGAD is due to be awarded shortly, depending on whether Congress, the USAF or Pentagon screw up of course. The US Navy has been working on its beast as well. This would be a follow-on to the F/A-18E/F. We know a lot less about what the squids are doing than the blue beanies, but we do know they are running further behind. The expectation for the NGAD is to enter service around 2030 (until fscked with) and we do not know when the squids will put their birds on deck as yet. However, the US isn't alone working on the 6th gen fighters.

Other countries are working on their own birds as well. Europe has two competing programs, SCAF (France, Germany and Spain) and GCAP/Tempest (UK, Italy and...Japan). China has their own program and if you read Chinese you can see where they are going, some, and it's not exactly the same as the US or otherwise: they have their own ideas. Russia, well, Russia claims many things, amongst them is their 6th gen work when they have only fielded a whole whopping 6 5th gen birds.

However, once upon a time, the Russians claimed to be working on the 7th gen fighter. They called this the MiG-41. They claimed it would be hypersonic and use AI and probably pull wedgies and give wet willies to all the rest of the aircraft in the air. Ever! The world smirked and those in the aviation industry and its observers scoffed. This was clearly more of the overthetop Russian bluster. I thought and think so, but... their claimed bird would be hypersonic and a fighter (or at least interceptor). A standout characteristic. Dismissable, except...



Onera is France's equivalent of DARPA, the mildly insane military research agency in the US. Onera just announced at the Paris airshow they are working on a hypersonic fighter prototype they hope to have fly by 2050. This aircraft is called the Espadon or Swordfish in English. The French have started putting the concept through wind tunnel testing, but it is not clear what flight regime the wind tunnels covered. China has built some very clever wind tunnels for studying hypersonic airflow, but I am not aware if the French have done anything comparable.

While the French program may peter out or get delayed, I find it quite interesting (and a little uncomfortable) the Russians called the 7th gen as being hypersonic close to a decade ago. France, having been burned by the 5th gen skip and its headaches of the 6th gen negotiations might just be trying to get ahead of the curve this time. If that is the case, could the Espadon be the first 7th gen fighter program?

breakingdefense.com...

a reply to: anzha

Thanks for the interesting read!

mach 7 wind tunnels exist? I am sure they do. If a person was accidentally trapped in one, would all the meat be stripped from them in an instant? Heck, I am thinking even the bones would last only a few moments before being atomized.

Anyway, I personally do not think with our current tech that is feasable. To get to that point would be so expensive and so compromised by so many issues that I am not sure why it would even be tried unless some sort of UFO type tech was 100% available.

That is 5370.884 mph. In an atmosphere such as the earth that is almost practically impossible. I do not think there are many materials that can exist in that without some VERY exotic materials.

I will be more than happy to be proven wrong.

Putting a Hypersonic model into a windtunnel and releasing some nice 3D renders is one thing.Building one that works is another..At the moment Missiles and possibly UAV,s are most suited to a Hypersonic platform.

a reply to: anzha

Question is... can they afford it? The model looks like it's more of an ISR than a fighter.

a reply to: grey580

Can they afford it? IDK, to be honest. IF they get far enough ahead, they can dictate a lot more for work share, etc. if there is another Euro 7th gen coalition.

Not sure there will be much to distinguish the ISR from strike or fighter at hypersonic speeds tho. Physics are physics.

I'm sure there are various aspirational models and artistic renderings "out there" that depict hypersonic fighters, or similar, and akin to the SR-72. What is the purpose and role of such a craft is what interests me.

I guess there is the advantage of getting somewhere quickly, but one could assume that they would be difficult to manoeuvre at such high speeds once they got there. Perhaps as a vehicle to deliver a bomb, would be more plausible, so more bomber than fighter?

Is hypersonic over-rated, over and above a missile or rocket? Or perhaps a means to take a gaggle of tourists between London and New York in 30 minutes (or whatever)?

Anyway, it's the engines I would find interesting.

a reply to: greendust

They already know how to reduce friction with microwaves projected in front of the craft powered by MHD engines, just need to produce them.

a reply to: myss427

There's been a few fast movers sighted that fit that profile. Green Lady for one.

a reply to: paraphi

Zip in. Kill the tanker or awacs. Zip out. I can think of a few missions like that.

If you can pick the place and time of your choosing, air combat gets interesting.