> 1st define 7th gen characteristics - size, weight, weapons, cost, numbers, timeline, etc when people are not convinced about 6gen, then talk about it.
> Open new thread if required. You can use the following thread also:
Dear admins, i request to merge all non-Indian Hypersonic threads together. When i searched for "hypersonic" in titles i found 16 non-Indian threads.
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Search results for query: hypersonic)
They are in following 2 domains -
World Defence > Military Technology
Technology | Education | Space Studies | Economy > Science and Technology
Right now 6th gen is not defined. As per the Americans, 6th gen is about broad-spectrum stealth. As per the Russians, 6th gen is Mig-41 with both broad-spectrum stealth and near-hypersonic or hypersonic speed. As per the Chinese, 7th gen is what the Russians call 6th gen, but the Chinese also call it 6th gen, because their terminology is different because they skipped 1st gen.
Once both NGAD and Mig-41 are flying, we can tell for sure how to define 6th gen at least.
I'd argue the current definition of generations are not correct. What it should really be like instead, defined by airframe:
4th = Teens, J-10, M2000, Flanker, LCA Mk1/A, Mig-29, Gripen C etc. Standard specs.
5th = Rafale, Typhoon, SH, LCA Mk2, Gripen E, Su-47, Mig 1.44 etc. Frontal stealth and/or supercruise, reduced IR signature. Supercruisers can be 5.5th.
6th = F-22, F-35, J-20, Su-57 etc. All aspect stealth. B-2 could qualify as 6.5th.
7th = NGAD, B-21. Broad-spectrum stealth. The new Chinese jets could be 6.5th or 7th.
8th = Near-space and space. The airframe can even deform using metamaterials. You don't need significant amounts of shaping with metamaterials.
In this list, 5th is when some measure of stealth was applied for the first time and was significantly improved on the 6th.
If you bring in specific qualities, then an aircraft could have features from multiple generations. Like Rafale and Typhoon can supercruise, but the F-35 cannot.
But the Russians have corrupted the system by deliberately ignoring Eurocanards and lumping them with the likes of Su-27 and F-15, which the Americans also wanted. Now the Russians want to do the same by bringing in high speed into 6th gen, in order to lump some versions of NGAD and other slower jets with 5th gen.
Here Baidi or White Emperor is called 6th gen by an official Chinese govt account. (That's their 7th gen).
Metamaterials can give you such a design.
So right now, we don't know if 6th gen should have high speed or not. If the Russians start flying their Mig-41 next year or the year after, as they have claimed, and start calling it 6th gen, then high speed will become a criteria and everything below mach 3.5 or mach 4 will get lumped into 5th gen, however ridiculous that is, 'cause all modern AAMs operate below that speed.
Then the definition will be, any aircraft that has different grades of stealth like F-22/F-35 to NGAD/J-36, but has speed lower than an AAM will be 5th gen and all aircraft above AAM speed will be 6th gen.
So the Russians defined 5th gen as stealth, supercruise and supermaneuverability, and LM began marketing their jets as such after adding sensor fusion to it. Now it's possible the Russians will end up defining 6th gen 'cause they could end up pioneering it.
While I think my personal list is better, the pioneers will play politics instead. So the specific characteristics will be more important than the blanket definition.
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