Fighter Jets

Modern fighter aircraft and next-generation air combat technologies.

Category Highlights
What Is a Sixth-Generation Fighter? The F-47 and Its Rivals

What Is a Sixth-Generation Fighter? The F-47 and Its Rivals

A sixth-generation fighter is a combat aircraft meant to go beyond the F-22 and F-35 in stealth, range, sensing and the ability to direct uncrewed...

Category Highlights
Can the F-35 Carry Nuclear Weapons? The B61-12 Mission

Can the F-35 Carry Nuclear Weapons? The B61-12 Mission

Yes. The F-35A is certified to carry the B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb, a clearance that was completed in October 2023 and made public in March...

Category Highlights
F-47 and the AIM-260 JATM: The Missile Built for a New Fighter

F-47 and the AIM-260 JATM: The Missile Built for a New Fighter

The F-47's main air-to-air weapon is expected to be the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, a long-range missile that the United States has been developing...

Category Highlights
F-47 Radar and Sensors: What Is Known, What Is Classified

F-47 Radar and Sensors: What Is Known, What Is Classified

The Air Force has not named a single sensor on the F-47. There is no published radar designation, no supplier list and no description of...

Category Highlights
F-35I Adir: How Israel’s Stealth Fighter Is Different

F-35I Adir: How Israel’s Stealth Fighter Is Different

The F-35I Adir is the Israeli Air Force version of the F-35A, and the only F-35 that a foreign customer has been allowed to modify...

Category Highlights
Does the F-47 Have a Pilot? Why It Is Crewed, Not a Drone

Does the F-47 Have a Pilot? Why It Is Crewed, Not a Drone

Yes. The F-47 is a crewed fighter with one pilot on board, and the Air Force describes it as the first crewed sixth-generation fighter. The...

Category Highlights
F-35C Explained: The Navy’s Carrier Stealth Fighter

F-35C Explained: The Navy’s Carrier Stealth Fighter

The F-35C is the version of the F-35 built to launch from catapults and land with arresting wires on the US Navy's aircraft carriers. It...

Category Highlights
F-47 Design Explained: Canards, No Tail and Altered Images

F-47 Design Explained: Canards, No Tail and Altered Images

The two official images of the F-47 show an aircraft with small foreplanes beside the cockpit, wings that angle upwards and no visible tail fins....