America's 6th Generation Fighter Jets of the Future: America's 6th generation fighter jets will probably be the real game changer over its predecessor, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), that in spite of repeated setbacks (often referred to as a "nightmare" with its unsavory "bug" list) stands as a strong portend for offensive and defensive platforms.
Just a handful of countries have 6th generation fighter jet concepts. Fighters jets, just a single generation from now, will be hypersonic attacks aircraft, nuclear capable, able to achieve Mach 6, have stealth technology, heightened autonomous characteristics, prepared for advanced "electronic/cyber warfare," and be coated in "smart skin." According to some conceptual designs, features like super cruise technology means afterburner would not be needed to achieve supersonic speeds.
The US in addition to it potential military adversaries like Russia and China poised to accelerate fighter jet evolution, combining application with ideas that appear to be right out of a Sci-Fi film. The US' Boeing F/A-XX (not to mention Lockheed Martin's spy/strike design known as the SR-72) diamond-shaped, tailless super stealth 6th generation fighter jet is the answer to Russia's progressive moves in aerial technology, and China's current endeavors with its Chengdu J-20 "Mighty Dragon" and Shenyang J-31.
Although the US' current 5th generation fighters retain superiority in multiple ways over anything that its potential enemies could put into the air, efforts to introduce the next generation fighter by 2035 are underway. While these fighters are still in their conceptual development phases, much of what developers have witnessed in the F-22 and F-35 have served as critical stepping-stones for future development.
