The United States wants to upgrade its fighter jets to meet the needs of future warfare. The F-22 and F-35 currently in use are the most advanced fighter jets used by America, but their designs are three decades old and in that time mission requirements have changed significantly. The US Air Force (USAF) will receive the F-47 aircraft and now it is the turn of the US Navy (NAVY) to receive the F/A-XX.
The F/A-XX program is actually a bit vague after the Trump administration wanted to cut military spending. But the NAVY desperately needs a new aircraft designed specifically for their needs and launched from a carrier aircraft. Last week Northrop Grumman shared a picture of the concept aircraft they want to build for the F/A-XX program with The Warzone.
The design is strange because the two air intakes for the engines are located on the top. No fighter aircraft used by the NAVY so far has a configuration like this. It seems to take inspiration from the Boeing MQ-25A refueling drone that operates from the deck of an aircraft carrier.
Only half of the aircraft's design has been shared so far, but from what can be seen, the F/A-XX will carry weapons in its fuselage to make it harder to detect by radar. The cockpit will only seat a single pilot with no WEPS position.
For weapons development enthusiasts, the nose and cockpit design of this aircraft bears a resemblance to the Northrop-made YF-23 Black Widow II that lost to the Lockheed Martin YF-23 in the ATF project thirty-four years ago.