Northrop Grumman Releases Video of Its Tailless Sixth-Generation Fighter Concept

Northrop Grumman has released a brief teaser that shows off its sixth-generation fighter concept, and what a look it is. For a few seconds, the camera circles the plane, displaying all of the important lines. The broad nose leads to a spacious cockpit, and the intake vents are tucked firmly up against the fuselage, making them difficult to see. The long, diamond-shaped wings emerge, their outer panels fully folded up. The strengthened landing gear is at the front, ready for a carrier catapult launch, with two wheels and a launch bar, and the curvy doors at the bottom indicate that there is plenty of space inside, even though you can’t see much.

Every single one of those lines is about making it work with a carrier. Folding the wings in allows the plane to park closely alongside the other planes on the packed deck. The dual front wheels distribute the load so that when the catapult launches the object off the deck, it isn’t bounced around. Those high-up intakes get air without making it vulnerable to radar signals coming from below. Without a tail, the aircraft sheds some of its most radar-reflective surfaces, reducing the number of angles where incoming signals can ricochet. What’s left is a low, wide profile that’s large enough to carry fuel and mission systems but still compact and agile enough to operate from the tight confines of a carrier deck.

Those same lines indicate that the thing is designed for long-distance missions, with targets about a thousand miles from the carrier and back. That’s a significant increase in range over what we have presently. The internal bays keep the gear hidden and out of sight, which is helpful for speed and keeping the vehicle under radar, and with that large cockpit, you might even have another crew member on the job to help control the drones that will be flying alongside. There are no aerobatics in the video, but you can get a sense of how everything fits together to create an aircraft that will be good for endurance while remaining undetectable.

Now, this is an aircraft that was designed from the outset to perform a little bit of everything, including strafing, air defense, and reconnaissance all in one mission. Northrop Grumman wants to keep it that way, making it a multi-role plane that can do it all, and with the Navy aiming to select a winner by August, this video has just entered the picture just as they’re about to make their decision.
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