Sixth-generation fighter

A sixth-generation fighter is a jet-powered fighter aircraft more advanced than the fifth-generation jet fighters currently in service and development. Key characteristics include advanced stealth technology, increased range, beyond-visual-range weapons, and potentially manned-unmanned teaming. As of 2025, various national and multinational programs are in progress, with the first sixth-generation fighters expected to enter service in the 2030s. In 2025, the United States Air Force picked the Boeing F-47 design for its Next Generation Air Dominance program, started in 2014 to replace the F-22 Raptor. The United States Navy is pursuing the F/A-XX program to replace its F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. China has test-flown two sixth-generation aircraft prototypes, tentatively named the Chengdu J-36 and Shenyang J-50, in 2024. Russia has been developing the Mikoyan PAK DP since the mid-2010s as an interceptor to replace its Mikoyan MiG-31. In 2022, the Italy-Japan-UK Global Combat Air Programme was launched to replace their Eurofighter Typhoon and Mitsubishi F-2 fleets.