Trump ne kiya dhamakedaar comeback, diya Boeing ko 6th-gen fighter jet ka contract!
Trump ke president banne ke teen mahine baad hi, unhone ‘faltu kharche’ rokne ke liye budget mein kaafi kati-chhanti ki, illegal immigration pe sakhti aur global tariff wars shuru kar diye. ‘Make America Great Again’ campaign ke beech, Trump administration ne Boeing ko Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter banane ka contract de diya hai, jisko sixth-generation fighter jet bhi kehte hain.
Biden ne lagaya tha brake, Trump ne di full throttle!
Interestingly, Biden administration ne July 2024 mein NGAD ke contracts pe pause laga diya tha, kyunki unhe cost zyada lag rahi thi. Aath mahine baad, Trump administration ne Boeing ko yeh fighter banane ke liye choose kiya. F-47 (naya 6th-gen fighter) purane F-22 Raptor ki jagah lega, jo ki ek fifth-generation air superiority stealth fighter hai aur 20 saal se service mein hai.
F-47: Future ka fighter plane!
US Air Force Chief of Staff, General David Allvin ne media ko bataya, “Next Generation Air Dominance Platform (F-47) contract America ki air superiority ko aane wale decades tak secure karne ke liye ek bada kadam hai. Yeh contract United States ki position duniya ki sabse powerful Air Force ke roop mein barkarar rakhne ki hamari commitment ko reaffirm karta hai.”
“F-47 ke saath, hum sirf ek aur fighter nahi bana rahe – hum warfare ka future shape kar rahe hain aur apne enemies ko warning de rahe hain. Yeh platform ab tak ka sabse advanced, lethal, aur adaptable fighter hoga – jisko kisi bhi dushman ko haraane ke liye design kiya gaya hai jo humare brave Airmen ko challenge karta hai.”
“Humare dushman kya kehte hain, uske bawajood, F-47 sach mein world ka pehla crewed sixth-generation fighter hai, jo kisi bhi powerful dushman ko dominate kar sakta hai aur khatarnak threat environments mein operate kar sakta hai,” Gen Allvin ne kaha, China ke “6th-generation fighter” – J-36 ka jikr karte hue, jiske unverified pictures Chengdu ke upar udte hue December mein viral ho gaye the. Chinese program ki information abhi bhi secret hai.
Trump ne F-47 ko “beautiful number” bola. Woh United States ke 47th President hain.
Kitna padega yeh fighter plane?
NGAD program ek “family of systems” hai jo air superiority establish karne aur dushman territory mein bina kisi attack ke threat ke operate karne ke liye hai. NGAD ke do components hain: fighter program aur Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, jo uncrewed, semi-autonomous aircraft ke variants develop karega jo NGAD fighter ya dusre fighter aircraft ke saath “loyal wingmen” ki tarah ud sakte hain.
Financial Year 2025 mein, Biden administration ne NGAD fighter program ke liye $2.75 billion aur CCA ke liye $557 million mange the. 2020 ki US Congressional Report ke hisaab se, NGAD program ka budget FY2019 se FY2025 tak $9 billion tha, aur January 2025 ki ek report ke mutaabik, FY2029 tak budget badhkar $5.72 billion ho jayega.
Cost overruns NGAD Fighter Program ko pause karne ki main wajah thi, officials ko Air Force ki ability pe doubt tha ki woh CCA aur B-21 stealth bomber (6th generation stealth aircraft) ke saath-saath NGAD fighter develop kar payenge ya nahi, aur sath hi LGM-35 Sentinel (land-based intercontinental ballistic missile) ka development aur procurement bhi, jo Minuteman III ICBM ki jagah lega.
2025 ki Congressional report ke mutaabik, Air Force ne Congress ko bataya ki “Sentinel program apne initial cost projections se zyada ho gaya hai, per unit cost mein kam se kam 37% increase (2020 dollars mein $118 million initial baseline cost se $162 million tak) hua hai.” US Air Force aane wale decades mein 600 se zyada aise missiles procure karne ka plan kar rahi hai.
NGAD Fighter Program pe, Congress report mein kaha gaya hai ki ek naya aircraft banane ki bajay, Air Force ek alag approach consider kar sakti hai aur major subsystems jaise radar ya weapons ko “disaggregate” kar sakti hai, aur unhe dusre platforms jaise CCAs mein move kar sakti hai. Lekin, US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall ne ek study order kiya jisne manned aircraft ko support kiya aur program ka future decide karne ka decision Trump administration pe chhod diya.
Donald Trump ne contract announce karte hue kaha ki ‘woh national security reasons ki wajah se program ki cost details disclose nahi kar sakte, lekin 2018 mein, Congress ko bataya gaya tha ki NGAD ke ek airframe ki cost $300 million hogi, jo abhi service mein kisi bhi US aircraft se kaafi zyada hai.
Last year, Senate Appropriations Committee ne ‘FY2025 Defense Appropriations’ pe apni report mein recommend kiya tha ki “$557.1 million cut kiye jayen aur woh amount CCA program mein transfer kiya jaye. Committee ne kaha ki NGAD aur CCA ke liye same funding line se request ki ja rahi hai, jisse har program element ki cost aur performance ki visibility limited ho rahi hai.”
F-22 Raptor ko 80s mein F-15 ki jagah ek zyada powerful air superiority fighter ke roop mein socha gaya tha. Lockheed Martin dwara banaya gaya yeh aircraft 2005 mein service mein aaya, advanced technology, stealth, supercruise aur manoeuvrability ke saath. Shuru mein, 750 F-22s procure karne ka plan tha, lekin service mein aane ke char saal baad, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates ne program ko 187 pe rok diya, iski assembly line band kar di.
F-35 Lightning ke advanced features ke bawajood, US Government Accountability Office (GAO) ne apni report mein kaha ki high maintenance costs aur developmental delays ki wajah se aircraft ko purchase, operate aur sustain karne mein iske 66-year life cycle mein kam se kam $1.7 trillion lagenge.
China aaj ke liye khatra hai!
Globally 800 se zyada military bases, 11 aircraft carriers, aur sabse powerful defense technology ke saath, US ek global power hai jo duniya ke kisi bhi hisse mein minutes mein engage aur operate kar sakta hai. Frank Kendall is baat se agree nahi karte ki China “future ka threat” hai aur isko “aaj ka threat” kehte hain.
Congress report, analysts ke hawale se, kehti hai ki China ke saath ek fight mein (zyadatar South China Sea mein), jahaan islands coast se hundreds of kilometers door hain, “F-22 apni 450 nautical mile range aur 2,000-pound payload capacity se restricted ho sakta hai. Zyada range ke liye, F-22 US aerial refuelling tankers jaise KC-46 aur KC-135 pe depend karta hai, jo attack ke liye vulnerable ho sakte hain.”
NGAD Fighter Program ko China ko “aaj ke threat” ke roop mein counter karne ke liye aur anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) capabilities ko counter karne ke liye socha gaya tha. 2016 mein, US Department of Science Board (DSB) ne ‘Air Dominance’ pe ek report publish kiya tha taki “air dominance ko aane wale decade se aage maintain karne ke liye sabse effective science, technology, capability aur systems” ko study kiya ja sake.
Isne “state actors dwara advanced anti-access and area denial (A2/AD) strategies ke rapid emergence” ko identify kiya.
China ne pichhle 20 saalon mein sea mein apni war-fighting capabilities ko anti-ship, anti-air, aur ballistic missiles, aircraft carriers, submarines, fighter jets, etc. ke web ke saath expand kiya hai. A2/AD ka matlab “enemy territory tak no access” nahi hai, balki battlezone ka radius badhana hai, jo highly contested ya threat ke under ho sakta hai, dushman ko strategic targets se door rakhte hue.
Indo-Pacific mein China ke badhte dominance ke saath, US ko ek naye fighter ki zarurat thi jo region mein air superiority establish kar sake, F-22 Raptor ki capabilities mein shortfalls ko pura kar sake.
2016 ki Air Superiority 2030 Flight Plan report mein, integrated aur networked ‘stand-off’ (weapons launched from a distance) and ‘stand-in’ (weapons that penetrate adversary territory and strike close to targets) forces ke ‘family’ ki zarurat batayi gayi thi. Isne ek “Penetrating Counter Air” capability ki maang ki jo “range, payload, survivability, lethality, affordability, aur supportability ke beech tradeoffs ko maximize” kare.
2020 mein, Air Force acquisition executive, Dr Will Roper ne kaha ki Air Force ne NGAD program ke part ke roop mein ek full-scale flight demonstrator udaya tha. Last week, US Air Force Chief of Staff Gen Allvin ne kaha ki F-47 “Trump administration ke दौरान udega” kyunki “Pichhle paanch saalon se, is aircraft ke liye X-planes chupchap F-47 ki foundation rakh rahe hain – hundreds of hours udte hue, cutting-edge concepts ko test karte hue, aur prove karte hue ki hum technology ki limits ko confidence ke saath push kar sakte hain. In experimental aircraft ne F-47 ki capabilities ko mature karne ke liye zaruri innovations ko demonstrate kiya hai.”
