Navy 6th Gen and the Moon Shot
Why the Navy FA-XX will happen, and the boldest prediction of the 20th Century
“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. - President John F Kennedy
On the Radar
The Navy needs a new fighter. Today, most of the heavy duty lifting in terms of sorties flown are done by the venerable F/A-18 Super Hornet. The super bug, as pilots and crews refer to the airplane, is the absolute backbone of US Naval Air power. However, the airframe design is decades old, most jets have high time in terms of hours flown, and Boeing has stated that Super Hornet production will shut down in 2024. While the F-35 B (STOVL) and C (CATOBAR) Lightings are joining the fleet, the Navy is looking for a new fighter with longer legs (range) and you guessed it - stealth. Enter the FA-XX, the Navy’s version of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter:
Friday’s video will take a deeper dive into what the Navy wants from the new fighter, and I will be working with this 3D model to explore what that fighter could look like, and what it can do. I’m still rendering the scenes as I type this, and the target release date is September 15 at 1700 Central US Time, be sure to check the channel!
This week in aviation history
12 September 1962: Perhaps the boldest prediction of the 20th Century: Landing a man on the moon, before the end of the decade - in the 1960s. Sixty-one years ago today, then President John F Kennedy declared to the world that America would go to the moon, and the space race officially went into high gear.
What makes this more remarkable is that the Space Race had only been going on for less than 5 years at this point, since the Soviets had launched Sputnik in October of 1957. Kennedy’s speech energized an entire nation, and NASA worked with virtually unlimited budgets - and talent to make the goal a reality.
After much testing, trial and error, and generational leaps in spaceflight technology, Apollo 11 would depart for the moon from Kennedy Space Center in Florida:
Incredibly, the liftoff of Apollo 11 took place exactly 2500 days after Kennedy’s speech. In my opinion, this effort was one of the greatest achievements of the 20th Century - which began without heavier than air aircraft.
In case you missed it
Speaking of ambitious goals, the Joint Strike Fighter - better known as the F-35 Lightning - set out to accomplish many goals. You can watch what those goals were, how much the program will cost, and even hear a portion of the moon speech here:
Photo Outlet
Here’s a pair you rarely see flying together: A North American P-51 Mustang and a Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. I took this back in 2013, it was one of the first airshows where I had a decent lens:
Parting Shots
Some of you may not realize, but my channel is largely a one man operation. I get a little help from an editor that I’ve been working with, but the writing, recording, and 3D rendering are all done by me. I try to bring you the very best content I can, and I appreciate you reading this newsletter and watching my videos - thank you!
That’s all for this week, thanks for reading! If you know a fellow aviation enthusiast that would enjoy these weekly newsletters, then please forward this along. Now you know!
-Tog