I agree France is a more likely partner for India and Indonesia, especially as a 6th Gen carrier jet is needed for both France and India, perhaps Indonesia as well. Maybe SK is a potential partner as well. Don’t think even France would want Saudi Arabia in a 6th Gen project.
www.scmp.com
rusi.org
They won't if German still in partnership, but if German out, and they need more capital to close the balance left by the German, well I do see big potential, especially if Saudi then ditch their Euro jets for Rafale. Politics matter.
If Germany leaves, SK would be a better option than Saudi Arabia. SK can offer technology as well as capital without the baggage Saudi Arabia comes with.Muhammed bin Salman is different breed of Saudi King (well he's now more de facto King) then his Father and Uncles. He's more willing to face US, and now he is pissed with the German. This where the talk of Rafale coming from.
Saudi Arabia mulls French jet purchase amid strained relations with US
Saudi is considering acquiring 100 to 200 Dassault Rafale fighters after US lawmakers proposed freezing arms sales to the kingdom in October because of anger with Riyadh over a cut in oil production.
Saudi Arabia mulls French fighter jet purchase amid strained relations with US after cut in oil production
In December, France’s La Tribune financial newspaper, citing unnamed sources, reported that Saudi Arabia was considering acquiring 100 to 200 Dassault Rafale fighters. The report comes amid developments suggesting Riyadh’s traditional suppliers may not be as forthcoming with jets in the future...
UK always close with Saud family, still it is question of Japan. So it's back to UK to convince other partners. Again what Saudi can bring is capital. 6th gen fighter program is expensive. Track record shown this kind of projects have tendencies to be over budget. More capital being secure can be attractive. So it is always toos-up choices between the two (Tech and Capital).
They won't if German still in partnership, but if German out, and they need more capital to close the balance left by the German, well I do see big potential, especially if Saudi then ditch their Euro jets for Rafale. Politics matter.
If SK want to work something on their major defense procurement or project without US footprint. Something that SK so far will not doing it. Besides SK will be busy developing their of KF-21. KF-21 batch 3 is aim for more 5th gen + tech. Indonesia (if the administration consistent) will also involves.
France has better options than Saudi Arabia, a country that can only offer capital and political/religious baggage. Why not Brazil, already working on subs so why not aircraft as well since Embraer would be a viable industrial partner? As far as I am concerned, just about any developed or developing country other than Saudi Arabia, NK, China, and Russia would do. For the moment Iran would be on this list as well but there may be hope the Iranians themselves can take care of the mutts presently in charge.
John, since when those three (US, Brits and Frenchie) think about the second one when dealing with Saudi ? They always think mostly the first one. Even now all the talks agains Saudi in Congress mostly due to MBS dare to say 'no' to White House demand on oil and Russia.
Realistically all the kit sold to Saudi Arabia isn't really tier one, on the aviation side at least, so any technology leakage would be of minimal concern. Much of the profit for Western suppliers is after sale support (people and parts). France may be willing to risk 6th Gen technology for capital relief but will other partners accept this? I guess we will see if Germany backs out.
breakingdefense.com
Whatever, France and the UK working together would be the same as Germany and France, French demands would derail the project.
It's now just the NGAD program whose future has been called into question. The US Navy's FY2025 has withdrawn $1 billion in funding for the F/A-XX program, so the Navy may have to wait some time longer to acquire a stealthy air superiority fighter to replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet that fulfills the F-14's air superiority role (which would have been occupied by the Naval Advanced Tactical Fighter cancelled in 1991), although it could procure a strike/surveillance variant of the MQ-25 Stingray proposed by Boeing last April for the carrier-based attack mission which the cancelled A-12 Avenger II would have fulfilled had it been built.
aviationweek.com
I think the issue with NGAD is that it is System of Systems that doesn’t necessarily even need an air dominance fighter.
Perhaps Loyal Wingman controlled from a B-21.
I think that is already the plan.
warriormaven.com
The US Air Force during the Cold War used the B-52 as a launch platform for the GAM-72 decoy vehicle and D-21 supersonic reconnaissance UAV, so it is no stranger to using a strategic bomber to launch a UAV.I think that is already the plan.
New B-21 Stealthy Attack Bomber Will Operate as "Aerial Intel Node" and Strike Platform
The B-21 will not only fly unmanned systems itself but also control drones from the air, according to Senior Air Force leaders.
Of course the next step would be to simply let the UAVs operate completely autonomously and not actually accompany them into combat at all.
I mean... we have AShMs choosing which ships in a grouping to hit, when launched from very far away. Imagine something like an AEW set-up but it's a controller bird for a UAS swarm. You don't need to manually control each one, just set parameters.
I agree that in certain situations it is possible to assert some level of control but what about on a battlefield where you are dealing with perhaps dozens or even hundreds of combat engagements all happening simultaneously?
Will the future battlefield have that many engagements on a single battlefield? I'm not sold. I wouldn't be surprised if the days of units above a btln acting in one place are over with most engagements shrinking even further.