{"id":41566,"date":"2019-10-03T14:19:44","date_gmt":"2019-10-03T14:19:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/10\/03\/the-air-forces-next-generation-fighter-inches-forward-with-a-new-program-head\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:15:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:15:41","slug":"the-air-forces-next-generation-fighter-inches-forward-with-a-new-program-head","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/10\/03\/the-air-forces-next-generation-fighter-inches-forward-with-a-new-program-head\/","title":{"rendered":"US Air Force\u2019s next-generation fighter inches forward with a new program head"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">OMAHA, Neb. \u2014 The U.S. Air Force is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/unmanned\/2018\/03\/26\/check-out-this-new-video-with-the-air-forces-coolest-future-tech\/\" target=\"_blank\">taking a gamble on its future fighter<\/a>, with officials hoping to rapidly produce a family of jets known as the \u201cDigital Century Series\u201d using digital engineering and other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/air\/2019\/03\/14\/introducing-skyborg-your-new-ai-wingman\/\" target=\"_blank\">technology breakthroughs<\/a>. On Oct. 2, that effort took a step forward as the service stood up a new program office responsible for developing its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/air\/2017\/03\/22\/air-force-147m-funding-increase-needed-to-keep-future-fighter-on-schedule\/?utm_source=clavis\" target=\"_blank\">next-generation fighter aircraft<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Col. Dale White, most recently the program executive officer for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and special operations forces, will be in charge of the new Program Executive Office for Advanced Aircraft, the Air Force said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/2019\/09\/16\/the-us-air-forces-radical-plan-for-a-future-fighter-could-field-a-jet-in-5-years\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AF5.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">The US Air Force\u2019s radical plan for a future fighter could field a jet in 5 years<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The U.S. Air Force is seeking rapid-fire plane production as it tries to surpass the capabilities of near-peer competitors like Russia and China.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Will Roper, the Air Force\u2019s acquisition executive, said White had been chosen to lead the program based on his out-of-the-box thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI am turning to this program and to Dale in particular to find a way to bring the best technical expertise that we have to bear, to understand industry\u2019s business case \u2014 because if it\u2019s not good for industry it\u2019s not going to happen \u2014 to see if there\u2019s a way we can continue innovating, doing things smaller, faster, more agile where you don\u2019t have to necessarily be a company that can build a thousand things to work with us,\u201d Roper said during a ceremony at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. \u201cI have the utmost confidence that if there\u2019s a \u2018yes\u2019 to be found in this universe, [White] will find it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">White formerly held assignments at the Space and Missile Systems Center, the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Headquarters Air Intelligence Agency and the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, where he was the senior materiel leader and system program director for the B-21 bomber program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe mission placed before our team today will be tough, but is a must-do to keep this nation on solid footing on a global stage,\u201d White said. \u201cWe are no longer assured the super power prominence we once held, and we are now forced to reach back to our roots and relearn those attributes that made us the nation we are today. For those that will be part of the new team, thank you for what you\u2019ve done and what you will do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As head of PEO Advanced Aircraft, White will oversee not only the development of new airframes, but also a number of subsystems under development as part of the Next Generation Air Dominance program. While the Air Force hasn\u2019t disclosed how it is investing funds for the NGAD program, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2016\/08\/29\/air-force-prepares-to-hash-out-future-fighter-requirements\/\" target=_blank>officials have alluded to parallel development and prototyping efforts<\/a> that could yield advanced new weapons, engines and mission systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/farnborough\/2018\/07\/16\/whats-going-on-with-americas-next-fighter-designs\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AF4.jpg_db44ce.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">What\u2019s going on with America\u2019s next fighter designs?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The U.S. Air Force and Navy have ongoing efforts to create a new fighter design, but what does that look like?<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Defense News<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/2019\/09\/16\/the-us-air-forces-radical-plan-for-a-future-fighter-could-field-a-jet-in-5-years\/\" target=_blank> was first to report on the Air Force\u2019s new approach to fighter development<\/a>. Instead of having fighter manufacturers compete for the opportunity to produce a single, exquisite air superiority platform, the idea is to fund the development of multiple fighters using new, cost-saving techniques like agile software development, open architecture and digital engineering, Roper said in a September interview. The Air Force would then choose one vendor to produce a small batch of the most viable aircraft, but keep the other manufacturer on contract to continue iterating on its design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The benefit to such an approach? Increased competition among vendors and the ability to field a new fighter jet with the latest technology every five years or so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBased on what industry thinks they can do and what my team will tell me, we will need to set a cadence of how fast we think we build a new airplane from scratch. Right now, my estimate is five years. I may be wrong,\u201d Roper said in September. \u201cI\u2019m hoping we can get faster than that \u2014 I think that will be insufficient in the long term [to meet future threats] \u2014 but five years is so much better than where we are now with normal acquisition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">White\u2019s first task will be to create an acquisition strategy that lays out whether the Digital Century Series is viable and how much it will cost to keep multiple fighter manufacturers \u2014 including incumbent primes like Lockheed Martin and Boeing, builders of pieces of fighter jets like Northrop Grumman, and potentially new entrants \u2014 continually working with the Air Force on new designs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In response to follow-up questions from Defense News, Roper said he would like to see an initial strategy in six months, with a final strategy coming three months after that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The head of the new advanced aircraft program office brings experience from the B-21 bomber 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