The Air Force’s Fiscal 2015 budget request includes $15.7 million to start work on a sixth generation fighter to succeed the F-22, according to budget documents. Air Force Undersecretary Eric Fanning told reporters in Washington, D.C., Tuesday that maintaining USAF’s technological edge was a “guiding principle” in building the budget, and there was recognition that “to develop these types of platforms requires long leads.” Even as the Air Force is producing the fifth-gen F-35, he said, “We need to be investing in the research and science and technology necessary to be looking at sixth generation.”
Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91
Jan. 19, 2026
Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.orgLt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a...
