The manned aircraft design is part of a video showcasing Boeing’s work for the next generation of air dominance.
A video recently published by Boeing shows work being done by the Phantom Works division to develop next generation aircraft for the future air dominance. In addition to the unmanned Phantom Ray, MQ-25 Stingray and MQ-28 Ghost Bat, the video also shows a possible 6th gen manned fighter aircraft design.
The new design can be seen for just few seconds in the video, without additional info about it. While we can’t exclude the possibility of this being just a notional stand-in design for the 6th gen Next Generation Air Dominance manned fighter, we can notice some similarities with the designs showcased by other constructors. Actually, according to some sources, the one included in the clip is a recently modified version of an existing sixth generation concept, but we couldn’t verify it.
Whatever, the shape of the aircraft is extremely interesting.
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The aircraft appears to be a tailless cranked wing design, whose engines are fed by two inlets positioned just behind the cockpit on the top of the fuselage. This design is shown while showcasing digital engineering and production systems for a quicker development, customization, production and fielding of next generation aircraft.
The 3D models in the video might just be representative of the kind of work being done behind the scenes for the highly secretive NGAD program, however they once again demonstrate that the 6th gen aircraft will take full advantage of the most recent technology, adopting innovative and uncommon design choices focused on the maximum efficiency and functionality of the final product.
