US vs China vs Europe: the race to build the fighter jet of the future

This episode goes straight to the jugular of modern air power and
asks a brutally simple question: has the last great manned
fighter already been born?


Roland is joined by Tom Withington of Royal United Services
Institute and Sophy Antrobus from King’s College London, two
people who actually know what they’re talking about when it comes
to fighter jets. They unpack the mystery and the hype surrounding
the sixth generation fighters. These are not just faster jets
with shinier wings. They are flying data centres, designed to
hoover up information, evade the most lethal air defences on the
planet, and command swarms of drones doing the truly dangerous
work.


We cut through the fog of acronyms to explain what sixth
generation really means, how it differs from the F-35, and why
programmes in the US, Britain, Europe and Asia are racing ahead
despite eye watering costs. This is air dominance, power politics
and future war rolled into one. 


Picture credit: United States Air Force


Producer: Peter Shevlin


Executive Producer: Louisa Wells


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