In the race for the next generation of air superiority between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC),
one thing seems clear: pilots are staying in the cockpit. Despite expectations in the US and the PRC that piloted aircraft would be quickly eclipsed by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), both sides recently hinted that high-end manned fighters will be the centerpiece of their next-generation battle systems for air dominance.
These reveals—as well as CNA analysis of PRC writings on related topics—suggest that the US and PRC see manned-unmanned teaming, with UAVs supporting crewed fighters, as the way of high-end air warfare for the foreseeable future.
Competitive Convergence
Details about next-generation fighter jet programs the US and PRC remain a mystery to the public. After President Trump’s March 21 announcement that Boeing will build the US Air Force’s F-47 sixth-generation fighter jet,
the DOD distributed several artist renderings of the fighter, the details of which were quickly picked apart in public defense analyst forums. On April 18, however, US Air Force and defense industry officials revealed that the images were deliberately distorted, intended to confuse competitors about the true capabilities of the F-47’s design.
This announcement was preceded by a similarly speculative reveal in the PRC in December 2024, where videos of two advanced, tailless tactical combat aircraft—unofficially dubbed by Western military analysts as the J-50 and JH-XX—circulated on social media. Despite speculation in the PRC and international media that these were sixth-generation prototypes, neither the PRC government nor its military have confirmed this.
While much remains uncertain about the two nations’ next-generation air weapon platforms, Washington’s and Beijing’s teasers do bolster confidence in one basic but critical shared aspect of the competitors’ next-generation air dominance programs: both advanced fighter systems appear to be centered on a manned fighter jet.
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