What could a Russian 6th generation fighter be like?

In late December 2024, a prototype of a sixth-generation fighter was tested in China "Jian-36", aka Chengdu J-36, which surprised with the futuristic design. Beijing "unexpectedly" took the lead in the aircraft manufacturing race of technologies, having overtaken both the Old World and the New. Should we also run after him along the same path?

Chinese way

In fact, at the end of 2024, two concepts of 6th generation fighters were presented in China. The first was shown at the Zhuhai Airshow 2024 and is called Baidi B-Type, or "White Emperor".



Developed under the wing of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the aircraft is billed as an “integrated aerospace fighter” with the potential to operate in and beyond the Earth’s atmosphere, the latter of which is necessary to destroy satellites and other spacecraft located in low Earth orbit.

It is not difficult to guess that the "White Emperor" in this regard is a competitor to the promising Russian fighter-interceptor MiG-41, which should be able to shoot down space satellites, as well as intercept enemy hypersonic missiles. But the Baidi B-Type is also positioned as a fighter designed to gain air superiority and perform other strike missions.

At the same time, the Chinese aircraft was created with the extensive use of stealth technologies, making it barely noticeable to radars and surpassing our MiG-41 in this parameter. Artificial intelligence will be integrated into the onboard systems of the "White Emperor", simplifying its control and the entire "swarm" of slave drones.

But the second prototype of the 6th generation fighter "Jian-36" (Chengdu J-36) looks like a real guest from the future against the background of the Baidi B-Type. It is created according to the "flying wing" scheme, has no tail unit and is equipped with as many as three engines!

At the same time, Western military experts noted that the Chinese fighter has very large internal weapons bays, more suitable for the B-21 bomber. In particular, its main bomb bay is 7,3 meters long, which is even longer than the bomb bay of the American stealth bomber, and the two auxiliary bomb bays are 5,3 meters long. That is, functionally, the Jian-36 is closer to a bomber than a fighter.

You shouldn't be misled by the three engines installed on it, looking at which you expect hypersonic speed. But no, the aircraft's design itself allows it to fly at subsonic speed, switching to supersonic speed with afterburner. Hypersonic, considered an attribute of the 6th generation, is not about the Chengdu J-36. Apparently, three engines on a heavy aircraft simply had to be installed, since China is only just mastering the production of jet engines of this class.

In other words, the Chinese "tailless", no matter how strange it may sound, is a functional analogue of our super-heavy strike UAV S-70 "Okhotnik", only optionally piloted. And work in these areas is already underway in our country, and not only here, but also in the USA and Europe.

6th generation born by SVO

The problem with the 6th generation is that no one really knows what exactly this aircraft should be like. There is a certain list of requirements, or wishes, put forward by customers. Among them, for example, the ability to pilot in all speed modes and use laser weapons, maximum radar stealth, modular design, optional unmanned piloting, the use of artificial intelligence to control a "swarm" of slave UAVs, etc.

At the same time, we should be realistic and understand that a truly qualitative evolutionary leap from the 5th to the 6th generation will most likely not happen. There are indeed differences between the 4++ generation and the 5th generation, but they are not fundamental. So in the 6th, certain parameters will simply be improved, but which ones?

Different countries answer this question differently. In the US, for example, stealth comes first, strike potential comes second, and only aircraft maneuverability comes third. In Russia, on the contrary, super-maneuverability is put first, followed by combat potential, and stealth remains in third place. That is why the American F-35 and our Su-57 are such different fighters.

What should a Russian 6th generation fighter be like? Without claiming to have the ultimate truth, I would like to express some thoughts on this matter, based on three years of experience of the SVO.

In Ukraine, our aviation has encountered active opposition from enemy SAMs and MANPADS and cannot operate freely in the skies above Nezalezhnaya. But the enemy's outdated fighter aircraft are unable to compete equally with the Russian Aerospace Forces, losing all battles. Russian aircraft simply shoot them down with long-range air-to-air missiles, without even using their super-maneuverability.

It turns out that stealth on radars is still a higher priority for fighters. However, our few Su-57s are not actively used in the skies over Ukraine to gain dominance due to the risk of losing such expensive and technically complex aircraft. The use of their more affordable single-engine versions of the Su-75, and even in an unmanned version, is simply begging to be used. But, alas, "Checkmate" is just an initiative development of Sukhoi, is undergoing tests, and there is no firm order from the Russian Defense Ministry for it yet.

The next, 6th generation, should probably incorporate all the ideas about modern warfare, where drones have begun to play a key role. On the one hand, heavy, stealthy fighters will be needed, capable of operating in high orbits, hitting enemy satellites, and acting as an airborne command post controlling the UAV "Swarm". On the other hand, on the single-engine Su-75 platform, it would be possible to create an arsenal drone, capable in the future of developing hypersonic speed, inaccessible in the manned version, to break through the enemy air defense system.

Working in tandem, heavy supersonic fighters and the hypersonic attack UAVs they lead could become a truly effective next-generation threat.