By Tim Hepher

RAF FAIRFORD, England (Reuters) – The United States will carefully review its plans for a Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) platform – a future family of fighter jets and drones – before deciding whether to proceed, Air Force Minister Frank Kendall said on Saturday.

The cost of the prospective F-22 replacement has come under scrutiny after it cost more than $300 million each, three times the cost of an F-35. But Kendall also highlighted the evolving threats, in an apparent reference to China’s rapid arming.

The idea of ​​deploying drones or Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) remains part of the proposed initiatives, he said.

“Before we make the commitment that we’re almost making, we want to make sure we have the right design concept,” Kendall said at the Royal International Air Tattoo in Britain, the world’s largest military air show.

“NGAD was conceived before a number of things: before the threat became so serious, before CCAs were introduced into the equation and before we had some of the affordability issues that we have now,” Kendall told reporters.

“So we’re going to take a critical look at NGAD before we move forward, but the family of systems that includes a manned platform and CCAs and weapons systems and communications … is still the concept that we’re pursuing.”

The Air Force faces high costs to update its land-based nuclear deterrent and develop the B-21 bomber.

“Before we commit to the 2026 budget, we want to make sure we’re on the right track,” Kendall told reporters.

Analysts attending the air show said the thoroughness of the study indicated the Air Force wanted to renew its view of whether NGAD is still well-suited to the threats posed by China as it plans toward the 2030s.

“NGAD is a suite of programs under the umbrella of capabilities the Air Force wants to better deter China and to fight and win if necessary,” said Vago Muradian, editor of Defense & Aerospace Report.

“The Chinese are changing the way they are going to fight. So the question for an air force with a limited budget is whether tens of billions of dollars is the right investment, or whether there are better ways to achieve some of these goals.”

Boeing and Lockheed Martin generally compete for the most important part of the project, namely the fighter jet.

This review has attracted attention in Europe. The British manned/unmanned GCAP project, in collaboration with Japan and Italy, may be scrutinised in a forthcoming UK defence review. In addition, France, Germany and Spain are working on the FCAS/SCAF project.

Partners in GCAP are expected to provide an update at the opening of the Farnborough International Airshow on Monday.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Paul Simao)