The Air Force seems to be sticking with its long-term strategy for the F-35, even as it prepares to put down big bets on the Digital Century Series of new aircraft in the Next-Generation Air Dominance program. The NGAD aircraft—intended to be rapidly designed, fielded, upgraded, and even retired to keep up with the technological threat—appear, for now, to be additive to USAF's plans for both the F-35 and F-15EX. Service acquisition chief Will Roper says he thinks the Digital Century Series could yield an NGAD platform—which may or may not look like a fighter—in as little as five years. Service and Pentagon leaders are declining to discuss whether that puts the F-35 and NGAD in conflict. Air Force leaders have said consistently in recent months that they're not backing away from building 1,763 F-35As, the original objective. At the planned rate of purchase, though, the last F-35A wouldn't be delivered to the Air Force until 2040. A lot can change between now and then.
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