France and Germany hope to develop a roadmap for a sixth-generation combat aircraft programme this year, ideally with concept studies and a hardware demonstration going on until the mid-2020s. This would be followed by a definitive system development and demonstration (SOD) effort, resulting in initial operational capability (IOC) and an in-service date in about 2045,10 years later than the comparable US Air Force (USAF) Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) aircraft (also known as the Penetrating Counter Air platform).
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