The basic iterative process of aircraft development is as follows:
1. Initiate engine R&D (engine development takes roughly 25 years, whereas the airframe itself only requires about 15 years);
2. Advance conceptual design and preliminary research;
3. Prototype manufacturing;
4. Flight testing, commissioning, and entry into service.
The entire pipeline follows a universal principle adhered to by China, Russia, and the United States: 'Simultaneously serial-producing one generation, engineering the next generation, and conducting pre-research on the generation after that.'
The F-47 and China’s next-generation fighter jets were clearly conceived too early, failing to undergo the theoretical crucible of the Russia-Ukraine war.
In my view, the future mainstay fighter jet will feature a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 80+ tons, possess the ability to take off from a 300-meter Unimproved runway under full combat load, achieve a maximum speed of Mach 3, and reach a service ceiling of 30,000 meters. When cruising at Mach 2 its combat radius should reach 1,500 kilometers. Its core powerplant—perhaps a cluster of four AL-41F1S (117S) or AL-41F1 (117) engines—could suffice to achieve baseline operational functionality. It will feature automated rearward or all-aspect defensive gun turrets to enable all-aspect terminal interception of incoming air-to-air missiles and a baseline anti-drone capability. Emphasizing a non-stealth configuration, it will be capable of carrying heavy precision-guided glide bombs, hypersonic air-to-surface missiles, ultra-long-range air-to-air missiles, and real-time datalinks to guide surface-to-air missiles.
The auxiliary fighter aircraft will follow the paradigm of the S-70B Okhotnik: unmanned, equipped with a degree of autonomous artificial intelligence for flight operations, with its core mission centered on the deployment of heavy precision-guided glide bombs,
-------------------------------Most importantly, it has to be cheap, and there has to be a lot of it—an absolute abundance.